Parade of 1984, city of Ufa. Photo by N. Marochkin.
Day of International Solidarity of the Working Class, or Labour Day - was celebrated in Russia on May, 1st from 1919 to 1990. A public holiday for each every city, every township or village had a parade organised: flags were carried, posters and banners were up, kids had red ballons and portraits of the governing men were on display. The attendance usually was compulsory, but judging by the photographs now, I don't think anybody minded: it looks like people had fum there. By May the weather was usually sunny and crisp, and this holiday was a little more that a propagandist activity: it was a unifying event. Please read on to see some faces behind the crowd.
Novosibirsk 1938. Photo from a private collection.
Novosibirsk 1953. Photo from a private collection.
Moscow 1958. Photo from a private archive by S. Buldakov.
Top Army guys. Moscow 1958. Photo from a private archive by S. Buldakov.
Novosibirsk 1958. Photo from a private collection.
Sports Club Marching. Novosibirsk 1972. Photo from a private collection.
Moscow 1978. Photo from a private archive.
City of Ufa 1984. Photo by N. Marochkin.
Toast to solidarity! Moscow 1978, photo from a private collection.
Moscow, late 1970s. Brezhnev is in the middle. Photo from a private collection.
