That's interesting that Soviet era buildings there have a reputation for being grand outside. In Prague, buildings built in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic era have a (well-deserved, IMO) reputation for being brutish, simply, and inelegantly built on the outside, especially as compared to the beautiful buildings from the earlier eras.
I mean those specific buildings on Frankfurter Tor look good, not Soviet[0] in general. I think it was where they were showing off, just like the TV tower in Alexanderplatz.
[0] DDR? I’m not actually sure who made the decision, now I think about it
