Photographer captures the extraordinary bus stops of the old Soviet empire

Bus stops are generally utilitarian pieces of public infrastructure, but in the former Soviet Union, they're works of art. There are pyramids, arches, domes and other elaborate shapes. The designs vary from region to region; painted bus stops rule in Belarus, while in Kyrgyzstan there are structures shaped like the country's high-crowned kalpak hats.

It took Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig twelve years to capture hundreds of bus stops during which he travelled to 14 countries and covered more than 30,000 kilometers by bus, bike, car and cab. These photos have now been assembled into a beautiful photobook, titled Soviet Bus Stops.

"From the shores of the Black Sea to the endless Kazakh steppe, these extraordinary bus stops show the range of public art from the Soviet era and give a rare glimpse into the creative minds of the time. The book represents the most comprehensive and diverse collection of Soviet bus stop design ever assembled from: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus."

[h/t: The Guardian]