On March 5, 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, usa, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech, which was known as the "Iron Curtain Speech". In this speech, he used the term "Iron Curtain" for the first time publicly to accuse the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries of using an "invisible iron curtain" to envelop themselves, thus isolating the East from the Western world. The life of the Soviet people under the Iron Curtain has always been considered mysterious and dark. So, what was the life of the Soviet people behind the Iron Curtain in that era? Perhaps the following set of old photos can give us some insight.
[Picture 1] On Gorky Avenue in Moscow, a trolleybus public tram is passing by, preceded by pedestrians crossing the street.
From the end of World War II to the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Iron Curtain became a symbolic political barrier that isolated the Soviet Union from the West.
[Fig. 2] A group of female workers congratulate their colleagues, the best female tailors in the sewing shop.
During this period, the lives of the Soviet people were severely restricted, and it was only after Stalin's death in 1953 that the lives of the people became slightly easier.
[Fig. 3] A Soviet university jazz band inspired by American jazz is performing.
In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Soviet curiosity and fascination with American culture gradually took shape. This fascination was deliberately promoted in part by the United States, which sent American pop music to Eastern Europe. This music piqued the interest of young people in the Soviet Union, who began to worship American culture.
[Picture 4] Four young Soviets formed a small band and played jazz in the streets to express themselves and earn a certain amount of living expenses.
Music like jazz gave young people in the Soviet Union the opportunity to experience a whole new form of entertainment, which was completely different from the musical culture of their own people.
Fig. 5: On the outskirts of St. Petersburg, a punk band of young Soviets is playing rock 'n' roll.
But Soviet leaders banned Rock 'n' Roll in the West. This led to the young Soviet youth who loved rock and roll and began to turn to "underground performances".
[Fig. 6] A group of young Soviets chasing fashion are dressed in wild-style costumes and drinking freely with wine bottles.
Young Soviets who were obsessed with American music culture were called "fashion hunters." Dressed in fancy costumes, they listened to smuggled music and danced in a secret disco. Then they maneuvered with the Soviet police who were pursuing them.
Fig. 7: Young Soviet men in punk costumes and punk hairstyles roam the streets.
The fascination with punk style has swept young people. And that may be exactly what soviet leaders feared.
Fig. 8: Streets of the Soviet Union in 1987. It could be that an old Soviet lady is teaching herself a "rebellious" grandson. But the latter's expression says it all.
In the 1950s, a kind of "bone record" became popular. It is an old X-ray printed on thin, thin vinyl paper used to share American rock music. Despite its poor sound quality, it gave young Soviets the "taste of rebellion" they were after.
Fig. 9: After a busy day, three elderly Soviets are riding home from the Moscow subway with no expression on their faces.
But when the younger Soviet generation, deeply influenced by American culture, began to embark on the path of "deviance", the older generation of Soviets continued to cling to their moral concepts, maintained traditional Soviet culture, and lived as always.
[Fig. 10] On a hot summer day, on a beach, a Soviet painter is meticulously painting. A group of children gathered around curiously and watched.
After the devastation and baptism of World War II, the Soviet Union under the Iron Curtain still has sunshine. (Text/World History)