1958 EDUCATIONAL FILM “ RUSSIAN LIFE TODAY: INSIDE THE SOVIET UNION ” USSR MOSCOW GEORGIA 44144

Browse our products on Amazon: Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference. This film focuses on the cultural and social aspects of what life within Soviet Russia was like during the Cold War. It was filmed with government permission and an official guide to show the more prosperous side of the Soviet Union and it will refrain from looking into the political and economic life (:11). Moscow is the fifth largest city in the world and is also the capital of the Soviet Union and the Russian Republic (2:03). The Moskva River, in western Russia, runs adjacent to the Kremlin (2:17). The Kremlin was initially created as a fortress until Peter the Great transferred the Imperial Government to St. Petersburg (2:27). A quota is set in place by the government for labor and production goals (2:44). The Kremlin faces the Red Square; (2:49) which the St. Basil the Blessed Cathedral sits in the center of (2:53). Iron gates had previously blocked off visitors to the Kremlin until 1955 (3:05). The tombs of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin sit near the Kremlin’s entrance (3:12). The Hermitage Art Gallery in Leningrad follows (3:40). The gold domes of the Kremlin are pointed out as all activity within the Soviet Union is directed from here (3:46). The churches of the Soviet Union operate freely (3:56) and while Russian Orthodox is the most popular, there exists many different venues for varying religions (4:02). Religion is refrained from being taught in schools and most Russians are educated about atheism instead (4:23). City streets are mostly empty (4:48). Statues of Russian Tzars and warriors (5:05) as well as statues dedicated to workers. At six months, children are taken to nursery schools (5:45). At the age of seven they are sent for regular schooling (6:00). Academic standards are high and classes are six days a week (6:29). Also, at seven, kids become members of a communist youth organization called the Young Pioneers (6:45). By 17, they become members of the Young Communist League (6:59). After ten years they are able to potentially become members of the Communist Party. The Moscow University enrolls about 22,000 students annually (7:43). The Bolshoi Theater (7:43). Women are seen learning ballet (8:26). Artwork in the Hermitage at Leningrad includes Van Dyck’s Self Portrait (8:43), Titian’s Mary Magdalene (8:50) and the Madonna Litta by Leonardo da Vinci (8:53). One of the many book stands (9:04). All works must be approved by the government (9:14). Food and soft drink vendors have a quota to maintain (9:25). The government department store GUM (9:48) in Red Square. Goods are sold in limited quantity (10:19) and food displays are crafted of wax and plaster (10:19). Caucasus Mountain range and the Republic of Georgia (10:39), bordered by the Black Sea and Turkey (10:50). The capital is Tbilisi (10:56). The Religious Seminary which Joseph Stalin was a student of follows (11:16), as well as the capital buildings of Georgia (11:22) and a statue of Lenin (11:29). Bread can only be purchased in state regulated stores (12:23) and much of it came from Ukraine (12:34). Collective farms were owned and operated by the state and run mainly by women (13:08). Passengers load onto a train for the Crimea Peninsula (14:01). This Peninsula runs along the shores of the Black Sea (14:14). Yalta; a small port on the southern tip, (14:17) is a popular vacation resort site. Castles along the Crimean coast had been utilized during WW2 for meetings between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin (14:59). A popular plate of fresh caviar and sweet buttered bread is laid in front of hotel restaurant guests (16:00). In an upper-class apartment home, a woman who works at the factory shows her daughter how to play piano (16:22). The father; a Captain in the Russian Navy, listens to the radio as television was unpopular (16:29). All of the furniture in their homes had been produced in the Soviet Union (16:52). The family dines on a meal of borscht (16:58). Half of the population resided in over crowded apartments (17:54). Medical services are provided for free and the state educates nurses and doctors (18:11). Vacations are furnished by the government for those who exceed labor or production quotas (18:21). Winners have little say in where the vacation is to be and a traditional option is a boat tour on the Black Sea (18:51). Civilians crowd beaches and a few venture into the cold waters (19:26). Children spend summers at the Young Pioneers Camps (19:55). The film concludes on a shot of the Kremlin (20:44). This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit