Soviet Art

USSR Female Aviation Regiment Night Witches – a bomber regiment of the USSR troops, consisting only of women

USSR Female Aviation Regiment “Night Witches” – a bomber regiment of the USSR troops, consisting exceptionally of women. The Regiment was an unusual phenomenon in the Air Forces of the USSR. During the years of the World War II, or the Great Patriotic War, its pilots made many sorties, covering the flag of the regiment with military unfading glory. Brave women of the 46th Guards Taman Red Banner Order of Suvorov of third degree Night Bomber Aviation Regiment flew in tiny fighters in the remote areas to fight the Germans at night. They were armed and trained better than the German Air Force. During the fighting pilots of regiment made 23,672 sorties, many of which helped win important battles, both in Russia, and later, and in Germany. Women were so good and subtle, that German soldiers gave them the nickname «Nachthexen», or “Night Witches.” Their tactic was to fly up to the goal at a certain distance, and then turn off the engine to reduce the noise emitted by aircraft. They gradually reduced height and dropped bombs on the enemy, before anyone had time to notice them.
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July 1, 1936 Physical Culture Parades in USSR

Physical Culture Parades in USSR
“Streets – our brushes, squares – our palettes” – these words by Vladimir Mayakovsky come to mind when you look at archival photos of Physical Culture Parades in USSR. In 1919, the Red Square in Moscow hosted the first parade of athletes and teams of Vsevobuch (system of compulsory military training). The most grandiose parades were held in the capital of the Soviet Union – Moscow. Parades were also held in several other cities of the USSR. In particular, in 1927 in Barnaul the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution, with the parade of athletes. Since 1931, the parades have been held annually, first in Moscow and Leningrad, and then in the other cities of the USSR. In 1935, at the parade of athletes in Moscow, Stalin was named “the best friend of the pioneers,” and in 1936 at the athletes parade in Moscow was first introduced the slogan “Thank you Comrade Stalin for our happy childhood!”.
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Part-time KGB agent, Soviet actress Larisa Kronberg Sobolevskaya

Soviet actress Larisa Kronberg
Recruited by the KGB, film actress Larisa Kronberg managed to charm and seduce the tempered in the political battles French diplomat Maurice Dejean. He was an ambassador to the Soviet Union in late 1955. Indeed, for the beautiful blue-eyed actress it was a matter of technique. Thus, during one of Maurice Dejean’s visits to Larisa, “a jealous husband” burst into the apartment of Larisa. So-called “husband”, in fact, was a part-time KGB agent. Furious “husband” attacked the diplomat with his fists and began to threaten with the court. To avoid a scandal, Dejean had to ask for help from Moscow acquaintances, who were happy to provide it – in exchange for cooperation with the Soviet intelligence services.
For participation in the operations of recruitment of the French Ambassador Maurice Dejean Soviet secret services awarded Kronberg with Swiss watches made of gold and diamonds. They say, having learned about this story, General de Gaulle, pushing aside the ambassador, only said, “Well, Maurice, instead of working all you did was f…..”.
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Soviet Poets of Sixties – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Bella Akhmadulina, Andrei Voznesensky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Soviet Poets of Sixties

Sixties – the subculture of the Soviet intelligentsia, mostly seized generation born roughly between 1925 and 1945. Historical context which formed the views of the “Sixties” were the years of Stalinism, World War II, the results of XX Congress of the CPSU and the era of the “thaw”. The most fortunate generation in the history of the country – Moscow and Leningrad dudes, the taste of life runaway success and aesthetic pleasure, collecting stadiums of listeners and viewers. They were able to impose their style of life on the country and the whole generation. Among them were Soviet poets of the Sixties – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Bella Akhmadulina, Andrei Voznesensky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Most of them were not revolutionaries, they were not going to destroy the communist regime. They could not even think that’s possible. The task was to humanize it.
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Movie poster, 1961 Soviet romantic comedy The Girls

1961 Soviet romantic comedy The Girls directed by Yuri Chulyukin has always been one of the most loved films for the people of the USSR. We are still struck by the amazing acting and story-line. We laugh at a pig-tailed young girl – Tosya, an orphan (actress Nadezhda Rumyantseva), sympathize her friends – roommates, marvel at the power of love and what it can do to a man. Tosya assigned as a cook for the camp, shows she has her own ideas of how a romance should be conducted. In the film are discussed topical issues of the day. They are masterfully written by a director in the characters’ lives. Each of Tosia’s friends has her own complicated situation. Anfisa can not find love and thinks that because of her beauty, men don’t take her seriously. Vera has a difficult situation with her husband, he has changed, and tries to return her. In today’s world, the problem of Vera has become a classic.
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USSR brand Kiev cake

USSR brand Kiev cake

Cake in the USSR was more than the cake. It was the crown of the feast, the apogee of prosperity. So it consisted of everything and more: a lot of biscuits, nuts, jam, cream, with pink, white and green roses on the top. Soviet people enjoyed various kinds of cakes – Prague, Kolos, Napoleon, Ptichye moloko (Bird Milk), Skazka (Fairy tale), Tatarstan, Funnel cake, but most popular was Kiev cake, which became the USSR brand cake. The two-layered cake consisted of hazelnuts, chocolate glaze, and a butter cream. It was made in Kiev, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic since December 6, 1956 at the Karl Marx Confectionery Factory. Popular all over the USSR, the cake was the symbol of Kiev city, and the cake package depicted the coat of arms of Kiev – chestnut leaf. Few can argue, that cakes made in the time of the USSR were much tastier than they are now. Just a fact.
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Favorite holiday of people, Soviet spring festival 8 March

Soviet spring festival 8 March
The International Women’s Day on 8 March, in the first years of the Soviet Union became a national holiday, and the USSR for a long time was the only country to officially recognize it. During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet women celebrated International Women’s Day under the slogan “further strengthen the military might of the Soviet Union and the mobilization of all forces and the reserves of the country to help the front”. Since 1965, in the USSR, 8th of March has become inoperative. There were festive and ritual celebrations, and every year representatives of the government reported to the public about how public policy is carried out toward women. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Day on 8 March remained in the list of public holidays of the Russian Federation. Some of the former Soviet Union republics continue to celebrate 8 March, and some were quick to get rid of the “Soviet legacy”.
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