Soviet-era mosaics in Cahul – Gagauzia – Moldova

Posted on 07/01/2026 by Michael

Mosaic in Cahul

More on Moldova – on the Post-Socialist Countries – Eastern Europe and Asia page

VI Lenin and Palace of Culture Mosaic – Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

Soviet-era mosaics in Cahul – Gagauzia – Moldova

Cahul, in the south western corner of Moldova, close to the border with Rumania, isn’t a spectacular city by any means but it is the home of four large Soviet era mosaics plus a collection of smaller mosaics (some in a very sad state of repair) on the external walls of a kindergarten. Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, has a greater number but few of them are on the scale of those in Cahul.

The problem facing all Soviet era mosaics (and public art in general in post-Socialist countries) is due to a combination of factors; there’s little enthusiasm on the part of authorities (and the local population in general?) to properly maintain and care for these reminders of a previous era and there’s probably a lack of skilled artists (either with the skill or the inclination) to carry out such maintenance and repair. Being a central European country Moldova has a huge variation in temperature throughout the year and this plays havoc on the mosaics out in the open. Once cracks in the art work begin degeneration becomes exponential.

However, that degeneration on the four large has not developed to such a stage that a visitor cannot appreciate the skill of the (often un-named and unknown) artist/s.

Sports School

‘On the wall of the School building in 1989, a mosaic was executed by the artist GA Hadjioglov (in some sources Hadjalov), originally from Ukraine, a member of the Union of Plastic Artists of Russia, who has held numerous exhibitions all over the world, a series of monumental works in the Republic of Moldova in the period 1979-89, including two mosaics in the city of Cahul. Among them is this mosaic – a panel consisting of five stylized compositions with a sports theme, brightly colored, made of enamel (fused glass with pigments of different colors).’

From; Visit Cahul

In the four panels on the left and right hand sides of the artwork it’s possible to see represented; running, wrestling, boxing, field athletics, football, basket ball, cycling, volley ball and women’s hockey. (Or that’s what it looks to me.)

I’m not totally sure what is the story being told in the central panel. It depicts six female figures. At the top are four young women, the two on either side of the group playing a flute – or similar instrument. Of the two main characters the one on the right is holding what looks like an laurel branch (signifying victory?) and the one on the left has a living flame cupped in her hands. This traditionally signifies vitality, energy and passion that comes from competition. It could also symbolise the spirit of unity and teamwork – as in the Olympic flame.

There are a few signs of deterioration, but there is an obvious fault line running down the mosaic from top to bottom of the two panels on the right, especially through the image of the basketball player in red. Here some of the small tiles are missing. Other than that the mosaic looks in a good condition, indicating some level of regular maintenance.

Also on the bottom corner of the top left hand panel, the one with the runners, can be seen the name of the artist Gheorghii Hadjioglov (in Cyrillic) and the date of inauguration, 1989. Hadjioglov was also the artist for the mosaic on the front façade of the Palace of Culture in Cahul – see below.

Location;

The external wall of Sports School No. 1, Strada Bogdan Petriceicu-Hașdeu 4,

GPS;

45.90135 N

28.18862 E

Palace of Culture

This large mosaic, on the side wall of the large Palace of Culture in Cahul is also the work of Gheorghii Hadjioglov – who created the mosaic at the Sports School (see above). However, this predates that mosaic by 3 years being created in 1986.

(Here it might be appropriate to mention that many of the mosaics in Moldova seem to date from the late 1980s – this was following the introduction of the policies of Perestroika and Glasnost which contributed to the demise of what still existed of Socialism in the Soviet Union. That means they tend more to ‘the pretty and colourful’, lacking any strong political content and, therefore, more difficult to interpret the story being told or the reason for their creation in the first place.)

One of the reasons that its difficult (without any information about the intentions of the artist) to interpret the five panels of the mosaic as that there are few, if any, clues from the clothing. Traditionally, the first panel would be a representation of the October Revolution. After all this was the birth of the Republics of the Soviet Union – before then all that existed was serfdom, Tsarism, feudalism, exploitation and oppression.

Often the wording on banners help in the interpretation but the words seen at the top right hand corner of the first panel on the left seem to be only a part of the slogan and for a non-Russian speaker like myself, depending upon machine translation, it doesn’t make sense. Here’s what I think is the Cyrillic;

ВСЯ ВЛАСТЪ СОЕ ДА ЭАРАВСТВЧЕТ ПРО

which makes reference to a government but which and when is still a mystery.

The first panel does have elements that point to the October Revolution with a combination of armed soldiers and civilians. However, although the civilians are dressed as they might have been in 1917 the soldiers uniforms, and especially their helmets, seem to point to an earlier period. Is this, perhaps, reference to an uprising of the Moldovan people pre-October Revolution, therefore the image already attempting to roll back Socialism in favour of the nationalism that was to take over the thinking and politics of many of the Soviet Republics after 1990?

The second panel depicts three men and three women sitting at a table, all writing. Is this a reference to a literacy campaign? After all this is a Palace of Culture and universal literacy would have been one of the first goals of the Bolsheviks after the threat from the invading powers and local reactionaries had been defeated in the War of Intervention/Civil War.

The third panel depicts soldiers being welcomed by civilians. Are these soldiers returning home or are they liberators? And from which war are they returning? The uniform of the two soldiers has more in common with that of the armies that fought in the first imperialist war of the 20th century, with puttees on their legs and their bed rolls over their backs. And there is a total lack of any symbolism of Socialism in this image – no Red Stars and no red Flags.

The fourth panel depicts similarly dressed soldiers but here they seem to be going to war, the way they are moving and the soldier in the foreground kissing a woman in what seems to be a farewell kiss.

The final panel is a bit of a leap from the others. The central figures are a woman and a very young child. This is more reminiscent of a Virgin and Child scene than one celebrating the family under Socialism. However, here we have a woman holding a huge sheaf of wheat, an image that normally represents collectivisation and also there are images of grapes in the background, again indicating organised agriculture on a large scale – something that is evident for anyone who has travelled to any extent through the Moldovan countryside.

So that’s my ‘best guess’ interpretation of this mosaic. It might be well off mark but I can’t come up with anything better at the moment. There might have been some clues in Hadjioglov’s biography but I have been, so far, unable to find out anything at all about him.

In the bottom right hand corner of the final panel the mosaic is ‘signed’, this time just with the initials of the artist, in Cyrillic, together with the date of its creation, 1986.

Of the four large mosaics in Cahul this one shows the greatest signs of damage due to lack of maintenance. Throughout the whole length and breadth of the mosaic there are many places where the small, ceramic tiles have fallen away. So far this decay hasn’t developed to the stage where big sections of the image are missing but when a big enough space of missing tiles exists the weather damage can become exponential – this is demonstrated in some of the mosaics on the exterior of the kindergarten described below.

Location;

Bulevardul Victoriei 18

GPS;

45.90458 N

28.20079 E

Liceul Teoretic Serghei Rahmaninov/Theoretical High School Sergei Rahmaninov

Liceul Teoretic Serghei Rahmaninov

This mosaic, on the façade of an educational building, is some way from the centre of Cahul but still within a reasonable walking distance.

In the very centre there’s an image, slightly abstract, of a female figure. She’s obviously the most important image, both in size and the centrality of her position. She has her left arm, bent at the elbow, with her hand at near shoulder height and in her open hand rests a small object – but it’s not exactly clear what that is. Her right arm hangs down at her side, slightly away from her body. By her hand is something that resembles a painter’s palette. She is dressed in what would probably be described as ‘classical’ style. She is possibly an allegory for culture and art, or more likely ‘The Muse’. Her ‘classical’ dress makes a connection to timeless ideals, while the palette and other object perhaps symbolize creative and intellectual enlightenment.

Behind this main figure are two other females, one behind her on each side, just behind her shoulders. The one behind her left shoulder has the hand of her left arm, which is stretched down, resting on a swirl that looks similar to a symbol in musical notation. Are these the ‘handmaidens’ to ‘The Muse’?

Some ideas about the background which is a mixture of;

vertical and horizontal blocks and the triangular, almost machine like shapes – do these represent industry, construction and modern science? The arts are important in a modern developing society but they are dependent upon a healthy economy. Here we are presented with a faith in progress and technology;

bunches of grapes, which are on the left side of the figures, representing Moldova and the importance of agriculture in the economy (which also pays for education) and celebrating the vineyards found throughout the country;

images reminiscent of musical notation honouring the school’s namesake, the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov – connecting the education institution’s cultural mission to a celebrated figure;

there are abstract representations of what could be flowers at the feet of the female figures – this being a nod to nature;

behind, to either side of the female figures, and going upwards to the edge of the mosaic, are two large arcs which contain within them what looks like a representation of clouds – this could possibly represent artistic inspiration and the flow of knowledge, forever aiming for greater heights.

Not definite, but a possible interpretation.

To date I have no information of the artist nor the date of its inauguration, but as two of the other major mosaics in the town were created in the late 1980s I would assume this one would be dated at, more or less, the same period.

Despite the area being somewhat exposed the mosaic is in a very good condition.

Location;

Strada Păcii 6,

GPS;

45.89457 N

28.18949 E

Woman with doves and flowers

This, the fourth of the large mosaics in Cahul, is very different in style from many other mosaics in Moldova or any of the other post-Socialist societies in Eastern Europe. If we consider the three mosaics in Cahul described above they all had, if sometimes tenuous, a relationship to some of the aims of a Socialist society – the history of the country at the Palace of Culture; sport and recreation at the Sports School; and the idea of education and progress at the Rachmaninov school. Here there’s none of that and that would seem to indicate a very late creation of the Soviet era.

Here we have a simple, although spanning multi-storeys, image of a young, blond, blue-eyed woman. She’s dressed in a loose, flowing dress, with very wide sleeves and is barefoot as she walks through the countryside. Perhaps through a wood as the vertical lines behind her could well represent silver birch trees (as seen in some of the mosaics in Bălți). She is surrounded by flower heads and doves and with her arms in the air she might be playing with the birds. This is very reminiscent of ‘flower power’ images of young women of the 1960s. There is some sort of scroll going across her lower body which then swirls around above her head which might be representative of music.

Whilst the other large mosaics in Cahul are on public building this one is on the gable end of an apartment block, very close to the centre of the town. As in other parts of Moldova there isn’t a great deal of respect paid to the past culture as an air conditioning unit invades the edge at the lower right hand side and there is a one storey building, a small shop selling furniture, which cuts across the bottom of the work. It doesn’t look as if the more modern construction has obliterated anything important but it does make it impossible to see any possible signature and/or date – which would normally be placed at the bottom corner of such a mosaic.

Location:

Strada Mihai Eminescu near the junction with Strada Ștefan cel Mare

GPS;

45.90729 N

28.18979 E

Kindergarten

The last example of this Soviet-era art in Cahul is a number of smaller mosaics which are interspersed around the outside of a large Kindergarten on the northern edge of the town centre.

A number of them appear to be characters that you would see in a circus, dressed as clowns, some of them in very fancy gowns. There is one, which upon first glance is a Christ-like figure but on a closer look you see he is holding a bared sword in both his hands at waist level. Moldova, even in Soviet times, seemed to place Stefan cel Mare into public imagery so it’s possible that is who is represented here. As he was involved in battles against the Ottoman Turks I assume he represents Moldovan nationalism and independence.

When it comes to their physical condition they range from very well preserved to just hanging on by a thread. I didn’t come across any indication of the name/s of the artists or when they might have been placed there.

Unlike the others mosaics in Cahul these are not readily observed from the street. There’s only one that can be seen properly from the street. I was there when the school had closed for the day and was able to walk around the premises and able to see some of those in the best condition which are at the back of the building.

I don’t know if it became quite common to install mosaics on school premises but that’s a possibility – as can be seen by the large mosaic on the wall of the kindergarten in Bălți and also an interesting one on a school in Chișinău.

Location;

Strada Costache Negruzzi at the junction with Strada Mihai Eminescu (just a couple of blocks, along the same road, further north from the Woman with doves and flowers)

GPS;

45.91001 N

28.18882 E

More on Moldova – on the Post-Socialist Countries – Eastern Europe and Asia page

Soviet Mosaics – Bălți – Moldova

VI Lenin and Palace of Culture Mosaic – Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

Soviet Mosaics – Bălți – Moldova

Posted on 28/11/2025 by Michael

Girl drinking from a stream

More on Moldova – on the Post-Socialist Countries – Eastern Europe and Asia page

Soviet-era mosaics in Cahul – Gagauzia

VI Lenin and Palace of Culture Mosaic – Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

Soviet Mosaics – Bălți – Moldova

Below you can find information and images, together with locations, of some of the mosaics (so far identified) in the northern Moldovan city of Bălți.

Lenin Factory

Mosaic on the ‘Lenin Factory’

By far the best mosaic in Bălți, is, unfortunately, season specific – meaning that when the trees are in full leaf it is almost impossible to see it from any distance or to get an idea of its story as the trees are basically a green, blocking curtain. In the winter the conditions aren’t perfect but at least you can get an idea of the images and what they represent.

The mosaic is at the edge of the building fronting on to the main road of what I understand was a factory. Producing what and whether it is still functioning I don’t know. At the top of the mosaic is a large image of Vladimir Ilyich’s face, which is the height of the two top floors of the five storey building. It is a serious and unsmiling image. (I don’t know why but this is the image that is normally presented of the great Communist leader – as if he didn’t know how to have fun. The exception to this (in the images I have had the privilege to have witnessed) is the sculpture outside the factory in Karacharovskaya Street in Moscow – where Vladimir Ilyich is being carried aloft by jubilant workers.)

Below Lenin is a line of five stalwarts, mainstays, of the Socialist Revolution. From left to right we have an older male, armed peasant – perhaps representing those who stormed the Winter Palace in 1917 and initiated the October Revolution; next a Red Navy sailor – possibly from the Cruiser Aurora that fired the shot to begin the attack on Tsarism; in the middle a male Bolshevik, the Communist leadership of the Revolution; followed by a female collective farm worker who is holding a huge sheaf of wheat – this is a very common image to represent collective/State farms in the Soviet Union and also demonstrates the active involvement of women and their role in the construction of Socialism; and, finally, on this row, the image of a male steel worker – representing industrialisation.

This group are, more or less, the height of one floor of the building – as are the next row of five representatives of Socialist construction.

Separated from their comrades above by a row of geometric designs and colourful sunbursts is another group of five. They carry the story of the construction of Socialism forward from the line above.

I’m not exactly sure what the two males on the left represent. I assume engineering and technology, moving on from the heavy industry of the steel worker at the end of the line above. Then we have a contemporary Red Army man, with the Red Star proudly displayed on his helmet. He is followed by a woman holding a glass Erlenmeyer flask (as we have seen before in the mosaic on the Palace of Culture in Ribniţa) – representing the sciences and finally a male who I think represents atomic/space exploration, taking the country into the 21st century.

As far as I could see the mosaic is in an amazingly good condition. I’m assuming this is only by chance and not by any conscious effort on behalf of the Bălți authorities. The trees which effectively hide the mosaic from view in the summer also protect it in the winter. They are not so close as to create a hostile environment in difficult climatic conditions but close enough to provide protection when the conditions become harsh.

Location;

Strada Decebal 13

GPS;

47.76051 N

27.91581 E

Primary school

Primary School Mosaic

This is a one panel mosaic (as opposed to the multi-panels of the kindergarten in Cahul) which provides a colourful backdrop to the play area of the children of this small school close to the centre of Bălți.

What we have is a young girl skipping on the left hand side and a boy and a girl building a structure with wooden building blocks on the right. This small group is surrounded by geometric designs to add more colour to the art work.

Apart from a missing panel (on the bottom left) and a black graffiti scrawl below the skipping girl the mosaic seems to be in a good condition.

Location;

Mikai Eminescu Primary School, Strada Pushkin 27-29

GPS;

47.75667 N

27.91924 E

Bus station

Bus station Mosaic

I’ll never understand why so much infrastructure in the previous Soviet Republics was just left to go to rack and ruin after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This is the case in Bălți where the bus station is still the arrival/departure point for many parts of the country but the large building, which would have originally provided services for passengers, has been abandoned and concern for the welfare of the passengers has gone with it.

However, even though the building upon which it was placed might be a rotting ruin the mosaic on the façade has fared better. To me we have an abstract representation of some flowers under a large sun with the head of a bird on the right hand side – the beak and an eye all that is depicted. When the building was functioning as designed all passengers going into the building would have passed this mosaic and would have been aware of it. However, now entrance to departing buses is by the road at the left hand side of the building I wouldn’t be surprised if, when asked about the art work the reply would be ‘what mosaic?’

Location;

Strada Stefan cel Mare 2

GPS;

47.76972 N

27.94195 E

Girl in traditional dress

Apartment buildings mosaics

There are a number of mosaics (or fragments of) spread over a large area of housing estates in what is known as District 9 in Bălți so it makes sense to lump them all together.

The first is on the side of a wall which is on the edge of the city on the road that comes south from Chișinău. I’m not sure who the character is supposed to represent but as he is riding the wave over the letters БЭЛЦЪ = Bălți, I assume he is basically saying ‘Welcome to Bălți’.

Welcome to Balti

The next to be found in this area is a few hundred meters up the road in the direction of the bus station. This is of a young woman, in profile, dressed in the traditional folk costume of the region. However, we don’t know the full story of the image. Ceramic tiles were the rendering of choice on these buildings and it was obviously decided that to enhance the location artists would be commissioned to create mosaics from these tiles.

Woman without stork

But all rendering will take a battering from the elements and after the end of central control (and I have no idea of who is responsible for what when it comes to previously state owned properties and now, presumably, privately owned) any repairs to the ends of these buildings do not take into account the work of artists 40 or more years ago. That has meant that repairs are carried out in the cheapest and most effective manner possible which, it seems, doesn’t include ceramic tiles.

Metal workers

As can be seen in the photos the end walls of the buildings were in sections and if one section is causing a leak into the property then its replacement obliterates whatever might have been originally in place. So, in the case of the image of the young women, we don’t know what she is holding or at what she is looking.

Drinking from a stream

Other mosaics in this area have suffered a similar fate by being partially destroyed by renovation and a couple have been hidden by the construction of more modern buildings.

Partly obscured

Update January 2026 – for the mosaics off Nicolae Iorga

Researching for the post on the Cahul mosaics I happened on some pictures and a little more information about the mosaics on the apartment blocks. The photos show two of the mosaics before they were desecrated when maintenance was carried out on the side of the buildings.

Peasant girl with stork

The full picture of the peasant woman allows the viewer to understand the full story. She is sending off a stork carrying grapes. This comes from a 15^th century myth when the Moldovans were at war with the Ottoman Turks. After a long battle the Moldovan army had run out of food so the women back home sent storks with grapes in their beaks to the front and saved their menfolk and allowed them to expel the Turks from Moldovan territory. This stresses the importance of grapes and wine in the Moldovan economy and also referencing the annual migration of storks who nest on high platforms, such as electricity poles and chimneys throughout the country.

Young Pioneers – 01

Young Pioneers – 02

The next is the one is the face of a child. In context (with the whole original design) it is possible to see that the faces are those of the Soviet youth movement, the Young Pioneers – with the splashes of red representing the red scarf and Pioneers wore – together with an image of a silver birch tree. The silver birch was prominent in Slavic mythology and to that base was added resilience and patriotic sacrifice during the Soviet era, especially during the Great Patriotic War.

The other mosaic so far identified in Bălți is at the end of an apartment block just off the main street of Stefan cel Mare, this is one of a girl drinking water from a stream.

The location information below is just approximate but it should get anyone interested more or less to the right place. Just take a look around when you get to the GPS point.

Location;

In apartment complexes fronting on to Strada Nicolae Iorga. There’s one at No 30 (1) and the others are in the complex that is across the road from Plaza shopping centre (2) and another on Strada Stefan cel Mare opposite, more or less, Andy’s Pizza (3)

GPS;

47.75729 N

27.94077 E

47.76321 N

27.94079 E

47.76603 N

27.93663 E

More on Moldova – on the Post-Socialist Countries – Eastern Europe and Asia page

Soviet-era mosaics in Cahul – Gagauzia

VI Lenin and Palace of Culture Mosaic – Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

Posted on 23/11/2025 by Michael

VI Lenin in Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

More on Moldova – on the Post-Socialist Countries – Eastern Europe and Asia page

Soviet Mosaics – Bălți – Moldova

VI Lenin and Palace of Culture Mosaic – Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

The statue of VI Lenin in Ribniţa is located in a square that still bears his name (after all Ribniţa is in Pridnestrovie, a part of the territory that doesn’t want to be dominated by European diktats) in front of the Palace of Culture.

Vladimir Ilych is standing, wearing an open overcoat, the right hand side of which has been caught by the wind. (Quite a few statues of VI Lenin have him depicted with his coat being blown by the wind and I sometimes wonder if his early demise might not have been due to standing outside in adverse weather conditions.) He wears his normal flat cap and his hands are clasped behind his back. A quite informal stance as he looks out over the town and in the general direction of the steel works across the valley. As is, unfortunately, normally the case I have no information about the artist or when the statue was inaugurated.

During the Soviet period this square would have been the most important public space in the town. Outside celebrations of, for example, the anniversary of the October Revolution, would have taken place in the area surrounding his statue and any community events of a city wide importance would have taken place in the building behind him.

Palace of Culture mosaic – Ribniţa – Pridnestrovie

The mosaic, although not ‘overtly’ political (that is, with any representation of past or current Soviet leaders) still makes a political statement. On the left hand side of the huge mosaic you will see representations of science in general (with the atomic symbol) and the electrification of the country (one of the initial aims for Socialism established by Vladimir Ilych in the early days of the revolution) represented by the pylon.

Then we have a representation of the family (indicating stability but not really challenging the bourgeois relationships that were posited by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels); then we have industry – the maquette held aloft – and it’s important to remember that to date Ribniţa is the centre of Pridnestrovie’s steel industry; then there’s chemistry with the woman holding a glass Erlenmeyer flask; next is architecture/building/planning with the image of a street plan; then we have something I’m not sure what it represents, this is a male figure with what looks like sparks coming from his hand (any ideas?).

The two different narratives of the mosaic are separated by a large, oval head and shoulders of a female figure with a smiling face – I’m not sure if this is not to represent Moldovan folk heritage.

The right hand side of the mosaic represents various forms of culture, and also indicating the sort of events that would have taken place in the Palace of Culture. There’s a female violinist and standing behind her a male – this is music and he could possibly be a singer; next is a male with an open book in his left hand and his mouth is open as if he is reciting, he’s also gesticulating as his right arm is outstretched above him – so this is theatre; behind the actor a male stands behind an easel, with a paint brush in his rights hand which is gathering paint from the palette held in his left hand – so here we have the plastic arts; the last figure shown is a seated female figure (in classical dress) – I think she might just represent the artistic Muse in general rather than anything specific.

The extreme right of the image includes a huge bunch of grapes to illustrate the importance of the production of wine in the country – something which is obvious if you travel out of the main cities and pass vast areas of vines – and finally a factory belching out smoke. At the time of the production of this mosaic chimneys belching out smoke were considered a sign of progress and industrialisation. Images of factories from Britain, for example, during the hey days of the industrial revolution often showed such images (although often with a reference to Hell) and the Soviet Union was seeking to reach the same level of industrial production. In hindsight, whether such a policy was the best is, perhaps, questionable. However, these smoking chimneys reference steel production in Ribniţa.