‘Komsomol Girl’ mosaic, str. Nicolae Iorga 16, Bălți

A monumental mosaic on the gable end of a Soviet apartment block (bloc locativ) at str. Nicolae Iorga 16, in the central residential cluster of Bălți. The panel, known by its Russian title «Комсомолка» (Komsomol Girl), shows a large striding female figure rendered in terracotta and brick-red tesserae on a granular white field — a sober, almost monochrome image idealising the young Communist woman. The work belongs to the unusually dense group of late-Soviet facade mosaics applied to the gable ends of five-storey ‘Khrushchyovka’ prefab blocks in the central micro-district — a rare concentration, systematically photographed and released under CC0 by the photographer photobankmd. It is distinct from the woman-in-a-headscarf panel on nearby str. Nicolae Iorga 22 (a different building, a different figure). Bălți is Moldova's second city, the ‘northern capital’. The author and year are not documented.

Track

Northern Moldova

Neighborhood

Bălți

Building

Bloc locativ, str. Nicolae Iorga 16, Bălți

Photos: photobankmd (CC0)