Instituts Scientifiques Soviétiques

Un voyage à travers le temps, l'espace et la science.

Au cours des cent dernières années, la science et la technologie ont profondément transformé nos sociétés. L'URSS était sans doute le pays le plus exalté par le pouvoir de la science, allant jusqu'à l'irrationalité. Les Soviétiques ont promu le culte de la science comme un outil idéologique visant à supplanter la religion et à moderniser rapidement le pays. L'URSS a dépensé sans compter pour construire des machines toujours plus grandes et plus sophistiquées, jusqu'à devenir une superpuissance technologique. Ces mondes utopiques de la modernité soviétique se concrétisaient dans des projets mobilisant jusqu'à plusieurs milliers de chercheurs. La science se développait, mais les travaux de recherche, destinés principalement à l'armée, étaient menés à huis clos dans une atmosphère de secret absolu.

Le statut des scientifiques, autrefois prestigieux, a radicalement changé après l’effondrement du système. Pendant les bouleversements des années 1990, les instituts ont été pratiquement abandonnés, privés de tout financement. Les salaires extrêmement bas — parfois de seulement 5 dollars par mois — ont entraîné une désillusion et une fuite des cerveaux. Malgré les difficultés auxquelles ils sont toujours confrontés, certains scientifiques résistent et consacrent leur vie à sauver leurs installations et à poursuivre leurs recherches — même en temps de guerre.

Synchrotron, laboratoire de haute tension, réacteur de recherche nucléaire, radiotélescope, cyclotron, stellarator… Ces installations monumentales semblent tout droit sorties des pages d’une bande dessinée ou des œuvres d’auteurs de science-fiction tels que Jules Verne et H. G. Wells. Leurs gigantesques panneaux de commande et leurs mécanismes mystérieux témoignent de notre incessante quête de savoir.

« Soviet Scientific Institutes opens a portal into a hidden world where ambition, secrecy, and science intersect. In this striking volume, Eric Lusito documents Soviet-era research facilities across former republics of the USSR, revealing spaces that feel equal parts laboratory, cathedral, and science fiction set. Gigantic control panels, towering telescopes, and enigmatic machinery populate his images, evoking a surreal, almost fantastical vision of Cold War-era ambition. Yet behind the theatrical scale lies a history of real human effort, secrecy, and scientific pursuit. Lusito’s lens captures these spaces with precision and wonder, highlighting the unintentional beauty of complex machinery. His photographs combine documentary rigor with cinematic composition. Soviet Scientific Institutes is more than a photographic record; it is a meditation on ambition and human curiosity. Lusito invites viewers to contemplate the intersections of technology, secrecy, and aesthetics, offering a rare glimpse into a hidden epoch of scientific exploration that continues to resonate today. » — All About Photo « These gigantic facilities radiate a sense of power, whether from the tile murals that speak of colossal revolutionary effort, or the vast analogue control panels that restrained who knows what daunting currents or processes. And without exception, all speak of an eerie sci-fi vision of a future that never came. » — Strong Words Magazine « Lusito’s camera takes us on a fascinating tour. There’s an obvious retro-tinged delight in these images, along with poignant schadenfreude at the combination of misplaced optimism and downright mystery. » — Jonathan Bell, Wallpaper* « Reaching for the stars: enduring symbols of Soviet science – in pictures. The photographer Eric Lusito takes us on a scientific journey through space and time in a book on Soviet scientific institutes. » — The Guardian « Il libro offre un’importante testimonianza storica in merito al sogno tecnologico bolscevico. L’indagine visiva racconta una storia di segretezza e smisurata ambizione, mostrando il ruolo cardine della scienza nel definire l'identità di un intero sistema geopolitico. Uno dei capitoli più interessanti del libro è quello dedicato all'Ucraina, che all'epoca passò nel giro di pochi anni dall'essere l'epicentro delle purghe di Stalin a diventare un polo scientifico strategico per tutta l’URSS. Gli scatti di Lusito e le didascalie a corredo descrivono l’incredibile impegno profuso dai ricercatori contemporanei, che continuano a operare ancora oggi in molte di queste strutture, lavorando anche durante i bombardamenti pur di portare avanti i loro studi. » — SKY Arte
  • Reaching for the stars: enduring symbols of Soviet science – in pictures. The photographer Eric Lusito takes us on a scientific journey through space and time in a book on Soviet scientific institutes. — The Guardian

  • Soviet Scientific Institutes opens a portal into a hidden world where ambition, secrecy, and science intersect. In this striking volume, Eric Lusito documents Soviet-era research facilities across former republics of the USSR, revealing spaces that feel equal parts laboratory, cathedral, and science fiction set. Gigantic control panels, towering telescopes, and enigmatic machinery populate his images, evoking a surreal, almost fantastical vision of Cold War-era ambition. Yet behind the theatrical scale lies a history of real human effort, secrecy, and scientific pursuit. Lusito’s lens captures these spaces with precision and wonder, highlighting the unintentional beauty of complex machinery. His photographs combine documentary rigor with cinematic composition. Soviet Scientific Institutes is more than a photographic record; it is a meditation on ambition and human curiosity. Lusito invites viewers to contemplate the intersections of technology, secrecy, and aesthetics, offering a rare glimpse into a hidden epoch of scientific exploration that continues to resonate today. — All About Photo

  • These gigantic facilities radiate a sense of power, whether from the tile murals that speak of colossal revolutionary effort, or the vast analogue control panels that restrained who knows what daunting currents or processes. And without exception, all speak of an eerie sci-fi vision of a future that never came. — Strong Words Magazine

  • Lusito’s camera takes us on a fascinating tour. There’s an obvious retro-tinged delight in these images, along with poignant schadenfreude at the combination of misplaced optimism and downright mystery. — Jonathan Bell, Wallpaper*

  • Il libro offre un’importante testimonianza storica in merito al sogno tecnologico bolscevico. L’indagine visiva racconta una storia di segretezza e smisurata ambizione, mostrando il ruolo cardine della scienza nel definire l'identità di un intero sistema geopolitico. Uno dei capitoli più interessanti del libro è quello dedicato all'Ucraina, che all'epoca passò nel giro di pochi anni dall'essere l'epicentro delle purghe di Stalin a diventare un polo scientifico strategico per tutta l’URSS. Gli scatti di Lusito e le didascalie a corredo descrivono l’incredibile impegno profuso dai ricercatori contemporanei, che continuano a operare ancora oggi in molte di queste strutture, lavorando anche durante i bombardamenti pur di portare avanti i loro studi. — SKY Arte

Physics World (UK) — La physique en Ukraine : l'effort scientifique survit malgré l'invasion russe Science (US) — Sous les attaques russes, les astronomes ukrainiens se battent pour sauver un observatoire unique Ciel&Espace (Fr) — En Ukraine, le radiotélescope de Kharkiv mutilé par la guerre