Lupins in bloom (via LostSlides)
This blog is about old postcards, book illustration, history and culture of Russia and the Soviet Union. I'm a long time collector, and this blog is 10 years old.
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Soviet vintage notecard (1984)
It reads “7 October - the Soviet Union Constirution Day”
NEW Listed on Etsy:
Artek, the most famous pioneer summer camp in the Soviet Union. Illustration by E. Gorokhovsky (1985)
Vintage DIY school help folder (for kids learning to read and count). If you want to play a parent in the Soviet Union and test your cut-and-paste skills, this is your chance. ()
Moscow, February 4, 1990. The most massive protest in the history of the Soviet Union. 300 thousand people marched from the Crimean Bridge along the Garden Ring and Gorky Street (now Tverskaya) to the 50th Anniversary of October Square (Manezhnaya). The main demand of the protesters was to abolish Article 6 of the USSR Constitution that declared the leading role of the Communist Party.
Tea packaging labels from the Soviet Union (1950s)
Teas were named after their locations: Tseylon tea, Indian tea, Georgian tea, Krasnodar tea (a city in the South of Russia), Azerbaijanian tea, Chinese tea. There was also the name of the tea packaging factory on the back of the pack.
(via)
Summer in Pyatigorsk, Russia. Photo by Yuri Zhvanko (1985)
Holiday cartoons from Soviet Union - my top 5
“The Last Year’s Snow Was Falling” (1983)
This one is a legend. Packed with phrases that every Russian person recognizes in a conversation. I watch it religiously every year on December 31. I pretty much know it by heart, but I still enjoy watching it! Voiced by the amazing Stanislav Sadalsky. Great music too!
(«Уж послала так послала!» «А вот это мой размерчик.» «Ох уж эти сказочки! Ох уж эти сказочники…»)
(Watch with English subtitles here)
“Father Frost and Summer” (1969)
It’s sooo cute! And those songs! Love love love it.
(LQ quality but with English subtitles)
“Winter in Prostokvashino” (1984)
Another classic cartoon - the third installment in the story of the little village called Prostokvashino. Check out the Christmas tree decorated in attic-found vintage. :)
(«Фиг вам называется!»)
(with English subtitles)
“The Nutcracker” (1973)
I remember watching this as a child and being mesmerized with the music. It was long before I knew who Tchaikovsky was! And the scene when Nutcracker turns into boy gave me goose bumps.
This one needs no translation.
“Father Frost and Grey Wolf” (1978)
I mostly include this one for the song - «Тревога! Тревога! Волк унёс зайчат!» - which is an old joke between me and my sister. We watched this one a lot back in the day. :)
(with English subtitles)
Making this list has put me into holiday mood! :)
Set of 15 vintage stamps commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Soviet Union (1957)
USSR-made portable radio receivers from 1960s and 1980s (via )
August 9 is Tove Jansson’s birthday! The first photo here is the first of her books ever published in the Soviet Union (Moomins and the Comet Chase). The second photo shows all of her books published in the USSR. Most of her works were published in 1991-1992 - after the Soviet era.
You can find a comprehensive list of all Jansson’s book published in Russian here.