Photographer Takes Us Inside the Buildings of the 1980 Moscow Olympics

For St. Petersburg born photographer Anastasia Tsayder, moving to Moscow came as a shock. Accustomed to the classical architecture of the 19th century, she was surprised to now be surrounded by Soviet style buildings of the late 70’s. She took an interest in the history of the urban development of her new city and found that many of the structures were built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Around the time Tsayder moved to Moscow, the country was in full swing preparing for the Sochi 2014 winter games. Interested in legacy of the 1980 Olympic games, she sought out to photograph these now defunct buildings for her series Summer Olympics, as it may serve as an example for the fate of these single use venues in the future.