Central Moscow has been transformed from the tired, gray capital of the Soviet Union into a bedazzlement of freshly gilded domes and palaces in ice-cream colors. At night the spectacle is even more enchanting. New wealth has also spurred a frenzy of construction, but historic treasures still outnumber the eyesores. And, for the first time in many decades, one can appreciate the legacy of avant-garde architecture from the 1920s. These factories, workers’ clubs, apartment blocks and garages were meant to herald a socialist utopia; after the fall of the Soviet Union they were seen as relics of a failed system. Richard Pare photographed them around 2000 for his book The Lost Vanguard, and his images are full of crumbling facades, peeling paint and abandoned machinery.
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