The superplane carrying a Buran.
In 1984 the big country needed a big plane. Antonov Design Bureau was entrusted with developing of a plane for large-sized cargo transportation. A six-motor super heavy turbojet plane An-225 «Mriya» («dream» in Ukranian) became the product of the designers’ four-year work. The aircraft, which will celebrate it’s twenty years anniversary of its first test flight, still remains the absolute champion in terms of load-carrying capacity.
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!
Kids in the traditional uniform.
The most famous PR image of the pioneria of the Soviet Union was a summer vacation camp situated in the Crimea (Ukraine), next to Gurzuf town. Founded as a sanatorium for the kids suffering and recovering from the TB by the Russian Society of the Red Cross, it first opened doors in 1925, June 16th, accommodating about 80 kids from Moscow and the nearest Ukrainian towns.
Then it was just a step ahead of a basic camping ground, with kids sleeping in tents out in the forest. However, it grew rapidly until in early 1930s a few permanent buildings were built. It was then Artek started working all year round due to its mild Mediterranean-like climate.
The culture of wine making had a long and rich history in the Soviet Union, and its high profitability always ensured an incredible deal of governmental support. Due to the climate restrictions grapes suitable for wine-making grew in the Southern areas of the country: Crimea in the Ukraine, the valley of Ararat in Armenia, as well as the republics of Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
After the war there was a special development plan of getting the country to the top of the world wine leaders — which was a success. By 1969 the USSR was on the fourth place in Europe by the amount of wine produced (right after France, Italy and Spain). The vast territories of the country’s South allowed for almost 10% of the total amount of wine produced in the world around that time. This was the Golden Era of the Soviet viticulture: the assortment of wines went up to 700, with about 37 types of sparkling wines and 88 of cognac-type drinks. Many wines were of excellent, prize-winning quality.
Sadly, starting from the 1970s, the quality was to be sacrificed for quantity: the priority to grow was given to higher-yielding sorts of grapes and not the rare, more valuable ones. The production lines were gradually being switched to cheaper, stronger, more generic ranges of wines made from low in sugar but more enduring sorts of grape varieties. The Prohibition bylaw of 1985 aiming at eliminating the drinking problem was the last straw: the grapes and raisins were to be used for making juices, which led to a eventual skill shortage and overall industry recession.
Noetheless, we have found a few old commercial posters picturing the range of wines of 1950s. Despite the plain bottles, this is a neat collection of vintage posters for you to enjoy. Click on the picture to see it in detail. Let us know how you like it — we value your feedback. Thanks!
Starting from the right: Soviet Champagne, a trademark for many years and an iconic drink; table Georgian wine (batch 19, whatever that means for the Soviet winemakers); two bottles of whine port.
Fall’s Gifts / Rainy Day by A. Suprun from the book “Amateur Photography”, Kiev 1986
A small collection of photos from two photography books published in the 1980s in the USSR. All photographs from this set are by amateur photo artists from the republics of Ukraine (Amateur Photography, 1986) and Moldovia (Moldavian Artistic Photography, 1985). Please remember to click on the magnifying glass icon to see the full-size image.
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).