V. Ilyichyova, an employee of a glass ornament factory, with the new Sputnik ornament. Photo by A. Cheprunov, D. Sholomovich (1959)
Petrovsky Passage store decorated for New Year. Photo by A. Agapov (Moscow, 1955).
Snow in Kazan. Photo by Rustam Mukhametzyanov (USSR, 1967).
Sledding in the Fili park. Photo by Viktor Akhlomov (Moscow, Jan. 1972).
Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) at the New Year ornament department of Detsky Mir (Children's World) store in Moscow, 1967
"A Bit of Sports of Various Sorts" by E. Polonskaya, illustrated by M. Razulevich (USSR, 1930)
Photo by Sergey Pokalyakin
Window shopping at the Children's World store (Moscow, 1987)
Date night at the club (Stavropol Krai, Russia, 1956)
Winter in Dudinka, North of Russia (1979)
Father and son having lunch at a construction site on Komsomolsky Prospekt. Photo by Yuri Abramochkin (Moscow, 1965).
New models of cotton padded jackets for countryside workers. Photo by Valentin Khukhlayev (1953).
People of the 15 Soviet republics greet the guests of the Moscow Olympic Games (1980)
In the dining hall. Photo by Valery Usmanov (Moscow, 1977).
Anonymous asked:
It seems wild to me that Elton John was allowed to perform in USSR?
It was wild for sure! I looked it up, it's such an interesting historical event (and I do love Elton John). Some interesting facts:
- Apparently the person who invited EJ to the USSR and made it all happen was a nephew of Aleksey Kosygin (then the Premier of the USSR). Elton did want to visit the USSR and asked the embassy about it, but I'm sure that a big name would have to be involved to bypass the bureaucracy machine.
- Elton gave eight concerts in total, four in Moscow and four in Leningrad. The bulk of the tickets in Moscow were distributed among nomenklatura. There was no free sale of tickets. Some tickets were privately exchanged for luxury goods like Armenian cognac or fur coats. A small fraction of tickets was available on the black market, and the price was as high as a month's salary (100-150 roubles). In Leningrad the ticket situation was a little easier (less nomenklatura in the city), but the demand was crazy. Fans flooded the city. People signed up through designated social Soviets and queued for days (and nights) in advance to have a chance at buying a ticket.
- Elton brought 11 tonnes of equipment. Such quality of light and sound was unfamiliar to the Soviet people. He also brought along 30 journalists.
- Here's the film about EJ's visit. And here's an audio record of one of the Moscow concerts (it was released in 2019).
Testing of the Ural electronic computer produced by the Penza plant "SAM". Photo by Sigismund Kropivnitsky (Penza, USSR, 1957).