Telecommunications mosaic – Chișinău – Moldova

Posted on 05/05/2026 by Michael

Telecommunications

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Telecommunications mosaic – Chișinău – Moldova

This is a relatively small mosaic which is on the side wall of the building that is now the HQ of Moldtelecom but which, during Soviet times, was the home of the Ministry of Communications for the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic and the Central Post Office.

The theme of the image is unity and connectivity – not just local but international. In the background you have the globe superimposed upon which is a jet liner and a couple of dial telephones.

Behind the telephones is a hand and this suggests the idea of hands around the world, a term which would have been more in use when the mosaic was created than it is, perhaps now, in the 21st century. This unity/connectivity also has reference to the international aspect of Soviet Socialism. And that ‘movement’ of connectivity is displayed by the horizontal lines which indicate a spinning, dynamic world.

The top, left hand corner is dominated by an image of a communications satellite, which would have represented cutting edge technology at the time.

There’s no reference to postal services with, for example, an image of an envelope, which is slightly surprising as the building was also the Central Post Office when the mosaic was created. This would seem to indicate that the remit was to represent ‘modern’ technology – which in 1967 would have meant telecommunications, with the new satellites but primarily via cable.

One thing this mosaic – which doesn’t effect in the same way most of the other mosaics in the country – demonstrates is the ‘sell by date’ of technology. Many of the younger (and perhaps the not so younger) people who pass by this mosaic wouldn’t have a clue what the little boxy items with a circle with dots are in the image – unless they had happened to have noticed them during a visit to a museum.

Although on a busy road this mosaic is one that is easy to miss. During the working day the hustle and bustle of the market would distract as some of the more informal, ‘goods laid out on a tarmac on the ground’ type of market stalls are immediately in front and below of the image.

Artists;

Mikhail Burya and Nikolai Kotsofan

Created;

1967

Location;

On Strada Tighina, close to the junction with Stefan cel Mare si Sfant Boulevard, in the Central Market area.

GPS;

47.01760 N

28.84441 E

How to get there;

The mosaic is on the right hand side as you go down Strada Tighina towards the central bus station.

Telecommunications mosaic - Chișinău - Moldova

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Colonnade mosaics – Lake Valae Morilor – Chișinău – Moldova

Posted on 03/05/2026 by Michael

Colonnade mosaics, Valae Morilor

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Colonnade mosaics – Lake Valae Morilor – Chișinău – Moldova

On entering the park of Lake Valae Morilor at its western entrance, coming from the centre of Chişinău, visitors pass by low buildings on either side which are fronted by a neoclassical colonnade. However, if people are in a rush in getting to the lake and going down the Cascade Staircase (an impressive 218 granite steps) they are in danger of missing a series of 12 mosaic panels which are installed above the windows of these one storey buildings.

They depict activities that used to (and probably still do) take place in and around the lake; skating, cycling, running, canoeing, traditional folk dancing, playing a Moldavian fluier (a long, narrow, wind instrument which is/was a traditional instrument of shepherds), playing a violin/fiddle, rowers, relay running and cross country skiing.

Unfortunately, they haven’t been cared for and a few have a few chucks of the mosaic missing and the surrounding plaster work is also stating to crumble.

Some background to the lake and park

It was originally called the Central Park of Culture and Rest of the Leninist Komsomol and was established in 1950. The lake was dug by young Soviet volunteers of the Komsomol, completed in 1952 and so was named Komsomolskoye Ozero (Komsomol Lake).

[If you go to the Valae Morilor Lake don’t forget to make a visit to the Lenin, Marx and Dimitrov monument at the far side of the park from the granite steps – near the exhibition area.]

Artist;

Alexander Kuzmin

Architects;

V. Novikov and F. Nutovich

Created;

Mid-1960s

Location;

At the top of the Cascade Staircase at the eastern entrance to Valae Morilor Lake; right next to the bus stops on Alexei Mateevici Street and just across the road from the State University of Moldova.

GPS:

47.01847 N

28.82253 E

How to get there;

The park and lake are only a short walk westwards from the Fine Arts Gallery and the National History Museum.

Colonnade mosaics, Valae Morilor, Chisinau, Moldova

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Soviet-era mosaics in Cahul – Gagauzia

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Central bus station waiting room mosaic – Chișinău – Moldova

Posted on 03/05/2026 by Michael

Central bus station waiting room

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Soviet-era mosaics in Cahul – Gagauzia

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Central bus station waiting room mosaic – Chișinău – Moldova

I’ve seen this mosaic referred to with two different names. The first is ‘The City is flourishing and being built’ and the second is ‘Hospitable Moldova’. It covers the whole wall at one end of the waiting room of Chișinău’s main bus station. There’s quite a bit going on here; a family is meeting visitors at the bus station; people working in construction; students going to school/college; musicians getting together; an electrician going up a pylon; a woman standing on a balcony outside her flat; a welder with his welding helmet; all with the background of a modern city in the process of being built.

The background is what is normally recognised as a mosaic but the people are depicted in a relief format, giving the image a 3D effect. There are also large flower images with a much deeper relief which provide colour to the the image. This produces an effect similar to the mosaic on the outside wall of the bus station in Bălți.

On the opposite wall (reached by stairs by one of the side entrances to the waiting room) there are more large and colourful relief mosaics, this time of large flowers and some geometric designs – but without any people.

When the mosaic was first installed it would have been possible to have seen it in full but commercialisation has meant that small shops have now been constructed in the waiting room space and they go right up to the wall on both sides so its no longer possible to see it as was originally intended.

All Soviet art works are now ‘vulnerable’, especially in a country like Moldova where there is a scramble from the ‘pro-Westerners’ in positions of power to ingratiate themselves with the European Union and hence to be able to feed at the same trough as the other bureaucrats. Although there are efforts to preserve these works of art throughout the country it appears that this particular mosaic might be under some threat. This is a prime location and there might be plans for a major commercial development of the market area and demotion might be on the cards.