New Book 'Cirk' Highlights Soviet-Era Brutalist Circus Architecture with Pop-Out Models

David Navarro and Martyna Sobecka of Zupagrafika have released 'Cirk', a book documenting the permanent circus arenas built across the former Soviet Union between the 1950s and 1980s. These brutalist structures, commissioned by the state as year-round venues, combined socialist modernism with experimental engineering and served as propaganda tools. The book includes pop-out paper models of five iconic buildings: the Kyrgyz State Circus in Bishkek, the Chișinău Circus, the Dnipro State Circus, the Great Moscow State Circus, and the Tashkent Circus. The arenas reflect the Soviet government's emphasis on power and technological progress, with designs often resembling flying saucers amid the Space Race. 'Cirk' is available for purchase on Zupagrafika's website.