I Have Occasionally Seen,

photographs similar to these,

 over the years,

 just one popping up here and there,

 but this is the first time I recollect so many in one place,

 there are all photographs,

 taken by Christopher Herwig,

 who traveled to 15 cities in 7 countries and taking over 15,000 photographs,

 some of which were  published in a new book that showcases the diverse architecture of underground metro station in the former U.S.S.R.

he has a background in travel photography and documentary work for UNICEF and other United Nations agencies, Herwig was first introduced to the region while traveling through Russia via train, He later lived in Kazakhstan and most recently Jordan, where he continued to work professionally as a photographer, Herwig explains that he became interested in the underground architecture of the stations while visiting Moscow and Tashkent, because many of the metro stations were used as nuclear bomb shelters, they were considered military sites and photographing them was prohibited,

Soviet Metro Stations, published by FUEL, lands on September 24 and is available for pre-order today via Amazon, to see more of Christopher Herwig’s photography, follow along with his travels on Instagram, it seems amazing that something as utilitarian as a tubestation should be so decorated and ornate, but there it is.