I find great pleasure in looking at the faces of people from the days long gone. Reading the fine lines is like trying to map out the events that took place before we were even born — or were too far away from where it happened. Please enjoy a fine collection of the images below — some are just regular faces in the crowd, some were the mighty lot. Click on the pictures to see the larger images and as always — spread the word!
Queen of Belgium, Moscow 1962
Let those people cross: respect the pedestrians
As the Soviet Union could possibly be named the country of propaganda, this array of fun educational posters only supports this notion — albeit this time in quite a positive sense. A Ukrainian authorship of the road rules and safety in a funky and engaging manner teaches drivers to give way to pedestrians, respect the zero tolerance limit, reminds of the school zone rules as well as the necessity to get the car checked regularly. Possibly kitschy, but it does get the message across. Enjoy!
You’re in the army now
The compulsory two years of military service was a rite of passage for every Soviet guy. When one turned eighteen — unless for sickness or injury — it was time to be called in for the military life — two years in the barracks. The guys usually bonded well and during their spare time created so called “Discharge Albums” — like scrapbooks, they were full of photos, songs lyrics, quick notes from the buddies etc.
The only person to escape the Iron Curtain by swimming.
By job he was an oceanographer, by heart he was a dreamer, by nationality he was a citizen of the planet Earth — in short, he was an extraordinary guy. Yet his personal file in the USSR was stamped as “not worthy of an exit visa” so he was not allowed to leave the country, even if it was for a holiday. So in December, 1974 he jumped a cruise boat “The Soviet Union” off the coast of the Philippines islands — and he swam to freedom.With no food or drink, no swimming equipment apart from flips and goggles, he swam to the shores about a hundred kilometers for three days — completely alone at sea.
Museum, Moscow, 1960s
This is our third post devoted to Marc Riboud, an outstanding French photographer, who traveled extensively throughout the Soviet Union. His images captured an array of everyday life episodes from the lives of the Soviet people. Here is the first lot — and here is the second one. As always, click on the magnifying glass icon to see the photos in detail.
Moscow, 1960s
This is our fourth post devoted to Marc Riboud, an outstanding French photographer, who traveled extensively throughout the Soviet Union. His images captured an array of everyday life episodes from the lives of the Soviet people. As always, click on the magnifying glass icon to see the photos in detail.
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Screenshot of the game
It took us almost two weeks to get this done, but finally it’s here for you — the geography darts “How well you know the USSR”? The trivia would range from what the capital of the USSR was to the place which was called “the ice curtain” on the border of the US and Russia. There are 36 questions altogether, they vary in difficulty and pop in random order. You get to save your high score and compare it with other players including the USSR team. We had a trial run yesterday and so far the map has been viewed more than 17 000 times, and it’s still early!
Do switch to the FULL SCREEN MODE by clicking the square icon and then drag around — Russia is a big country, it helps a lot.
Re-tweet, let us know what you think — and thanks for being such a wonderful crowd. More to come — stay tuned!