I find it unbelievable that such an important era in modern history doesn't recieve any whs whatsoever. The only closest thing I found on the list was the Lenin Masuleum, which is included only because it happens to stand at the Red Square. Communist architecture is prominent in ex-Communist countries (as well as in still-Communist ones). I find it odd that such countries prefer to document their distant past but forget the closer one. I understand that for some this nearer history was a traumatic experience but yet it is an important part of their past and it deserves to be remembered.

I have two suggestions in this array:

Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin:
This used to be the main boulevard of East Berlin and was built from scratch after WWII in the Stalinist Baroque style (Wedding Cake style). It is already portected but not even on the tentative list.

Soviet WWII Monuments in Berlin:
During the Communist regime in Eastern Germany the Russians used their influence to enforce the construction of no less than three gigantic military monuments in East Berlin. These are good instances of Stalinist realism and represent many such similar monuments of the Communism. According to an agreement between Germany and Russia these sites are now protected, but again they are not on the tentative list.

Yes it is amazing isn't it. However I would suggest the Moscow Metro as the "representative" site for Communism - or at least a few of the (more spectacular??)stations. This is a fine engineering creation in its own right and says a lot about the idealism and the propaganda as well as the often awful reality of Slave labour and Stalin's power.

What about Pyonyang? This city features a number of Communist architecture sites par excellence. The problem is that no country could possibly support such a nominations due to political issues.

Among my "lists" I collect "Mausolea of Dictators" - there are a surprising number around the world - in fact one wonders sometimes if you have to have been a dictator to justify a Mausoleum!! The enormous one of Kim Il Sung is in Pyongyang is one of the most amazing visit experiences in the world and should not be missed by anyone - having to bow 4 times towards his embalmed body and once at his statue is a small price to pay for it! (oh and wear a tie and smart shirt!). Similarly the "Social Realist" statues in that city and elsewhere in DPRK are wonderful exaamples of that art form.

But seriously. Stalinist Wedding cake architecture and "Social Realist" war memorials are both interesting and worthwhile examples of "World Heritage". But are they likely to be among the "Top 50" of uninscribed sites and are those of Berlin the "best" examples? We are beginning to have to wrestle with the same issues as the WHC for instance as between "representative sites" and "the best of the best". So, reluctantly at the moment, my position is that these are intereresting and worthwhile suggestions and I would not be against such an entry but question both whether it would fit into the top 50 and whether these are the best of the best. I know that Ulbricht and Honecker often "out-Sovieted" the Soviets but I would have thought that we should look to the home of these styles if we are to list them. If we are to have in the 50 perhaps it should be a town such as Volgograd with its Statue of Mother Russia. Because of the WWII destruction this town is "Pure Soviet"

I accept Solivagent's arguments. There could be more than one inscription for Communist sites by the way.

I have a fair few concerns about this proposal, I see that a few of them have been addressed since the first recommendation, the concept of there being such a thing as 'communist architecture' is something that would require a fair bit of grappling.

In terms of the big Communist memorials then perhaps there is something to be said in its favour, as these are essentially what triumphal arches were in the roman world. The Mother Russia memorial in Vologograd nee Stalingrad would probably be the pick of the bunch.

There are also the large scale Monumental Palaces of the People, To mind the best examples (shamefully this is mostly limited to Europe due to my lack of knowledge of communist planning in other continents) of these buildings would be The Palace of Arts in Warsaw and the Palace of the People in Bucharest (I may be wrong with the precise names). I would certainly not recommend Bucharest be put forward and would doubt the merits of the Warsaw case being in the 'Top 50 missing sites'.

In terms of schools of architecture that have a communist heritage then the main examples would be the Russian Constructivist (Futurist) school, the most famous examples being Rusakov Workers Club, Shukhov Tower and the Narkonfin Building of which the latter two are in danger of being ripped down and especially in the case the Narkonfin Building UNESCO would jump at the opportunity to protect it, but I would be hesitant to put these forward as part of the top 50.

In terms of town planning a lot of the aspects of the ground works are derived from 'non-communist sources' perhaps broadly designated as socialist or egalitarian schools. This would incorporate things such as the Bauhaus but more importantly the Berlin housing estates, which are currently on the tentative list. Similarly the industry/ housing relationship solutions are partially shown in the tentative Czech site of Ostrava but again neither of these are good enough to be in the 'top 50'.

As for Karl Marx Allee I really wouldn't say this was really worthy for consideration, despite the Stalinist - Baroque styling and I wouldn't put it as part of the 50 most important sites not on the list.

I would suggest Volgagrad - Mother Russia. I think it is something we can (all?) agree on as representing Soviet aesthetics.