Stalin's Gift to Latvia (32/100)

On the scale of horrible things Stalin did, consigning Eastern European cities to look at these ugly buildings is not too high on the list. But still, this tower, the Latvian Academy of Sciences, is not the favorite piece of architecture of many Rigans. It is sometimes known as "the Kremlin" and is a little smaller but very similar to seven such towers in Moscow, as well as others in Warsaw and Kiev (we hear). This picture doesn't really give a sense of how big it is, but does give a sense of how out-of-place it is. There are no other skyscrapers in this neighborhood, or any other skyscrapers from this era in the whole city.