By 1962, the Space Race between Russia and the US became more of a propaganda race. That’s when Kruschev personally intervened in the whole Russian Space programme. The idea of the ‘first woman in space’ was his personal dream.
Russia’s director of the Soviet Space Programme, Sergei Korolev, wanted techno advances: longer flights, space stations and [...]

Last couple of times around in Russia, I’ve made an effort to collect cigarette packs. As an ephemera lover, I notice the old brands are disappearing fast. Though you’ll often see old versions still fading in the kiosk windows.
It’s a bit of luck I photographed these CCCP Ovals, because my sister came in to tidy [...]

For many, the films Goodbye Lenin and The Lives Of Others started the cult: nostalgia for the old East Germany.
An interesting example is the Ostel, a Berlin hostel full of communist era kitch. The website describes it as a ‘Design Hostel’. In fact many junk shops were scoured for hideous rugs, non-working radios and [...]

According to the souvenir book I bought a few years ago, the Aurora fired the defining shot in 1917 which signalled the storming of the Tsar’s winter palace.

…It appears to celebrate 60 years of Russian women wearing too much eye make-up, though I’ll admit to being short of supporting documentation. I’d like to dovetail this post with the one I wrote earlier about Russian Tourists.

Soon you won’t be able to remember the Sixties even if you were there.
Deputies of the city council of Lutsk, Ukraine, have decided to remelt its Lenin monument into church bells, the council press-service reports.
Since he was dismantled in 1991, Lenin has been stored by the local council. But now he will [...]

Some time ago I wrote a piece about Novgorod Theatre, a piece of Soviet era architecture you can only describe as mould-breaking. I’d learned it was a Russian collaboration with Scandinavian architects. Since the building is so alien to other 70’s Soviet forms, it seemed plausible at the time.
Meanwhile, Novgorod’s theatre also got the attention [...]

It’s great to be back in Kaliningrad/Konigsberg. Being a schizophrenic, I love the fact that it can be a Prussian town one day, Sovietopolis the next - depending where you walk and how you’re feeling. In the same way, it can be turn of the century or 1970s. (Though not much later. Laugh.)
But anyway, [...]

As we now understand, the sensational expose of Formula 1’s Max Mosley was captured by a dominatrix with a bra camera.
‘Hey, a bra camera!’ said a kinky girlfriend. ‘Why haven’t I got one of those.’
Why not indeed. Of course, I assumed I was, as usual, out of techno touch and might pick one up from [...]

There’s a lot of Sovietica to trip out on in Kaliningrad. Something that does it for me are the iron and concrete roadsigns.
Make no mistake. This is art and not to be confused in any way with functional industrial design. For a start, the signs are neither illuminated nor reflective and they only work from [...]

I had occasion to look at my all-time top three posts. That’s because the Copydude celebrates its first blogaversary this week.
The Bronze went to: ‘Why Russian Women Don’t Marry Russian Men‘. This shows the value of helpful and informative posts. Even Russian women read this to find out why they don’t do it.
The [...]