ZAZ is the main automobile manufacturer of Ukraine, based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhia: its name is in fact the acronym of “Zaporiz’kyj Avtomobilebudivel’nyj Zavod” (Ukrainian: ЗАЗ, Запорізький автомобілебудівельний завод), meaning exactly “Zaporizhia automobile building plant”. During Soviet Era, ZAZ designed and built a series of compact–cars (called “Zaporozhets”) accessible to the public. In this early 1970s pictures you can see some ZAZ-968‘s being assembled in the Zaporizha …
Pitsunda (Black Sea) in 1970s
Pitsunda in 1970s was one of the most famous seaside resorts on the Black Sea and summer destination for soviet tourists. Today the town it belongs to Republic of Abkhazia that is a partially recognised state controlled by a separatist government, although the majority of the world’s governments consider Abkhazia a part of Georgia’s territory. The dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in a geopolitical …
Soviet resort in Pitsunda, Black Sea
Pitsunda or Bichvinta (Georgian) is a resort town in Abkhazia, on the Black Sea. In the Soviet Era it was a popular holiday destination for Russians: this 1970s picture shows a soviet resort whose buildings stand directly on the beach. Today it is known as “Golden Fleece” Hotel. At that time Pitsunda was a Georgian town, today it belongs to Republic of Abkhazia. (photo: URSS …
Krasnoyarsk Dam in 1975
The Krasnojarsk dam (Russia) on the Yenisey river in a 1975 photo. Built between 1956 and 1972, it is 124-metre (407 ft) high, 1 065 m (3 494 ft) long and its reservoir (known as “Krasnoyarsk Sea”) has an area of 2 000 square kilometres (770 sq mi). It supplies 6 000 MW of power. (photo: URSS 75 yearbook © 1975 Novosti news agency, Moscow – personal collection) [hana-code-insert name=’g-ads-portfolio’ /]
Leonid Brezhnev and Fidel Castro in Cuba, 1974
Cuba, 1974: Leonid Brezhnev (1906 – 1982), general secretary of the Communist Party and Chariman of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, and Fidel Castro, prime minister of Cuba. In this picture, Brezhnev has just arived at Havana airport for his official visit to Cuba of 28th January – 3rd February. (photo: URSS 75 yearbook © 1975 Novosti news agency, Moscow – personal collection)
Rattenfängerhaus, Hameln
A 1890 photocrom postcard showing the “Rattenfängerhaus” (Rat–Catcher’s House) in Hameln, a German town of the Lower-Saxony well known for the legend about a rat–catcher hired by the city council to lure rats away with his magic pipe. The Reinassance stone facade dates from 1602, but the building is actually much older. The picture shows the adjacent “Street without Music” (Bungelosenstraße) with a view of buildings that no …
Three Graces fountain in Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijian and the country’s main harbour. This 1975 picture shows the “Three Graces” fountain, named after the sculpture of the goddesses of greek–roman mythology, in the Khagani garden (also known locally as “Molokan”). At that time the population of the city was 1 383 000 and Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union. Baku is full of sculptures, representing crafts, street performers, movie character ecc… You could find them in every …
Yerevan, Republic Square in 1975
Yerevan, capital of Armenia, during the soviet era. In this 1975 picture one can see a view of “Lenin Sqaure”, now called “Republic Square”. There are many government buildings and ministries in the square, which is considered the most important point of the city. The Lenin statue on the left was dismantled in 1990, shortly before Armenia regained independence. The former hotel …
