That’s how Moscow, a Soviet capital, looked like before the USSR collapsed.
In 1986, Roger George Clark, a casual photographer from the UK, arrived in Moscow. He wandered the streets for a long time and took plenty of excellent pictures of the Soviet lifestyle.
He returned to the Soviet Moscow a year later, in the summer of 1987. The city impressed him with the lunch breaks in restaurants, the poor selection of goods in the stores, and signature Soviet queues. Clarke claims he even saw a queue of people who were waiting to take their place in the queue at the mausoleum of the Soviet leader Lenin at Red Square.
A man with a bear at the Soviet Moscow street. It was a decent attraction in the late 1980s.
The relationships between East and West improved dramatically in the 1980s. There was no longer the feeling that foreigners are banned from Russia as it was for decades before.
A soviet family is eating an ice-cream just on the pavement. There were not enough cafes and restaurants in the late soviet Moscow.
You have to be ready to walk a lot if you want to see the Soviet Moscow. When you dive into the subway or ride a tram or bus, go to shops, cafes, and parks, you will learn a lot about Russian people.
A Moscow backyard, 1987
Clarkes had mixed impressions of Moscow residents. On the one hand, he found the Soviet people open and friendly.
A little girl, 1986
“Early in the evening, when I was walking down the street on October 25, I met two young cadets. They carried red carnations. Can I take a photo of them? No problem. To my surprise, they spoke English, and we chatted for a couple of minutes. I took some pictures and released one of the best portraits from Moscow trips. They were friendly and relaxed. And this was true during most of my time in Moscow. I found that I could wander with the camera and take pictures of what I liked and how I liked it. Just like in the UK. “
A magnificent building of the Central Store of Soviet Moscow. It’s something similar to nowadays shopping malls.
On the other hand, the conditions in which Soviet people lived disappointed a photographer.
A sample of the glorious Stalin’s architecture. The major part of the Moscow buildings didn’t look that fancy.
And the queues … Did you queue up for the train, did you queue for the museum, did you queue up at the store? The line was a national tradition. There were two lines to the Lenin’s tomb – a line for a line.
An old church, 1987
The lack of merchandise in stores was terrible. The Central Store at the Red Square sold only products that you could find in a shabby street market. If everything was so bad at the most important store in Russia, then how was it elsewhere. The shelve samples were useless, and the packaging was dull.
Father is spending his time in a Moscow restaurant with his daughters.
The poor goods selection and poor quality reminded me of post-war London. That was a short period of austerity when everything was in short supply. The consumer boom never happened in the Soviet Union. “
Buyers are looking for something decent in the Central Store, Moscow, 1987.
VDNH is the Soviet version of the 1951 UK festival, or, more precisely, the world trade fair of the 1930s. Masses of models and diagrams in huge pavilions. Nuclear power, electricity, space travel, agriculture, etc. And fountains abound. Thousands of people crowded the exhibit. Families enjoyed the day off, young men in jeans and soldiers in military uniforms. The exhibition showed how communism was supposed to look, but it was a utopia. It was a monument to the communist future, which will not exist. The exhibition felt strongly provincial and outdated. The exhibits looked impressive, but there was no style and sophistication – everything is unfinished.
A crowded location of the VDNH. It’s an analog of the Fairies that were held in Europe before WWII.
This provincialism – this lack of elegance – manifested itself throughout Moscow. It was hard to believe that this was the capital of the second most powerful country on earth. The masonry collapsed, and the paint on buildings peeled off. Between the vast modern quarters were hundreds of 18th and 19th-century mansions and houses in Moscow, with mysterious courtyards, shaded trees, and even the occasional wooden building from ancient times. Gorky Park looked abandoned. No pop and folk art, as you see in the UK. The cafe looked boring. The public vending machines with a couple of glasses to share with other customers made me shudder. Tell them about hygiene! People came up, took such a glass, rinsed with cold water, and drank from it!
A street artist at work
Donskoy Monastery. The historical heritage fell into desolation and collapsed. It was evident that during all the years of Soviet power, nothing was repaired.
The doors of the ancient monastery. Religious buildings were in a poor state as USSR didn’t tolerate the religion in any way.
Apart from space rockets, there was nothing futuristic here. Something was terribly wrong. The melancholic air hung over the city even in summer, and my camera captured it. However, people spoke more freely with foreigners and didn’t mind to pose for a photo.
This sculpture was located at one of the Moscow cemeteries.
The resident of the late soviet Moscow
The premium soviet car decorated with a toy
That’s how older people looked like in USSR
The guard on the Red Square
That’s how central store shelves looked like. The selection of the goods was very poor.
That’s the best-looking souvenir in the largest central store in soviet Moscow.
Students of the Military School
Soviet people are spending their time at one of the Moscow fountains.
Soviet Moscow residents are gazing at the architectural decoration.
Soldiers are crossing one of the central streets of Moscow.
One of the most luxurious Soviet cars.
Moscow teenagers are gazing at the concert billboard.
Lawnmower in Soviet Moscow
Kids in their national suits. They belong to some southern nationalities of the USSR
It’s not a special photo effect. It’s just a building on the central Moscow street that slightly collapsed
It seems like chess was a popular game among the residents of Moscow in 1980s
Garbage cleaner at the Soviet Moscow street welcomed the British photographer
Oldpics continues its series of the noteworthy WWII pictures by the soviet photographers. Outstanding Soviet WW2 pictures (Part I: Max Alpert) Outstanding…