The particular charm of Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, lies in its ability to combine transgression and union between culture and history.
Tashkent is a Central Asian city that was once one of the major economic centers of the former USSR. The city's appeal grew for political, cultural, and scientific reasons, as it was a crossroads of significant events for the USSR. Founded over 2000 years ago, the city blends a deep Eastern heritage with a Soviet style that became integrated into its patrimony during the 20th century.e century. Tashkent has transformed into an open-air museum dotted with Soviet symbols in oriental colours.
Since the mid-1950s, modernism has been evident throughout Tashkent, from the metro to street corners and building facades. The architectural movement broke away from tradition, evolving into a progressive style characterized by cubic and three-dimensional forms, often repetitive, creating a visual effect that is both minimalist and grandiose. Golden hues and geometric shapes contrast with traditional architecture, giving rise to a striking and captivating urban landscape.
© karel balas
These buildings are not merely aesthetically pleasing; they carry a message. The Soviet era definitively marked the history and architecture of Tashkent, with movements such as Constructivism and Stalinism. Stalinist architecture was a style intended to glorify the power of the USSR by opposing all forms of Westernization. Emerging in the 1930s, this aesthetic was characterized by often massive, concrete buildings constructed on vast sites, succeeding the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s, and representing a crucial step towards modernism.
But Tashkent's modernism is not limited to Stalinism. Constructivist architecture, a kind of alternative and more radical modernism, emerged shortly before the 1920s. The architectural movement was inspired by the "constructivism" artistic movement, favoring uniformity, functionality, and a futuristic vision of Soviet society, reflecting a new way of life.
As Béatrice Grenier, director of strategic and international projects at the Cartier Foundation and author of the texts accompanying Karel Balas' photographs, points out: "This book" Tashkent: A Modernist Capital This allows us to understand how an autonomous region drew upon its history, and its rich Islamic architecture full of colors and forms, to reinterpret Uzbek modernity.
These monuments must be protected both for their beauty and for the values they embody. New, hopeful, and unifying projects are taking shape in the heart of Tashkent, such as this vast 6,000-hectare development that will become a regional hub for innovation, social cohesion, and sustainability. This project, slated for completion in March 2026, is supported by the Tashkent Center for Contemporary Art and the Foundation for the Development of Art and Culture in Uzbekistan. It is part of an artistic movement that remains true to the city's architectural heritage.
Thus, Tashkent continues to assert its uniqueness: a thousand-year-old city where the Orient meets Soviet modernism, it looks towards the future while protecting its heritage, demonstrating that tradition and innovation can coexist harmoniously in the service of culture and creativity.
