Real USSR » fun

The Beauty of a Soviet Body

eugenia — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:07:01 +0000

Exercising in the sun

I know that today is a remarkable day for the country — a year ago we were commemorating the birth of the USSR as an outcome of the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917, and I was going to come up with a similar-themed post today as well. But then I stumbled upon these photographs and decided that they are too precious not to be shared. So here’s a dozen of photos of young, strong, sexy Soviet bodies instead.

Bathing

These images were captured by Aleksandr Rodchenko in 1932 in Moscow, Lefortovo — there were the student quarters at the time, like a university campus where many students spent summers exercising, swimming, sunbathing and enjoying life.

… and faces of some.

The boy with the nicest smile

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How Much Watch? Ten Watch!

eugenia — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:07:08 +0000

Free postcards as a marketing ploy.

In 1959, a Soviet watchmaker MashPriborInTorg had what’s now called a solid market share of all watches and clocks made in the USSR. This ugly acronym stood for Machinery and Gadget Overseas Trade, and the factory made all the famous Soviet brands of watches which could be found in every household: Polet (Flight), Slava (Glory), Raketa (Rocket), Chaika (Seagull) and more pompous names, which in reality were good sturdy reliable watches: my Granddad had his Slava for more than 20 years, and never there was a complaint! For some reason, these goofy dolls were picked to advertise the watches, and today we have found a collection of postcards picturing a good set of such dolls wearing the Soviet tributes to fine watchmaking. Enjoy!

The set of cards

Every household I can think of now had a clock like that.

Unexpectedly, a black Pinoccio.

A sailor.

Forget me not in this lifetime.

Late for a date, no less.

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Oleg Popov, The Sad Clown

eugenia — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:16:03 +0000

In about six weeks this remarkable man will celebrate his 80th Birthday. Who is he? The most popular clown of the Soviet Union, also known as the Sunshine Clown, Oleg Popov is true icon of its own. Born in 1930, he had on of the toughest upbringings ever — yet he managed to become one of most recognisable people of the 20th century: he also was in Guinness Records Book for “being popular in the West and in the East”.

On top of his game. Oleg Popov in 1976.

He was training to be a plumber when, at the age of 17, his friends took him along to the local circus — overwhelmed, he later said there was no way back. He started learning acrobatics, gymnastics, tricks; he spent all of his time and money on learning about the famous clowns and their techniques. It did not take him long to become famous: his natural talent and an open smile made wonders.

In his interview for the Russian newspaper Arguments and Facts, Oleg Popov is reminiscing about the happiest day of his life:after Stalin’s death in 1953, all entertainment was banned as a deep mourning was announced. So the circus he was working at was shut, and those weeks of not doing what he loved was torturous. It took over two months for the ban to be lifted, and even then he was briefed not to joke “too much”. So coming out on stage and receiving a huge round of applaud made Oleg realised that it wasn’t only him who missed performing — it was also the spectators who needed laughter.

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We Bet Peter Jackson Never Saw This Hobbit!

eugenia — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:31:50 +0000

A fun post for you today — a series of illustrations for a Russian edition of The Hobbit, 1989. The artist Belomlinsky portrayed the characters in a funky manner. The book was published at 300,000 copies and it was a success — I had itas a kid and it had me scared. I could never get over the fact that someone needs to leave their wonderful cave full of jars with pickles!

See how you like Bilbo, Gandalf, Gollum, the Trolls, the Big People and the Dragon — let us know if it makes you smile.

The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. The cover.

The Hobbit, Or There and Back Again.

The Map — from Hobbiton to the Lonely Mountain.

Merry Gandalf, isn’t he?

The Trolls

Gollum, plotting riddles with deadly stakes.

The giant eagles.

Big People — Bilbo’s encounter with humans.

Giant spiders in the black forest of Mirkwood.

The dragon battle

Back cover. Published by Children Literature.

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Are You Deathproof? Then Listen Up!

Stas Kulesh — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:30:11 +0000

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!

School zone: be extra attentive!

Breaking the road rules affects everyone on the roads.

The sign is the boss.

Let the passengers off safely.

Keep it safe.

Do check the car’s fitness

Just a drop can catch up with you

Keep to your lane: swinging is dangerous.

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Summer in Gorky Park, Moscow of late 1960s

eugenia — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:08:46 +0000

We are very fortunate to have gained the access to the collection of photographs below — they have come from a private collection of Eugene Orlov, a keen photographer of 1960s, scanned by his grandson. Portrayed is a series of shots from a summer walk in the Gorky Park, an iconic family recreational venue in Moscow. Please click on the magnifying lens image for the close up and if you like it — tell your friends!

Images courtesy of Eugene Orlov. Late 1960s.

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Soft Kitty, Small Kitty, Little Ball of Fur

eugenia — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:10:46 +0000

Warm kitty, Sleepy Kitty, Purr Purr Purr.

For those of you who found the previous post a tad too serious (and we always welcome you feedback!), here’s a set of illustrations for a childrens’ book Look At These Kittens! by Georgy Karlov. Please retweet and stay tuned! Cheers

Cowardy

Look At These Kittens! The cover

Greedy

Bully

Thiefy

Scruffy

Crybaby

Lazybones

Grumpy

Kids, surely you are not like some of these kittens, are you?

The end

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Good-Natured Humour Postcards from the 1950s

eugenia — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:24:39 +0000

…and we are back on air after our short break! Sorry it was unannounced, but very much needed — and we are delighted to reconnect with you again. We’ve got lots of great stuff coming — from kids summer camps through to some amazing amateur photography as well as we shall look at each decade in detail — what 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and so on meant to the Soviet Union, and how it lived differently to the rest of the world. So — thanks for your feedback and stay tuned!

Just a very light post for today, before we dig any deeper — a very neat collection of humorous postcards — great to see some good natured jokes all the way from 1950s and 1960s.

Future Champions. By G. Valk.

Is the lion really 6 years old?! By G Valk

A portrait. By G Valk

“Taxi Stand” — “No room!” By G Valk

Stop! Can’t you see the light is red! By G Valk

Going hunting. Credits unknown.

I caught it! No, I did!

Would you like to become my widow?

No luck at fishing.

An evening gathering.

Hunting hogs.

“As short as possible, please” // “Can you make it wavy?”

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Military Discharge Handmade Scrap Book and Comics Album

eugenia — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:07:51 +0000

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. Usually away from home, this period of time was meant to train and educate the men should there be a war. It included physical training, political orientation, current affairs, weaponry and so on — a good many posts can be written on life in the army! Today, however, we want to take a different look on this subject. 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. This particular one has a very neat selection of wee hand drawn episodes of the army realities.

The albums were usually this thick and bound in velvet cloth

So the owner served between 1984 and 1986, being called in from Leningrad to serve in Olenegorsk in some special forces

This is an extract which tells us exactly what happened…

Here’s a start to the story — the birds are bringing the army subpoena. Please note that the outfits, the hairstyles, even the stereo — all belong to the mid 80s.

The young guy turns up at the military assembly point.

The parents say good bye. The girlfriend promises to stay faithful.

The changeover: someone is arriving, someone is being discharged.

Learning the ropes

On the cleaning assignment

Those were the days, my friend..!

I wish you were here

In full gear. No hope to finish alive

Out in the city — the officer will never let me out of sight

See you right here in exactly seven days

A year and a half on — so nice to be a senior!NB — most likely, this is the radio espionage equipment.

Counting down the hours…

Hooooooooome!

All images are courtesy of the Livejournal user blackie again, whose album this is.

We hope you find this amuzing Stay tuned!

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Russian Ice Cream In Winter — Bring It On!

eugenia — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:35:54 +0000

In the USSR, the very first ice cream factory was opened in 1932 — when the Minister of Food Supply (if translated not too liberally) Anastas Mikoyan visited the United States of America and was so impressed with their ice cream, he decided that Russia needed something of the kind. So the ice cream making technology and equipment were imported and the ice cream supply to all and everybody began. The process was highly regulated and, indeed, the quality of Soviet ice cream was enviable. If in 1932 the total amount of icecream produced was about 300 ton, then 10 years later it grew about 270 times — in 1940 there were 82 thousand ton of ice cream produced.

The city of Khabarovsk, 1970.

This numbers were lost during the WWII as the factories had to cease work — but it quickly recovered and by 1950 there was a 20% increase of what was made before.

The sweet choice: the brick, the cup, the cone, the works. Unfortunately, the flavour variety was limited to two flavours: plain sweet or chocolate.

Funnily enough, in Russia the ice cream on a stick had become synonymous with the word eskimo — named after the indigenous people of the Northern countries. You could walk in a shop and ask for two eskimos!

Everyone’s favourite treat

An ice cream street vendor. Moscow, 1959

Year and author unknown, yet a very sweet picture

Pioneers: I’ll have what he is having!

Moscow, 1934. Would have been one of the very first ones!

Another street vendor — apparently, there is some march of protest on and everybody is politically concerned

Image courtesy to LIFE magazine archives

Most likely it’s late October — early November, yet she must be making a mint!

A Moscow winter

Not your average job — selling icecream to the Russians

A cheery Soviet ad poster for the ice cream

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