Modernist ideas and Soviet urban planning practices of the 20th century significantly transformed the appearance of its cities. Standardization, simplification, urbanization of rural areas, and centrally controlled development led to nearly identical panel neighborhoods nationwide. Following the collapse of the USSR, these practices and their associated issues were not reexamined but rather adapted to the new economic reality.

Today, the outskirts of post-Soviet cities are characterized by high-rise panel buildings, often situated among fields and surrounded by wastelands and industrial areas. Some might refer to them as modern city frontiers, likening their architecture to anthills.

The book Background explores the evolving landscape and architecture of these neighborhoods in Moscow. It also draws parallels to the author’s memories of growing up in a similar panel-built community hundreds of miles away from Moscow—over two decades earlier. -Publisher