Boys looking at newspapers about Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight (April 13, 1961)
This blog is about old postcards, book illustration and all kinds of paper whimsy from the Soviet Union. I'm a long time collector, and this blog is 10 years old. I have an etsy shop for cards, books, pins and vintage finds from Russia.
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Young pioneers in Artek camp on the Black Sea (Crimea, 1930s). Photos by Yakov Berlin.
Riga seaside (Latvia). Postcard by A. Pletnyov (1961).
Children of Leninsky Prospect street in Moscow (1980)
“Tulips” by Georgiy Katillo-Ratmirov (1978)
Poster designed by Aleksandr Makhotkin (1979)
“Ufa. Spring In the Suburbs” by Yevgeny Vinokurov (1983)
“Who are you?” Photo by Georgiy Argiropulo (1970s)
“May Day” by Valentin Bozhko (1960s)
Pioneers are carrying letters that read “May 1″ and “We are for peace”.
Victory Day (May 9) has been one of the biggest state holidays in Russia for many years. In the last 10-15 years, I watched the public narrative turn from “never again” to “we can repeat”. Loud parades and concerts, military symbols all over every city, children wearing soldiers’ uniform and holding tank-shaped balloons.
I never got it. The change scared me.
Then again, I never understood “the right of the strong” and using violence to get what you want. Today, I think about my grandfather and I can’t imagine he’d support the “can repeat” attitude. War is a tragedy and should stop.
Moskvitch-2140 at VDNKh (1975)