Photos from the "old days"
- Thread starter DLD
- Start date
Run&Gun
Well-known member
I remember watching the story on the news…. I was 13 or 14 at the time. Imagine telling someone standing in that line for hours that many cities had multiple McDonald’s and you could even have your birthday party in one, if you wanted to.
I don’t even know how many we have here, where I live, but there are two that are within 5-10 mins of me, on the same road as each other, that are only about two miles apart. And I wouldn’t eat at either one of them(McDonald’s in-general) if you paid for my food. Unless they have the McRib…
:2vrolijk_08:
Here's the deal with the Soviet restaurant industry. There wasn't much. For example, in the 1970's, the city of Kiev (the Ukrainian capitol with about 3.5 million residents) had 11 restaurants and about three dozen diners and coffee houses. The nighttime restaurants functioned as clubs - not quite the Brown Derby or the Maxim's but nonetheless much in demand among those with unverified income. They had live bands but their food was mostly cold cuts and hot chicken. And plenty of watered down vodka. Prices were reasonable during daytime but required a large graft when operated at night.
With the announcement of perestroika of 1986, private eating establishments opened up but, on an average, they were still too expensive for an average citizen. McDonald's sort of hit the sweet spot. It was still quite expensive - hamburger 1.50R, cheeseburger 1.75R, Big Mac 3.75R - in the day when an average wage was about 200R per month - but it also gave a proven quality meal. McD spent far too much money on it but it was a huge publicity coup for the company. Lines were long ... I mean, 3-4 hours long early on and the outlet serviced about 30,000 customers daily. For the Moscow residents, it was as much of an experience as a nourishment. And with better smells than Lenin's Mausoleum.
With the announcement of perestroika of 1986, private eating establishments opened up but, on an average, they were still too expensive for an average citizen. McDonald's sort of hit the sweet spot. It was still quite expensive - hamburger 1.50R, cheeseburger 1.75R, Big Mac 3.75R - in the day when an average wage was about 200R per month - but it also gave a proven quality meal. McD spent far too much money on it but it was a huge publicity coup for the company. Lines were long ... I mean, 3-4 hours long early on and the outlet serviced about 30,000 customers daily. For the Moscow residents, it was as much of an experience as a nourishment. And with better smells than Lenin's Mausoleum.
A scratch sheet of the Russian-to-English translation of Lilliana Gassinskaya right before she jumped out of the window of the Soviet cruise ship and swam across the shark invested harbor in Sydney, Australia. English she didn't spoke gut but, apparently, she looked good enough in a bikini to pose for the original Aussie issue of Penthouse magazine.
The Daily Telegraph, AU article - https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/n...y/news-story/9c993fd5179c2bedf57e4bd4cfdeb1ce
The Daily Telegraph, AU article - https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/n...y/news-story/9c993fd5179c2bedf57e4bd4cfdeb1ce
You are correct. The other option was to make a small bonfire and hang a kettle over it.
PS. Not every thermos was filled with tea, obviously. But I digress.
NorBro
Well-known member
I'm an American, but there are very few here who are as close to your roots as me, DLD!
I could comment on everything you post, but I pick and choose.
The picnics were insanely common in the 90s. They'd have dedicated picnic areas all over those countries in the middle of nowhere.
Or all over by the local lake where everyone swam in and then became infected with ringworm.
I could comment on everything you post, but I pick and choose.
The picnics were insanely common in the 90s. They'd have dedicated picnic areas all over those countries in the middle of nowhere.
Or all over by the local lake where everyone swam in and then became infected with ringworm.
December, 8th, 1991 was the day when the representatives of Russian Federation (Boris Yeltsin), Belarus (Stalislav Shushkevich) and Ukraine (Leonid Kravchuck) signed a document announcing the breakup of the Soviet Union. This became known as the Belavezh Accords. Two weeks later on December, 25th, Mikhail Gorbachev appeared on the Soviet TV to inform the viewers of his resignation as the first and last president of the USSR. With that, the red hammer and sickle Soviet flag was lowered and the USSR was no more.
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Please, feel free to comment on anything. I, obviously, started this thread after stumbling on some odd and curious photos from that bygone era but I hope those who recall those days also participate. Or simply anyone who wants to sample "селедка в шубе". Just because.
