Inventing Alma-ata - Defining Kazakh Identity under the common Socialist Content

INVENTING

Alma-ata

Defining Kazakh Identity under the common Socialist Content Fu Yat Him, Horta

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INVENTING

Alma-ata

Defining Kazakh Identity under the common Socialist Content Fu Yat Him, Horta

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA FOREWORD

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FOREWORDPlace making as a mean of Constructing Ethnic In the 2019 annual press conference, Putin was once again asked about his position towards Lenin; While Putin acknowledged Lenin’s connection to the Soviet achievement, he claimed Lenin "was less a statesman and more a revolutionary". He criticized Lenin for mistakenly creating ethnic based republics which did not match the geographic location of the community, which resulted in chaos followed by the break-up of the USSR. Whether the territorial division was inappropriate remains controversial, it did weaken Eurasia integrity once the single party political agenda dissolved; but at the time when territories were drawn in Central Asia in 1920s-30s, it was considered an act to divert the cultural-political discourse from the promotion of Pan-Turkism to the imposition of ambiguous ethnic root searching. As a result, in building Socialism in Central Asia, ethnic definitions were grounded but not overwhelmed to sustain socio-political stability in the invented republics.

Thus, architecture was employed as the place making tool that defined the new socialist republics.

As the third publication in my Socialist Modernism series, Socialist Alma-ata focuses the documentation on regionalism that was defined and invented in Kazakh SSR- the union republic which was drawn from the Russian SFSR in 1936, and its subsequent architectural translation from the text-book of post-war Soviet modernism to a unique, yet familiar image of city in the republic’s capital Alma-ata. Moreover, it extends the documentation of post-Soviet transformation- when identity became a real matter as an independent state with weak historical reference, how the architectural practice continued, progressed or reverted to accommodate the state narrative.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA FOREWORD

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Above: Socialist content, Kazakh Form, Post Soviet Masking Hotel Kazakhstan and Lenin Palace, 2019 Previous: Pattern and cyan adopted from Post-Soviet national flag on Soviet era Student Palace of KAZNU -7-

INVENTING ALMA-ATA FOREWORD

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Above and Next: Independence Monument at the Kazakh SSR Political Centre

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA FOREWORD

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

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Fabricating the new life pattern Alma-ata was transferred to the capital of Kazakh Autonomous SSR in 1927 as the construction of Turkestan-Siberia Railway announced, but the major growth of the city was taken place not until the outbreak of World War II in European USSR as the city acted as home front for hosting industries and institutions. The industrial development in Alma-ata continued to expand in the postwar era, bringing a constant population growth with the significant mix of Russian migrants.

With less pre-war influence, Alma-ata was largely erected based on the utilitarian city planning model which was adopted all-Union since Khrushchev had come into power. Industrialized construction which was highlighted by the pre-fabrication technology was employed in building micro-districts across the city like anywhere else in the USSR. Though it was essential to promote Soviet citizenship that everyone shall live in a prescribed way which could sustain the agenda of industrialization to the virgin land, simply construction of homogenous panel blocks could have created a mismatch to the cultural context to the republic designated for nomadic ethnic, as well as the foothills landscape of Trans-Ili Alatau. To legitimize the existence of the ethnic republic defined from Top down approach, the authority has to distinguish the built artifacts which appear to be “Kazakh�. The simplest way is to employ ornament that is justified by the need of shading as in the Southern republics, which has nothing to change the prescribed function of an industrializing city, and apply it into the standardized panel block design.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

Above: Concrete Fins and Balcony tile with "Nomadic" Pattern, at a modernist housing block

In fact, cultural and ornamental study was highly scientific and systematic in Soviet Union. It was common for the state to retrieve detailed documentation of regional culture before implementing spatial transformation. In Kazakh context, an ornamentologist named Gani Ilyaev has documented thousands of nomads’ pattern objects which were disappearing in everyday life.Yet, when the pattern was translated into the new building artifacts, only the simplest patterns were chosen to reproduce in new artifacts and adopted in the panel block facade.

One mould would have been applied on the factory production line of all the city dwellings. As a result, the Yurt family structure was assimilated to the nuclear family through settling them in the universal model of 1-158/ 1-464 panel blocks’ model- though it was still far from the blueprint of the new communal structure by early communist planners.

Right: Post-Soviet Adaptation, extension of enclosure, Commercialization of Ground Storey Previous: i-158 series housing which was massly constructed in Alma-ata

By accommodating the population in the panel blocks for decades, the dwelling culture of all the invented republics were sustained in the Post-Soviet context. Unlike the Western social housing which quickly suffered from decay, vandalism and abandonment, life in the panel blocks continues as vividly as usual in post-Soviet Almaty.

Like anywhere in the post-Soviet space, the balconies in these panel-blocks were further customized by residents to extend their living space.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

Above and next: Plug-in Metabolism, Three Knights

The Three knights located at Abay was a particular representational example of such adaptation, of which the residents’ adaptation were perfectly coherent with the formal structure. The Three residential towers were originally characterized with steel bracing structure linked between towers, which was sort of a technological expressionism. Due to the loose regulation, residents have organically expanded their living space by inserting lightweight enclosure residual space between the steel bracing. Unintentionally, the structural design has fulfilled the changing needs of residents, which won over the intended metabolism in Japanese context. Though such resultant image is not intended by the renderer, the Soviet mass housing program at the invented nation has binded a vernacular culture which is common across post-Soviet space, which is much an accreditation to the ethnic policy.

Right Above: The i-158 series, with concrete brise soleil masked over Balcony, which accidentally dissolve the impression of post occupation balcony enclosure Right Below: Repainted block at key walking streets.

Color tectonic dominated over the pattern mold

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

Above: Earlier 5 StoreyPattern finishes removed from Balcony renovation Right above and Right Below: Arches are also employed, islamic reference

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

Above: Atypical Design, Tectonic Monumentality Right and Next: Concrete post-modernism or reference to Art nouveau?

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA PATTERNS AND PREFABRICATION

Above: The Generic did existed Right: Stair core of the Alma-ata panel blocks- also generic enough

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

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Residing the nomadSCapital at the hazard prone area As a republic defined for nomadic ethnic, permanent residency for citizens is actually contradicting the ethnic tradition. Nonetheless, the capital of Kazakh, despite being formed by a mix of relocated (or deported) citizens from all around the Union, has been designated at the highly hazard prone area. From a geopolitical perspective, the location of Alma-ata is closed to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan border. The connection between those Central Asian capitals would be easier than connecting to Siberia. Some claimed it was intended to create diplomatic complexity between the invented republic which avoided the revival of pan-Turkism. And more importantly, it facilitated the integration of Central Asian ethnics towards the common Soviet citizens.

Alma-ata is located at the foothills of Zailisky Alatau, the melting of glaciers at warmer months has situated the city on Alluvial fans at the risk of mudflow. The travel distance of the flow can be as far as 30km, which can hit the population centre. Mitigation infrastructure has been extensively spent to protect the urban settlement, resulting in the Union-well-known landscape engineered district, Medeo, which remains a key tourist destination of the city today. The Medeo Mud-Control Dam was created by a series of controlled explosions between 19661972, forming a reservoir capturing to debris flow with a permanent dam of 150m high in 1973. The creation of the Dam with high magnitude explosion was highly brutal considering its close proximity to the city settlement, but it did reflect the utilitarian ambition of protecting this vularble city.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

Above: Medeo Ice-Rink with Spectator Stand constructed in 1972

Adjoining the Medeo dam is the Medeo Ice Rinksituated at 1691m attitude, the Ice Rink was the World Record factory of Speed Skating. The modern Medeo reconstructed in 1972 is accommodated with the Brutalist Spectator Stand and a Bas-relief facade.

Thanks to its advanced artificial ice engineering, it held dozens of major Soviet Ice Hockey and Speed Skating competitions through the Communist years and extended its international importance in recent years.

Right: Alma-ata Television Tower- closed for visitor Previous: Medeo Mud-flow Reservoir, created by direct explosion

Alma-ata also sits on an active fault which experienced destructive earthquakes in 1887 and 1911, but this did not limit the erection of tall towers in the city with the employment of high-magnitude resistant design. The 371m tall TV tower is not only the tallest tubular steel structure in the world, but it is also considered as the highest sitting TV tower reaching the altitude of 1452m.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

Above: Scavenga collecting the fallen leaves from the "Aryk"

Having the hazard combated prone, the alluvial fan did bring Alma-ata micro-climate advantage through proper planning of the drainage system. The grid network city laid on the gentle slope orienting downward from Brezhnev Square (now republic square), streets are lined with “Aryk� (deep irrigation ditches) which effectively bring the melting water from Zailisky Alatau to irrigate and cool the city. Occasionally, the channels are transformed to features and fountains that form part of the playful public space in the city. Sairan Reservoir, in particular, was a much engineered lake created in the centre of residential hub trapping water discharged by a control dam, forming beaches in the inland city. Such passive systems that control the micro-climate of the city remained leadingly advanced in the lesson of Urban Design.

Right Above: The grid city of Almaty laid downward gently from Brezhnev Sqaure- now Republic Square Right Below: Dried Beach at Sairan reservoir

With these advanced geotechnical engineering projects carried throughout the Soviet years, Alma-ata became a habitable city which is tectonically safe and climatically comfortable. And therefore, even a significant Russian population left the city after the dissolution of Soviet Union, the hazard prone city continued to experience a population growth to two millions,which doubled from 1991, with ethnic Kazakh domination in demographic permanently. Permanent residency in the city became a well accepted norm for modernized Kazakh.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

Above, Right and Previous: Pavilions along the walking trail at the engineered Medeo Dam

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

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Above: Drying Fountain at Dry Season- State Library Left: Street Washer ditching the falling leaves to the "Aryk"

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

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Above and next: The aninmated intro of Irony of Fate (1976)- Concrete Blocks marching from Beach to Snow Mountain?

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Residing the nomads

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

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Bargaining Superfluity at the height of developed socialism Alma-ata was filled with a great collection of exemplary post-war modernist institutional architecture during the construction boom in the 1960s-1970s. Unlike the monolithic internationalist design applied in the construction in Russian SFSR cities during the era, construction in Kazakh Alma-ata was often masked with oriental characteristics from form making to ornaments application. Some claimed the head of Kazakh SSR ,Dinmukhamed Kunayev, had a close relationship with Brezhnev, which helped to bargain plenty of budget to create a unique image to the Nomad’s socialist capital.

It is true to some extent but the bigger picture was still the urgency to legitimize the existence of the nomadic republic as a buffer zone between the Southern Islamic World- in which it was essential to diminish the image of aggressive colonialism. Especially in the 1970s the Union proclaimed itself entering the era of “Developed Socialism”, contextualism and superfluity became affordable. Alma-ata became a creative centre for exploring national form under socialist content.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above: Yurt, Nomedic Hat, or UFO? House of Fashion

Abstraction of the form of Yurt has become the major source of design ideas. Circular Plans have been adopted into buildings of various functions with modern materials ,including the Wedding Palace and Fashion House. Like the panel housing blocks, sun screening with reference to traditional patterns was common facade treatment to institutional buildings, with more sophisticated articulation. Ornaments with modern material like aluminum were applied to reflect the oriental tradition. At a more realistic scale, Mosaic and Bas-relief were also widely employed portraying the vision of life in the socialist world.

Right Above and Below: The State Museum in a big Yurt- built at the last decade of the Soviet Union Previous: Entrance of Hotel Kazakhstan, with Flags of CIS and beyond

But aside from form making, there was not much to differentiate Alma-ata from a typical socialist cultural city in terms of functional planning. It was well established with daily utilities which define the socialist way of living.

This included a number of Universities which made Alma-ata a scientific research hub in Central Asia, with a significant tertiary educated population. Meanwhile, the generic tower- Hotel Kazakhstan, was erected alone at the city centre to set the height point in the city like any regional centres from Pacific to Baltic, though it was richly cladded with ornaments and the iconic crown on roof which made it distinctive “Kazakhstan� .

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above: Interlocking Concrete Sunbreaker at Kazakh National Technical University Right: Aluminum Cladding on Entrance Canopy of Hotel Kazakhstan

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above and Right: Arman Cinema, Soviet Bas-Relief, Starbucks and GAZ-21 Volga

The discourse of Socialist Entertainment was much linked to collectivization, with no exception in Alma-ata. The Children's Place accommodated the pioneer movement and was set to be the first place of engaging young citizens’ with the vision of the socialist system. Theatre and cinema, the effective means to impose the state agenda by art of media, were infilled not only in the city centre, but also at the street-wide plot in the production quarters in Alma-ata like any of typical Soviet cities.

With huge auditoriums, these theatres were the palace accessible by workers in their pastime, and resulting in the form of leisure which was consistent collectively. The State Circus which also resembles the form of tant, on the other hand, envisioned the collective art which engaged a high degree of coordination between actors, and turning themselves like an integral part of the machine.

Previous: Wedding Palace, Circle in plan, with pattern facade screen and moasic- A combination of ways of making Kazakh Identity Next: Street-wide plot Theatre and Circus: -Auezov Theater -Palace of Culture for Cotton Factory -Kazakh State Circus

The functions of gigantic concrete structures remain unaltered as of today. But these institutions appeared to be empty in their off-hours. Oblitsovka (tile or clad over) which softened their bold image at its first place, appeared to be more alienating and post-civilisational.

Fortunately most of these institutions were still considered as major landmarks in contemporary Almaty- and most of them are on the heritage list, which reflected those forms of collective entertainment rooted in daily life of Urban Kazakh.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Military Narrative has remained important throughout the Brezhnev era. Like any other city in Soviet Union, Alma-ata did not lack monuments memorising the Great Patriotic War, even though the city is far from the centre of a major battlefield. The Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen with Monument of Glory memorializing the 28 Alma-ata Soldiers who died from the 1941 Moscow Battle is a most obvious Soviet symbolism which still stands rigidly after the collapse of the regime. No matter if it was an act of moral abduction or not, the Great Patriotic War was the time when the state and the people were so aligned in a way which could eliminate the totalitarian fear in the 1930s Great Purge. Adjoined by the Army house out of human scale, the memorial complex consuming the war history was proved effective to legitimise the policy making of the regime. And as in contemporary Kazakhstan, military history is still an essential tool to legitimize the ruling hand of authority against rising individualism.

Above Monument of Glory- 28 Panfilov GuardsmenThe must-have landmark in Soviet Cities Right and Next: Army House at adjoining, authoritarian scale as usual

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above , right and next : Zelyoniy Bazaar- 9 Pyramid Bays for easy navigation for the stuff you need

The Zelyoniy Bazaar is one of the social places which is precisely designed for the Central Asia context. In fact, bazaar as a place of trading agricultural products was considerably an outdated place in the Socialist state, as individual property trading was not widely accepted in the socialist system. Yet, to accommodate the emotional deficiency from the disappearance of Mosque and Church in Soviet civilization, the Zelyoniy Bazaar was designed to resemble a modern temple where people from different social layers meet on the one hand, and the simple 9-pyramid bays planning enable citizens' easy navigation to get daily essential quickly without spending too excessive time on the other hand. This strikes a balance to model the Bazaar type in socialist context.

Contrary to some contemporary authorities who attempt to please ethnic through compensating their cultural venue along with development, the Soviet planners were rather abstracting the tradition into the functioning socialist place that is new to ethnics. This eventually progressed the ethnic narrative to be tally with the state one, and eliminated the trace which could rehabilitate the outdated way of living.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above , right and previous: Soviet Post-modernism at Arasan Bathmixing Islamic Form and Finnish Sauna Programme Reference

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

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Above: Sairan Long Distance Bus Station Left Below: Dormitory Kazakh state circus Right Below: The foyer of Palace of Culture for Almaata Cotton Factory

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above: State Archive, repeating horns in facade detail Right The Childern Palace, another Postmodern Islamic Reference- the question is what make it enjoyable by children?

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above: Closer look to the Auezov Theater Right: Aging Finishes- common across every institutional building in Alma-ata Next: TV and Radio Building under renovation

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Bargaining Superfluity

Above: Auditorium of House of Political Education, also under renovation. Solid and Void relationship kept.

Right: The crown light up- the height defining tower could be even more visible at distance from down town Alma-ata at night. Meanwhile, sources said the facade is planning to be replaced by curtain wall.

A more cohesive image with the adjoining Glass box Republic Palace is coming?

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

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Post-Soviet authoritarianism- The city mismatch with Nazarbayev’s favour Being the last state struggled to withdraw from the USSR in 1991, post-Soviet Kazakhstan faced two-folded difficulties to establish its new identity- on the one hand, it requires to keep certain connection with the Russian Federation due to economic reality of the landlocked state, and in the meantime it has to stabilise the real regime that has never existed in history. To Nazarbayev, Almaty, renamed from Alma-ata after independence, is too well-established in the golden age of Brezhnev’s Stagnation, when the Kazakh leader was able to bargain the best resources from Moscow. The challenge to him is rather to surpass the Soviet legacy which may otherwise be unrealizable without a visible move. Image of the city as a result remained critical to demonstrate the progression of the state- a mindset of Stalinist realism revived by the first Kazakhstan president.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

Above : Almali Station, Image of Nazarbayev. With pattern of carpet used in floor tile

A way to visualize the achievement was directly establishing a new capital in the North of virgin landReplacing Alma-ata by Astana (now Nur-Sultan) as Kazakhstan capital, and building with the reference to the scale of Stalinist realism mixed with contemporary materialing. In short, there was less urgency to reshape the image of Almaty, and contemporary Almaty has much retained its Soviet’s establishment to be properly functioned. Yet, even though the growth of Nur-Sultan is maturing, Almaty remains economically important with the hinterland connection with other Tian Shan states and more recent Chinese investment. The city is inevitably undergoing a new wave of upgrade, which includes construction of new infrastructure and renovation of what has been established.

Right Above: Jibek Joli Station, moasic showing the Universe of Nomad. The station vault resemble the Yurt Lattice Right Below: Abay, bronze relief of Abay

Almaty metro operated since 2011 has demonstrated how neo-Stalinist realism was employed to articulate Nazarbayev’s regime. Planned since the Soviet years, the metro system including the circulation and the deep pylon tri-span structure was largely reference to other systems in the Union. The finishing and decoration has been a renaissance to the Stalinist years with rich patterned mosaic walls celebrating Nazarbayev’s authority and ethnic aspiration. There are no significant differences from the Stalinist metro stations except the escalators are finished by the stainless steel and the rolling stocks are made from Korean. The system is very much extending the authoritarian idea of seeing public infrastructure as a daily palace for the ordinary people.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

Above ,Right Above and Right Below: Metro station with Deep pylon tri-span structure. Operated in 2011, construction comparable to system in Moscow

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

The First President Park in honor of Nazarbayev opened in 2010 was another example of Stalinist architecture revival which is somehow comparable to VDNkh park in Moscow.

However, it is a creepier one despite it celebrating the national narrative which is still present. Passing through Grand Neo-Classical triumphant archway, it drove visitors into a big fountain encircled by the viewing deck which leads to a statue of Nazarbayev in a silent corner. With rare visitors in November, the fountain shut off and dried, which resulted in a deadly empty space that was distinct from the public engagement. It definitely extended the tradition of authoritarian spatial practice- creating easily surveilled space only for mass events organized by authority. Anyway, we spotted a group of local residents taking marriage photos at the park that is out of human scale, perhaps it is their accreditation to the authority.

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Above and next: The First President Park, drying fountain, Statue of Nazarbayev, Triumphant Archway and viewing deck- in a silent November Monday

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

Above: Abay Monument in front of Republic Palace. The Palace was renovated with new curtain wall facade, keeping only the iconic roof

Meanwhile, Republic Palace (Lenin Palace in the Soviet era) at Abay was very much a typical example of masking a modernist building with highly reflective glazing and polished tile which can be found in many post-Soviet states- the Postmodern aesthetic in Eurasian context.

The same modification is planning to take place in the adjoining Kazakhstan Hotel, with the idea of applying curtain wall. All of these modifications do not necessarily enhance the Kazakhstan contents as an independent state, but after all, expressing the “new� is essential to reflect the authority’s efforts.With strong influence on state capitalism, post Soviet Almaty does not present the wildless of Perestroika like Kyiv, but major corporates including national banks and international holdings are intruding into Almaty establishments. Malls and business centres on street-wide plots filled with global brands emerge in the city more recently.

Right Above: Lotte taking over an Almaty candy factory Right Below: The wild. Open air Market next to the Green Bazaar.

At the mix of introducing ethnic and Nazarbayev's monuments, the historical image of the ethnic Soviet capital may risk to last further, but the gene of Authoritarian city is sustained in a way which is identical to be a postSoviet space common across independent states .

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

Nomadic root, Soviet intervention, International Identity At the height of the regime's solidity and durability, Nationalism has transformed to a question which is further untouched by general citizens. At worst, it implies the top-down invention of Kazakh identity through architecture was limited to symbolism, and the city of Alma-ata functioned only at the vision of industrial colonisation to the virgin land of Central Asia as what the authority intended. But at best, the Socialist intervention has reinvented the Nomadic spirit- Open to accept internationalism while not diminishing its character- a secular attitude towards the tradition. In fact, contemporary Kazakhstan is one of the countries which is most open to religion, and bilingual policy is still in good practice. Its position in the crossroad of Eurasia is being rediscovered and articulated like the nomads in historical context.

Above and Right Above: KFC and Nomads Insurance on the panel blocks Right Below: Sign board taking over a modernist building, Post Soviet Common

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First International Five Star Hotel in Almaty, operated since 1994, the facade tlanguage extend the treatment of panel blocks.

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INVENTING ALMA-ATA Post-Soviet authoritarianism

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Post-Soviet Mosaic- Connecting the image of contemporary Nur-Sultan and modernist Alma-ata by late 20th century mosaic art style - 101 -

Printed and Published on April 2020 First Edition Published in Hong Kong SAR,China Photographed and edited by Fu Yat Him, Horta Email: u3542237@connect.hku.hk 104 pages All rights reserved