May 1 is a holiday in many countries around the world and is known as Labor and Spring Day in present Russia. In the USSR it was celebrated as International Workers Day.

May 1, 1886, socialist, communist and anarchist organizations in the U.S. and Canada staged a series of rallies and demonstrations. May 4, 1886, six people were killed when the police broke up one of these demonstrations in Chicago.

If you have worked well – you will have good rest

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Tags: posters · propaganda · Soviet past

August 19, 1963 – the first cosmonauts of the world: Yuri Gagarin, Alexei Leonov, Boris Volynov, Victor Gorbatko.

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Tags: Soviet past

Currently this place is known as the All-Russian Exhibition Centre – exhibition complex in the northeast region of Moscow, the second largest exhibition center in Moscow. In Soviet times, this complex was known as the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy of the USSR.

Since 1967, the latest models of Soviet space technology were exhibited in a special pavilion “Space”. It was the pride of Soviet science and technology. These pictures were taken by Rob Ketcherside in 1969 at the peak of interest in space travel. The photos were originally published in sovietdetstvo

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Tags: Moscow city · Soviet past

The Soviet Union was spending most of its budget on various military purposes, sometimes creating projects with incredible technical characteristics.

In 1987, ekranoplan (ground effect aircraft) “Lun” was constructed – the first aircraft of the series of military missile-carrying ekranoplans weighing 400 tons.

It was armed with three pairs of cruise missiles. Volley of four such missiles is enough to destroy any ship, including the aircraft carrier.

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Tags: Soviet past

“One cowboy, two cowboy” is a Soviet animated film released in 1981. Director: Anatoliy Reznikov. Screenwriter: Arkadiy Khait.

The main characters are a cowboy and his cow. It is one of the classic Soviet cartoons. Almost all children in the Soviet Union saw it.

Tags: cartoon · Soviet past

Soviet moviegoer in the 1920ies, during the NEP (the New Economic Policy), was able to watch a lot of not only Soviet, but also foreign films. As a rule, it was purely entertaining films, ideological films were not the biggest part of all the films, as it became later.

The movie posters of these years are of great interest. It was a continuous celebration of avant-gardism, endless experiment with colors, shapes, images. This flashy language of bright colors was coming into collision with the black-and-white world of the silver screen. Pictures by visualhistory

The Battleship Potemkin

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Tags: posters · Soviet past

Immediately after the October Revolution, the Soviet government took control of the fashion. In general, the changes occurred mostly in women’s fashion. Clothing was unpretentious, simpler than in the days of the Russian Empire. The woman was to look like as a citizen (“tovarisch”), who can “build” socialism.

However, during the Khrushchev thaw (late 1950s – 1960s), due to more openness in Soviet society, the western style in fashion began to spread. This catalog, published by Leningrad fashion house (Saint Petersburg today) in 1957, gives an idea of this time. Pictures by visualhistory

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city · Soviet past

The pioneer camps in the USSR were educational and health institutions for pioneers of the Soviet Union Pioneer Organization named after Lenin and schoolchildren (7 to 15 years) organized usually during the school holidays by trade unions, the Communist Youth League, economic organizations, collective farms, and so on.

About 40,000 suburban pioneer camps for 10 million children were open in the USSR. The following unique photos were collected in pioneer camps that had been abandoned after the collapse of the USSR by Denis Spirin

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Tags: Soviet past

There is a widespread belief that Stalin’s Soviet Union was a country almost completely closed to foreigners. However, advertising of “Intourist” (organization responsible for foreign tourism in the USSR) created in 1930ies, gives somewhat different look at the issue.

The country was in desperate need of foreign currency for industrialization, so all the ways to lure wealthy foreign tourists to the USSR were used. And it was not just about the major cities – Moscow and Leningrad.

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Tags: posters · propaganda · Soviet past

“Deep blue sea, light white foam” is a Soviet (Armenfilm) animated short captured by Robert Sahakyants in 1984. It is a musical fantasy on the themes of Armenian folk tales.

In spite of an ancient story, the cartoon is full with allusions to the modern realities. It is especially relevant in the contemporary Russian realities where the main values of many people are only money and power.

Tags: cartoon · Soviet past