What Russia was like in 1973 (PHOTOS)

Vladimir Musaelyan/MAMM/MDF/TASS
Let’s take a look at some revealing photos depicting how the Soviet Union looked 50 years ago under the rule of Leonid Brezhnev.

Leonid Brezhnev meets Richard Nixon.

A Labor Day demonstration banner with the text: “The USSR - a flag bearer of peace!”

Another Labor Day demonstration with people carrying a giant portrait of Vladimir Lenin.

Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida after landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.

Moscow traffic on the 56th anniversary of the 1917 Revolution.

The rise of Soviet gymnastics. Pictured below are the stars: (left to right) Olga Korbut, Lyubov Burda, Elvira Saadi and Lyubov Bogdanova.

Regular citizens enjoying themselves in a beer bar.

‘Meteor’, a Soviet river speed boat with hydrofoil, cruising along a river.

A farmer’s wife tending to a cow.

Two women riding a ski lift on Cheget Mountain.

A stylish boy catching his winter vibes in Kaluga.

A perfect illustration for the Soviet song ‘Music plays on the boat’.

Retired people dancing in a Moscow park.

Triplets and their grandparents going for a walk.

Moscow teenage girls gossiping.

People strolling along the banks of the Neva River, Leningrad.

A family scene: A father feeding his kids at home. 

A student studying in a library in Vyborg, Leningrad Region.

What a dangerous trick! A female gymnast doing a move, with others watching in shock.

Girls just wanna have fun. Farmer wives hitching a ride on the back of a tractor.

White Nights, the most romantic time in Leningrad. A couple strolling along its streets.

Orthodox priests attending an Easter religious procession at the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra, Moscow Region.

A builder riding a Soviet ‘Muravey’ (‘Ant’) trike on a construction site.

A school girl busy with lessons.

Spring is here! A father strolling with his daughter.

Students of the Moscow Institute of Railway Engineers on the construction work of the Baikal–Amur Mainline pose for a group photo.

Poet Vladimir Mayakovsky’s muse, Lilya Brik, signing autographs on his 80th birthday.

Poet Bella Akhmadullina performing at a fully packed Luzhniki stadium.

Fishermen beginning spring fishing in the Urals.

A farmer family debating amongst each other in a Chuvash village. 

Stylish Soviet students attending class.

There was always time for romance (and there was a never ending romance for exploring everything new!).

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