Soviet Sgraffito

The tall residential blocks near the city center display exterior walls covered in deep, multicolored plaster layers carved into bold geometric and figurative patterns. This is sgraffito, a decorative technique where artists scratch through wet, contrasting coats of colored mortar to reveal the designs underneath. During the nineteen seventies and eighties, Soviet architects used these massive panels to depict idealized scenes of regional harvest and industry. Most of these intricate murals remain, though the colors have faded under the bright central Asian sun.