Urban plann ing and architecture of the Stalin era: Research optics in publications of recent years

Abstract

The article analyzes modern trends in scientific research on Soviet urban planning and architecture of the Stalin era. The text provides a brief overview of domestic and foreign books of the last decade, which reflect current scientific approaches. The author argues that the Soviet scientific paradigm has not been replaced by a new holistic scientific concept, but there is a plurality of authors’ interpretations. The research is dominated by the interdisciplinary approach, which gives impetus to the enrichment of problems, sources and research methods. The author believes that the main research trend is also a shift in optics from the object to processes and contexts, and within this framework, the topic of the relationship between the authorities and the professional community, the study of the forms and mechanisms of state regulation of architectural creativity dominates. Among other research lines, the article considers such priority areas as the revision of knowledge about the masters of Soviet architecture, the study of professional discourse, and international communications of Soviet architecture. The last topic notes the importance of shifting the emphasis to the concept of “cultural transfer”, which implies not one-sided borrowing, but transnational circulation and exchange. The author comes to the conclusion that, despite all the differences in thematic perspectives, there is a general tendency to consider the research object in a socio-cultural context, in a complex process of interrelations and mutual influences.