Frank Herfort is fascinated by the uniquely shaped buildings that have seemed to sprout from the ground since the end of the Soviet era.

Some of the German photographer's images of these eye-catching structures are published in his new book, "Imperial Pomp: Post-Soviet High-Rise." [...]

"I want to show the reputation there, the power," he said. "It's also a signal of the new Russian time." — CNN Photos

Renowned British architect Norman Foster has resigned from a proposed expansion to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.

In a statement released on Thursday, Foster + Partners claimed it had formally resigned from the project more than two months ago.

In 2009, the Russian government approved Foster's plans and agreed a sum of $650m (£415m) to modernise and expand the museum.

But the project subsequently stalled. — bbc.co.uk

It may seem surprising that a Canadian was chosen to design a Russian state-funded match for the historic Mariinsky Theatre. Gergiev, general and artistic director of the theatre, visited Diamond’s Four Seasons Centre, home of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, and was wowed. When Gergiev and Diamond met for dinner the following year, the two saw eye to eye on everything from acoustics to street continuity. — music.cbc.ca

The Russian avant-garde architect Konstantin Melnikov’s seminal cylindrical house in Moscow, which has inspired architects around the world for nearly a century, is gravely threatened by construction of a large multipurpose complex abutting its tiny backyard, Russian and international preservationists say. — artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com

Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” is the result. — nytimes.com

"But now the Olympics is hell for me and for everyone who lives along this street. It is hell and we feel very bitter towards the government. Even if it is prestigious for the country to host the Games it is a calamity, a real calamity." — BBC News

The house is still inhabited by Viktor's daughter, Ekaterina Karinskaya. Ever since Viktor died in 2006, there have been plans to turn the building into a museum, but a family dispute involving Ms Karinskaya, her sister, the Moscow government and a multi-millionaire has meant that no progress has been made.

Preservationists say a nearby construction site has caused the foundations of the Melnikov House to be put in danger. — independent.co.uk

Grimshaw Architects reveals an interesting glimpse of the massive construction going on at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia. Back in 2007, Grimshaw had won the competition for a new combined international and domestic terminal designed for 17 million passengers a year. The building is scheduled for completion in December 2013. — bustler.net

A towering beacon of pink mirrored glass has overtaken the Shard to become the tallest building in Europe. Moscow's Mercury City tower, which topped out on Thursday, now rises to 339m, making it 29m taller than London's own crystalline pyramid.

The building joins a motley cluster in the emerging Moscow International Business Centre, a $12bn complex initiated by former mayor Yuri Luzhkov as a playground for rival oligarchs to demonstrate their penile might. — guardian.co.uk

Led by Architekturzentrum Wien director Dietmar Steiner, the curators traveled around the former Soviet Union over a three-year period in search of their often elusive and quickly decaying subjects. Focusing on the former republics—from Estonia to Belarus, Armenia to Uzbekistan—they interviewed the still-living actors of the time and foraged in bookshops for archive material. They eventually uncovered major Soviet typologies... — online.wsj.com

Skywalking basically involves a photographer making his way up to a death-defying height, and snapping a photo that’s meant to give you both a perspective you’ve never seen before, and that feeling like your stomach just made its way into your throat. — petapixel.com

“These churches must become not only a decoration of our city, but truly a phenomenon of civic and church art of our 21st century,” said Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, the executive secretary of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, at a news conference. “They must become a kind of pearl of ancient tradition, uniting historic Moscow with its new districts and buildings.” He said the terms of the competition would be announced by the end of the year. — theartnewspaper.com

Russia is to build an ultra-modern city on a frozen island deep inside the Arctic Circle - in the Kremlin's latest move to back its claim to vast oil and gas reserves under the polar ice cap.

Named Umka, after a popular Soviet polar bear cub cartoon hero, the initial 5,000 residents will live under a vast dome to protect themselves from temperatures sinking below minus 30C in winter. — dailymail.co.uk