Soviet war in Afghanistan through the soldiers’ eyes
26 years ago, on February 15, 1989, Soviet troops pulled out of Afghanistan, nine years after they swept into the country. Part of the Cold War, it was fought between Soviet-led Afghan forces against...
View ArticleWeird Names of Soviet Children
In Soviet Russia, officials encouraged parents naming their children “revolutionary names”. These unusual names were usually constructed of names and slogans of revolutionary leaders. Even though names...
View ArticleSpace Exploration Illustrated by Soviet Satirical Artists
In Russia and many former soviet republics, Cosmonautics Day has been celebrated each April 12 since the 1961 flight of Yuri Gagarin on that date. His flight inspired millions of Soviets. The...
View ArticleSoviet Brutalist Architecture Photographed by Frederic Chaubin
When one thinks of something fascinating, Soviet brutalist architecture does not come to mind. However, Frédéric Chaubin’s remarkable photographs, published under the curious title “CCCP: Cosmic...
View ArticleYoung Pioneer Organization of the USSR
On 19 May 1922, All-Union Pioneer Organization was founded. The origin of the Pioneer movement comes from Scouting. In 1917, there was a relatively extensive network of children’s scout organizations...
View ArticleMuseum of Soviet Arcade Machines
The museum of Soviet Arcade Machines has branches in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. The museum offers a unique exhibition of more than 30 mid-1980s arcade machines, including: “Battleship”, “Safari”,...
View ArticleSoviet Woman from 2061: Sci-Fi Art Contest
Thirty years ago, Soviet television miniseries Guest from the Future, based on science fiction novel by Kir Bulychov, was aired on TV. The series starred Natalya Guseva as Alisa Selezneva, a girl from...
View Article“Music on Bones”: Bootlegged Music in Soviet Russia Was Pressed on X-rays
Before the availability of the tape recorder and during the 1950s, Young Soviet “stilyagi” (hipsters) of the 1940s-50s would distribute banned music (including jazz) on bootlegged records made from...
View ArticleDavid Bowie on a tour of the Soviet Union in 1973
In 1973, David Bowie traveled to the Soviet Union. Since he was afraid to fly, he was returning from Japanese tour to England by trans-Siberian express “Vladivostok – Moscow”. There’s an interesting...
View ArticleSoviet Russia, As Seen By Photographer Vladimir Sokolaev
What’s the opposite of nostalgia? Remorse, maybe? Well, that is what Vladimir Solovev had captured; not so bright side of the Soviet era. Well-known documentary photographer in the 80-ties, Solovev was...
View ArticleMuhammad Ali in the Soviet Union, 1978
In May 1978, Moscow was preparing for 1980 Summer Olympics. The Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Dobrynin proposed to invite the famous athlete and world boxing champion Muhammad Ali, to the...
View ArticlePhotographs of the Soviet Russia from the Archive of the University of Virginia
An interesting archive of color photographs of Soviet life, is available on the server of the University of Virginia. Today, we brought to your attention the photo, that was captured in the summer of...
View ArticleSovietpunk – Cyberpunk with a Soviet Twist
Imagine if Soviet Union won Cold War, what would cyberpunk look like in such a world? This is what Redditors are visualizing in their new subreddit called Sovietpunk. While some photographs are real...
View ArticleOne Minute Before Sunset: Nostalgic Video Project of “Massfilm Production”
Russian video agency “Massfilm Production” published a video, where the old neon signs of Novosibirsk were lit up again. Once neon signs created a special atmosphere and were part of the visual...
View ArticleMay Day celebration, Lvov, Ukrainian SSR, 1968
Since 1992, May Day is officially called “The Day of Spring and Labor”, and remains a major holiday in present-day Russia.
View ArticleSwimming Leonid Brezhnev
In the ’70s, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev used to swim in the pool regularly, marking the distance of at least 1 km. His bodyguards; the KGB officers of the 9th KGB Directorate, had to swim alongside...
View ArticleSoviet McDonald’s
In Soviet Russia, employees of the first McDonald’s got these pins from the store management. First McDonald’s opened in Moscow in 1990, and here are some images how insane it all was. via pikabu.ru
View ArticleThe short history of drunk tanks – sobering centers
In 1904, the first drunk tank (sobering center for drunks) was opened in Tula. It was called very romantically “Shelter for intoxicated”. Drunk tanks were widespread all over the Soviet Union. From...
View ArticleDid Apple use Soviet architecture designs?
Many people in Russia ask themselves if Apple employees used Soviet architecture designs for its stores. The similarity is undeniable. Some even joke that “In the USSR, they were successful with time...
View ArticleAbandoned Young Pioneer camps
In Soviet times, there were a colossal number of Young Pioneer camps all over the Soviet Union; 40,000 to be exact. In the early 90s, after the collapse of the USSR, the camps were abandoned and it...
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