Real USSR » popular art

Calendar of 1964: Us and Them.

zloy_murashka — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:20:33 +0000

An old calendar of 1964 picturing a set of remarkable citizens of the world: a Soviet person next to its American counterpart. Sadly there is no annotation left to figure what the message was — informative, propagandist or other, so the faces below are torn out of context. But it is still nice to have a look at some Soviet artist’s work.

It would have been a brief post, so we thought we’d include the major achievements of these great men.

Movie Producers: Sergey Eisenstein & David W Grifith

Sergey Eisenstein, also known as the “father of montage”, made silent film Battleship Potemkin in 1925.

The famous scene of the massacre on the Odessa Steps

David Llewelyn Wark Griffith directed the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and subsequent film Intolerance a year later.

The film was widely protested for alleged racism. As late as the 1970s, the Ku Klux Klan continued to use the film as a recruitment tool.

Composers: Peter Tchaikovsky and George Gershwin

Dancers: Vaslav Nijinsky & Isadora Duncan

Vaslav circa 1909

Isadora, the mother of modern dance.

Naturalists: Elie Metchnikoff & George W Carver

Elie Metchnikoff received a 1908 Nobel Prize in medicine for his contribution to the immune system research. He is also said to coin the term gerontology for his emerging study of longevity and aging.

George W Carver is famous for his research of crops such as nuts and sweet potatoes as alternative to cotton to eradicate poverty among farmers.

Writers: Nicholas Gogol & Mark Twain

Artists: Leon Bakst & Edward Hicks

Supper by Leon Bakst.

Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks

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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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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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Picturing the Soviet Republics: Ukraine

Stas Kulesh — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:29:32 +0000

This time we are traveling to Kiev, the capital of one of the most significant Soviet states — the Ukraine. Below you will find pictures from a book called “Amateur Photographers”, published in Kiev in 1986.

If you would like to clarify what is on the photos — do not hesitate to ask. Click on the magnifying glass icon for a more detailed view of the full sized images. Please follow us on Twitter and stay tuned. Thank you.

An Encounter. (L. Sidorsky).

In the Artek (famous young pioneer summer camp) by V. Narkyavichute

You Get Half and I Get Half (A. Nesterenko)

Son of the Earth (A. Bovkun)

First Time to Watch by a Sickbed (L. Popov)

Future is Waiting by M. Polischuk

Many thanks to a Russian photographer Liubov Sautina for keeping these fascinating pictures. Please visit her Flickr page.

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