Faces on the wall, a photo from Lvivska, West

Photographer's Note

Blast from the past

Whatever they said or wrote about the Soviet Union – it can’t be compared with the live action…
To be there, to walk down the streets, to interact with people.. Trying to buy something (?)… And observe…Observe… Observe…
The only place, the only country I’ve been to, where I was afraid to use my camera...
Surreal country… Grotesque country… Inhuman land…
Good God… I hope it's over… Forever…!

…………………………………………………

On the posters:
Leaders of the socialistic work !!!
People chosen (by you know who ?) to represent extraordinarily great achievements of the Soviet economy and its highest level of life.

………………………………………………………

If Art Buchwald went to Soviet Russia:

Try to imagine reaction of those people, hanging high up there, on the masterly painted wall rack - when they had heard the knocking on their door…

Zdrastvuytie, comrade… You come vith us…Rright now !
But why ? Why …? I haven’t done anything… Ever… Absolutely nothing in my life…!

That’s why you tovarish, YOU come vith us… Ve go to the fotografik store to have your picture taken…

No, no.. It vasn’t me… It was Nadiezhda, who was spreading the lies and capitalistic propaganda about the higher standard of living in the west.
It was her who said those lies that there, in the west – you can go to the store and buy food.
Even a meat ! As much as you want… Even… Even… Even the whole kilo of it !)

Vith that traitor Nadiezhda ve vill talk another time. She von't escape the severe justice of the peace loving Soviet people. But right now - you go with us.

Can I take with me some extra clothing…Warm sweater, gloves, ear muffs, extra pair of valonki ?

No, you von't need that where we are going. You'll be back in no time…

I know, I know, tovarish lieutenant… But, can I leave a good bye letter to my beloved wife Nadiezhda not to look for me for the next couple of years ?

……………………………………………

Under the smart and politically correct guidance from the Politburo – these people up there, on the wall – showed us the path we must follow…

They were the bright samples of the real Soviet people...

…………………………….

…………………………
ORWO colors…
Film grain…
Outdated…
Dirt and scratches…
Out of focus...
Lack of geometry (?)…
The silliness of this shot...

What can I say…???
Enough reasons for this post to be ignored by the true photography experts on the site

(:-)))))))

………………………………

You may find some original reactions to this photo here and here

....................

ninaL, casperduppy, Flavia, avene, Clairedelune, xuaxo ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

ninaL (21348) 2009-05-30 11:51

Pamietam dobrze to zdjecie...
Jest rewelacyjne.
Kwintesencja komunizmu i stachanowizmu kontrastujaca z pewna nonszalancja pani sprzatajacej ;))).
Wielki dokument.
Buzka. G.

Disabled_A (0) 2009-05-30 12:42

Hi George,
Curious interesting documentary shot :)
My message is not only for you, but also for everyone who cares to read it after looking at your photo.

I remember those times, but I should say that things were not so bad despite all those "horrors of Communism" ;)

I was brought up in the USSR, and I remember that "era" very well - the second part the "L.Brezhnev era", - the times before 1980s when Moscow Olympic games became a terrific event for the local ordinary (and extraordinary) people.

As an eyewitness of the Soviet Era I appreciate your photo and wonder: what Note would I think of if I had such a photo? :)

Maybe I will disappoint you but in the USSR people did not wear ear muffs ;) People (and me, too) wore handmade woolen caps and (mainly) cony fur hats).

I have read the other members' comments. Some of them made me curious and smile.
-----
"...surviving there was an excellent exercise in creativity"...

I wouldn’t say so. There were no beggars, everyone had a job, and we didn’t know what "unemployment" is; people earned enough to have a good life - as compared to what we have in Russia now. We always had enough food, by the way.

In many ways those "terrible Communist old times" were better than the current times.

Something essential was better - something which most Russians have lost by now. Something essential existed at that time - something that is not essential anymore now - here.

The Soviet Communist leaders?.. oh my!.. LOL We didn't care a f* about them, we had our own life to care about! Those fellas existed separately from the population :) They were semi-gods LOL
The "chosen ones".
I didn't mind their existing, though. They stole moderately and took good care of the country.
Those who have been in power after the death of the USSR have stolen a lot - much more than they could - and ruined the country.

The "long-awaited" (by whom, may I ask?) changes began in the counting its last days USSR of the post-Brezhnev era.
The former USSR leaders started selling out the country piece by piece to those greedy ones who had always wanted (and still want) to grab as much of the land as possible, with all the precious stuff it has in its subsoil).

Why am I saying this?
I do not doubt in the least that you know full well my attitude towards Russia. That's why I am expressing my opinion which might be of a bit of tiny curiosity for you.
Why?
How would I know?..

And the last:
Was it Yves Saint Laurent who said during his visit to Russia in the Soviet era: "I have seen your Socialist paradise, and I want to come back to my Capitalist hell!"?

So, where is hell now?
That is the question!
Best regards,
Elena
PS. Gosh!.. I’s the longest "critique" I have ever written to a TE photo! LOL
Which means… what does it mean?
It means that the photo is real good and it provokes people… stirs their thoughts and is, in itself, good food for thought.

[6] +

bantonbuju (51815) 2009-05-30 23:23

pamietam to zdjecie dobrze jeszcze z poprzedniej "edycji" poloneza...
"to se juz ne wrati, pane..." no chyba, zeby... we wrzesniu bede w tzw. republice naddniestrzanskiej, gdzie czas stanal w miejscu jakies 30 lat temu, podobno...

bylem wczoraj na "spacerze wolnosci", gdzie jakis aktor (tzn. wiem jaki, ale jego nazwisko nie ma tu znaczenia) odczytywal najwazniejsze wydarzenia rok po roku - z ostatniego 20-lecia)... lezka sie w oku krecila, ile w 20 lat sie moglo rzeczy wydarzyc....

pozdr. j.

zmey (7335) 2009-06-01 8:25

I side with the dog in his well expressed opinion about the contents of the wall... Thanks for the glimpse of the past.

Kristaps

[2]

rlrad (1845) 2009-06-01 9:22

Hi George,

Impressive shot, intense note. Surprising critique above - very unexpected, but I've never experienced Communism first-hand. Only fought against it for many years of my life.

I like this composition, the photos of the socialist leaders and the drab surroundings are part of the expected mood and amplifying note. You find ways to make a statement with each upload.

May Freedom Prevail in your life, and everyone else who looks at this!
Reed

chris04stop (6805) 2009-06-01 16:00

George? Just a simple thing: you are a great; you are wonderful. Okay?
Your Carmen witch

avene (12675) 2009-06-05 22:01

I've noticed that lately for some reason the USSR is being "painted" whiter and whiter, up to the point of saying that what Stalin did was simply a "good management". not sure to laught or to cry. oh, and do you know the latest news? accoding to the Russian Ministry of Defence, Poland started WWII.

I see that my previous comment on this photo has been quoted. I wonder how and where you had to live not to care about what was happening around you in the Soviet space. may be nobody told you that things could be different?

creativity? you bet we had to be creative. I remember my cousing wanted light blue shoes to go with her wedding dress, and since it was around 1986, no light blue shoes were available, if you wanted any. so she painted her old white shoes blue. beat this in creativity!

and hell? well, ask my mother who as a child for MONTHS were made to sleep with her clothes on, because her mother didn't know, when/if in the middle of the night there would be a knock on the door...

K.

Clairedelune (4923) 2009-06-16 18:14

Long time no see! :-)
...........
This is doing the same kind of feeling in me that I had the first time. It is like if my blood is turning cold. That wall that looks like prison bars (Ken's idea the first time)...

I had written "Me, an ignorant young (at the time!) Western, blessed by the God(s), woman... what can I write? I was living in a poor family in the 70s, but there was meat on our table. Ok, quite often the same meat, but meat nevertheless! And except in a somewhat black period of our history (the famous October crisis of 1970 in Quebec), the military vehicles and the soldiers were not a presence in the streets of my world. There was no big - giant - huge! - posters of our leaders, except maybe at elections time!
So, the only thing I can say about this photo is that it should go in the archives of the Humanity for being representative of this era, to express with not one word a world where only dogs could sh*t at the feet of the great leaders..."
I think the same even more.
Claire
N.B.: Just bought a used version of "L'archipel du Goulag" de Soljénitsyne (Solzhenitsyn)... In French, it is out of print since a long time... can you imagine?

bisok (948) 2009-06-24 6:56

$$$

To jest wielkie zdjęcie ...
kompletnie niezrozumiałe ...
dla większości odwiedzających TE.
Dowód ? ...
Po co ...
///I na nic się zdają opisy w PN ...///

...

"Klik, klik ... co za chała ... klik, klik"
"Klik, klik ... nie ma krzaczorów ? ... klik, klik"

...

Pamiętam tę Twoją teleportację z poprzedniej epoki POLONEZA (bez mego wpisu). Pamiętałem, pamiętam i pamiętać będę do ...

M.
$$$

xuaxo (6854) 2009-10-01 10:07

xuaxo
[2008-01-29 13:05]

Hi G!
With that text of the note I'd expect an even more colorless photo. At least the lady wears blue and the dog is not brown :-)

With some photoshop and minor adjustments in the text, this post could be North Korea, 2008.
F.