Socialism Expo
September 18, 2012 8:37 AM   Subscribe

Beautiful images from the USSR. Someone has scanned over 10,000 photos from the Soviet Union. Sources seem to be mainly the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Soviet Life magazine and catalogs and magazines.

Some are mundane but beautiful, like these 1970s Azerbaijani schoolchildren and politicians hanging out with old men. Or just tomatoes.

Early Soviet architecture. Soviet cars. Catalog shopping from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Vacation advertisements.

And yes, there are cosmonauts.
posted by k8t (13 comments total) 43 users marked this as a favorite
 
Брюки превращаются… Брюки превращаются…
posted by Nomyte at 8:51 AM on September 18, 2012 [4 favorites]


Wow! Nice find.
posted by General Tonic at 8:52 AM on September 18, 2012


Metafilter: Pants Become
posted by rocketpup at 8:53 AM on September 18, 2012 [3 favorites]


Pants become.
posted by Nomyte at 9:01 AM on September 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


This looks a lot like the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
posted by Mister_A at 9:05 AM on September 18, 2012


See these hats? Awesome! No, I don't want some grotty old budenovka like your old dedusinka wore back in the day. These knit beauties!
posted by Chrischris at 9:57 AM on September 18, 2012


Непобежденная страна
posted by c13 at 11:12 AM on September 18, 2012


So is this from their version of the Sears Catalog?

At least from those pictures, I wouldn't be sad to be a 1970s Azerbaijani schoolchild.

Nice find. This will keep me up far too late tonight.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 11:27 AM on September 18, 2012


> Брюки превращаются… Брюки превращаются…

From a scene in the classic comedy Бриллиантовая рука (The Diamond Arm): "...и брюки легко превращаются... превращаются брюки... брюки превращаются... в элегантные шорты!" ['...and the pants easily transform... the pants transform... the pants transform... into elegant shorts!'].

Great post, thanks!
posted by languagehat at 11:33 AM on September 18, 2012


These FPPs really bring out all the crypto-Russians.
posted by Nomyte at 2:08 PM on September 18, 2012 [4 favorites]


"The client in Poiana Brasov".
posted by homunculus at 8:54 PM on September 18, 2012


Holy shit I lived the first seven years of my life on this street, in a pink four-story house just like those. Soviet streetscapes aren't known for their variety, so it's hard to say, but my house could very well be right behind those. One of my earliest memories is exactly the image in this photo, except it's snowy & at night.

Thanks for this, my grandparents are going to LOVE it.
posted by geneva uswazi at 10:21 PM on September 18, 2012 [2 favorites]


Holy shit I lived the first seven years of my life on this street, in a pink four-story house just like those.

Seriously? I lived first five years on Ivanova st. on the other side of town. Small world..
posted by c13 at 11:04 AM on September 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


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