Authors

Discussion

In the cultural arena of the Cold War, Soviet exhibition design emerged as one of the most sophisticated tools for shaping and communicating the USSR’s international image. At a time when architecture, art, and technology served as ideological weapons, Soviet designers transformed temporary exhibition spaces into stages of modernity, projecting visions of progress, innovation, and socialist identity to global audiences. This paper examines how exhibition design functioned as both an artistic and political medium through which the Soviet Union negotiated its place within the modern world. 

Focusing on the post-Stalinist decades, the study explores how Soviet modernism developed a distinct visual language that balanced the desire for technological modernity with ideological specificity. The paper traces the evolution of Soviet pavilion design at major international exhibitions – from Brussels 1958 and London 1961 to Montreal 1967, Osaka 1970 and Spokane 1974 – analyzing how these spaces mediated the tensions between architecture and display, form and message, domestic tradition and international dialogue. Exhibition design, as a form of “temporary architecture,” responded more swiftly than any other medium to shifts in political and cultural paradigms, making it a sensitive barometer of the USSR’s changing self-image. 

Drawing on archival sources, analyses of architectural plans, and contemporary publications, the paper highlights how Soviet designers synthesized elements of modernist aesthetics, theatricality, and technological spectacle to articulate a persuasive visual narrative of socialism. It also situates these practices within broader Cold War cultural diplomacy, showing how the aesthetics of light, transparency, and motion became part of the Soviet soft-power strategy. By analyzing exhibition design as an aesthetic and ideological language, this paper contributes to ongoing discussions on the intersections of art, architecture, and politics in the global history of modernity.