The Communal Bridge, back then (late 1970s)

The Communal Bridge, nowadays.

The unofficial capital of Siberia, the city of Novosibirsk was founded in 1893 with the initial population of only 8,000 people. By the time of the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917,  it grew to the population size of 80,000. The name, literally meaning New Siberian City, was adopted in 1926 — and since then, the town had become to grow and prosper.By 1962, Novosibirsk became the youngest city in the world to have the population of 1 million — it only took about 70 years. Now it is an important industrial, cultural and socioeconomic hub of the country.

We realise that today’s post is a little different from our usual format, as the modern pictures of the city are, well, modern and not of the Soviet epoch. It is still nice to see, however, how the city has been changing over the past hundred years — and the old photographs are still full of life and very easy on the eye.

Apartment block nicknamed “The house of porters”. Late 1930s

“The house of porters” now

The Architecture Academy, 1929.

The Architecture Academy now.

The Train Terminal. Early 1930s.

The Train Terminal nowadays.

Now the three images of the City Trade Complex.

Back in those days, the city was called Novo-Nikolaevsk

The City Trade Complex in late 1920s

The Labour Day Parade, 1938.

Still one of the prettiest buildings around.

The Siberian Military HQ. 1940s = please note the horse carriage.

The Siberian Military HQ building, now.

Stalin Street (later renamed as Lenin St). 1938.

Lenin St Now.

Another view of then-Stalin St. Please note the green building of the Opera and Ballet Theatre.

A modern close up of the Opera and Ballet Theatre — it is the largest theatre of the kind in Europe.

The city centre. Note the parking lot for the coachmen.

The same street photographed from a similar spot much later — a modern photo.

And finally some shots of the main street of Novosibirsk — the Krasnyi (“Red”) Road.

1927.

Exactly the same spot — now

The house of the merchant Mashtakov. Late 1920s.

The house of the merchant Mashtakov nowadays.

1960s

1960–1965

The Krasnyi Road now.

Most images are courtesy of Egor Egoshin, and we are very grateful for that.

Related posts:

1. Best of Winter 2009–2010
2. How Khrushchev Had Killed the “Vampire”
3. May, 1st: Soviet Labour Day.

The great shortage of almost everything required for normal well being was one of the most distinguished features of the Soviet economy. Surely, there was food, clothes and some cosmetic goods in the Soviet shops in 1950s-1970s but the variety was incredibly poor.

However, the philosophy was that the Soviet people were used to comparing their life standards with the ones of the Second World War – so any small-time luxury was very warmly welcomed. Being a nation of plain tastes, the Soviet people were happy to be buying things made in the USSR – they understood that even not so long before, it was impossible.

Many people still associate the fragrance “Red Moscow” with their childhood. All women, especially those who wanted to be elegant, were in love with this perfume.  “Red Moscow”, created exclusively for the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1913, had quickly become a tremendous success both in Russia and abroad. Henri Brocard, the owner of the largest Russian factory of pomades, perfumes and soaps before the Revolution; had created the perfume “The Empress’s Favourite Bouquet”. When in 1917 his factory was nationalised and renamed into the “Zamoskvoretskiy Soap Factory No 5”, the perfume was also renamed as “Red Moscow”.

Perfume street vendor, circa 1920s

“Red Moscow” was just what you could expect from a Russian perfume: complex, full-bodied, rich smelling; yet much warmer that one would want in a cold climate.  Technologically, it was a completely synthetic perfume: the gist was that there was no need for costly French perfumes with their natural essential oils when synthetics smelled equally Along with this one, the range had such fragrances as “White Acacia”, “Red Poppy”, “Lilac” and others. In 1970s, a new scent was introduced – Silver Lily of the Valley – which, unsurprisingly, had become a huge success just as rapidly.

As for the famous “Chanel  No 5”, the Soviet women did not get to know it for a long time – apart from brief pieces in Polish fashion magazines, there was very little knowledge of the foreign perfumes. In 1980s, however, the situation began to change to the better. “Climat” and “Magie Noir” by Lancome and “Opium” by Yves Saint Laurent had become extremely sought after in early 1980s.

Really rare and expensive perfume ‘Climat’

White Acacia

Red Poppy perfume

Famous Red Moscow

The male market segment had divided the men into two large groups: those who preferred the perfume “Shipr” (slightly more up-market) and those who liked “Three In One” (a cheaper brand). Funnily enough, the latter one had become a popular one for consumption with the alcohol addicts. “Shipr”, however, was meant to be an exotic, warm smell of flowers and sandalwood (hence the name, which is French for the island of Cyprus. Just like the “Three In One” perfume, “Shipr” contained no less than 70% of ethyl alcohol.

Three In One Perfume

To a modern man, spoilt with choice for perfumes and fragrances, these two would have a fairly strong smell of fir tree and excessive musk and might even remind of a insect repellent. But back in the days, however, a rare man would not get this year after year for his birthday!

“Shipr” (Cyprus)

The legend goes that the “Three In One” perfume was created in France in the early 18^th century specifically by the order of Napoleon Bonaparte as a disinfectant – it was meant to have a refreshing, hygienic and therapeutic effect – and in 1913 it won the Gran Prix at the World Cosmetics Exhibition in Paris. A few decades later, it arrived in Russia under the brand name of “Three In One”. Originally, though, the bottle was sold with the annotation enclosed: “Young people should consume 20–30 drops, elder people – 50–60 drops daily diluted with water or wine. It helps to protect against rapid heart and head aches”.  So the habit to use the cheap toilet water as a substitute for vodka has a historic background!

Three In One Perfume, 1917

It does not seem like much but these brands listed above would compose the whole range of perfumes available in the Soviet Russia until, maybe, very late 1980s. The only other alternative was to be lucky enough to have a perfume imported, as a gift. The reasons behind such limits were purely ideological as spending time and money on beauty products was labelled as absolutely unnecessary.

To be continued…

Related posts:

1. Soviet Brands: The Scent Of Communism. Part 2 of 2
2. Best of Winter 2009–2010
3. Best of Fall 2009