Soviet Art

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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Robert Rozhdestvensky, Bella Akhmadulina, Andrei Voznesensky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Soviet Poets of Sixties

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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Dedicated to the International Women’s day series. Collecting USSR matchbox labels

Collecting USSR matchbox labels

Undoubtedly, collecting matchbox labels, known as Phillumeny, was one of the most favorite hobbies for the Soviet people. In the late 1950’s – early 1960’s in major cities of the USSR appeared Phillumeny sections in the frame of collectors clubs. And, in many cases, philatelists of All-Union Society of philatelists officially supervised phillumenists. Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, Phillumeny heyday lasted for two decades – 1960-1980.
In particular, it was the Balabanovo match factory, located in Moscow suburbs, which printed labels for the majority of match factories. In addition, they produced special kits for phillumenists – 100 labels in the set, as well as souvenir sets. Besides, the Baltic factory produced the similar kits, but with their own labels. At the end of 1980 the production of sets for collectors stopped. In part, due to the transition of many factories for the production of matches in cardboard rather than in veneer boxes. After 1991, Phillumeny craze began to decline, and most Phillumeny sections ceased to exist.
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Legendary Soviet chocolate Alyonka

Legendary Soviet chocolate Alyonka has 50 years of glorious history. Chocolate “Alyonka” – milk chocolate, made in the Soviet Union in 1965 and later produced in Russia, including at the confectionery factory “Red October” (1966). A distinctive feature is the cream, “fat” taste. All these years, “Alyonka” has been with us and become one of the symbols of a happy Soviet childhood for generations. And “Alyonka”, as we have known it since the USSR, even has its own museum! In the new food program, adopted in the early 1960s by the USSR government, a special attention was given to the creation of mass, affordable milk chocolate. At various factories in Moscow have begun experiments in creating delicious chocolate. In 1964, Soviet specialists-confectioners of the Moscow factory “Red October” developed appropriate formulation was which was put into production at the factory and at the same time at other chocolate factories – “Rot Front”, Babayevsky, and then in many other Soviet confectionery factories. The first “Alyonka” became Babayevsky girl in a blue scarf. The second became Alyonka made at Rot Front chocolate factory – girl with a watering can and a girl with a dog and a bunny.
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