Photos from the "old days"
- Thread starter DLD
- Start date
Raisins.
As long as we're on desserts. This was/is called a "chocolate potato" . The taste is roughly that of a Entemann's "Devil Food Donut". I found it at a Russian deli here in SoFla but they charged as much for one "potato" as Entemann's charges for a whole box.
http://shininghappypeople.net/blogs/media/blogs/kazan-2012/July/yeti.jpg
http://shininghappypeople.net/blogs/media/blogs/kazan-2012/July/yeti.jpg
Grug
Veteran
This thread is so fascinating! Please keep it going guys.
I have nothing to contribute myself (as I understand it my dad's side of the family's ties to eastern-Europe ended sometime around 1904 when they moved over to the East End of London to escape the pogroms) but it's so interesting to hear about.
I have nothing to contribute myself (as I understand it my dad's side of the family's ties to eastern-Europe ended sometime around 1904 when they moved over to the East End of London to escape the pogroms) but it's so interesting to hear about.
A Soviet style Napoleon cake is not something one can find at the US chains but they're very popular at the Russian delis.
In principle/style, it's very close to a "1,000 layers" (Mille-Feuille) French cake, with multiple thin sheets of pastry and in-between creme/custard fillings. It's very labor intensive to make and thus quite pricey but can be bought in slices too.
And it's delish.
In principle/style, it's very close to a "1,000 layers" (Mille-Feuille) French cake, with multiple thin sheets of pastry and in-between creme/custard fillings. It's very labor intensive to make and thus quite pricey but can be bought in slices too.
And it's delish.
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Outside of a liquor store. Judging from clothing, mid-late 1980's when the government began its anti-alcoholism campaign. The sign on the wall says "ПИВО" (beer)
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-69a0dc7c009ee085b893029877a3db01
Moscow, January, 31, 1990. First McDonald is about to open in the USSR.
https://englishrussia.com/images/ne...104321/188165/0_284991_5a067875_orig_full.jpg
https://englishrussia.com/images/ne...104321/188165/0_284991_5a067875_orig_full.jpg
I think I posted that some time back. It's an evergreen event from the late USSR.
PS. I had one of those ear flap winter hats. We even brought it to the US. Once I was walking to our townhouse in a Milwaukee suburb while wearing it. It was cold, mid January, IIRC. A police cruiser drives by. The cop turns on the flash lights. "Where are you going?" - "Home" - "And where are you from?" - "Minsk". Well, geography must not have been what they taught at the police academy. He was perplexed.
PS. I had one of those ear flap winter hats. We even brought it to the US. Once I was walking to our townhouse in a Milwaukee suburb while wearing it. It was cold, mid January, IIRC. A police cruiser drives by. The cop turns on the flash lights. "Where are you going?" - "Home" - "And where are you from?" - "Minsk". Well, geography must not have been what they taught at the police academy. He was perplexed.
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When the Soviet Union officially allowed private entrepreneurship in 1987, the new entrepreneurs discovered that there was no retail space. In other words, all available store space was already taken by the state owned outlets. In response, any open air space was turned into retail, at least, on weeends.
This is from the late 1980's-early 1990's.
This is from the late 1980's-early 1990's.
NorBro
Major Contributor
That's called a "targ" from where I come from, and you could pretty much find anything at them for pennies.
Now the closest thing I have here on my end is Chinatown or a flea market.
When I was a kid in the 90s, I purchased one of Will Smith's tapes in Poland. It looked legit (at least to a kid) with Will's picture on the front and a track list on the back all in a standard plastic case - but when I listened to it, it was someone else rapping/singing all of his songs.
I don't know what you call this kind of bootleg cover recording, but I asked the owner about it and I remember him trying to explain to me how this was a business and I was really shocked.
It was an incredible experience because not only could the other kids or adults tell it wasn't him but they didn't believe me. I was the only one from USA.
Now the closest thing I have here on my end is Chinatown or a flea market.
When I was a kid in the 90s, I purchased one of Will Smith's tapes in Poland. It looked legit (at least to a kid) with Will's picture on the front and a track list on the back all in a standard plastic case - but when I listened to it, it was someone else rapping/singing all of his songs.
I don't know what you call this kind of bootleg cover recording, but I asked the owner about it and I remember him trying to explain to me how this was a business and I was really shocked.
It was an incredible experience because not only could the other kids or adults tell it wasn't him but they didn't believe me. I was the only one from USA.
Back in 1976, my mom took me to Moscow. She was supposed to attend a continuing education course for law professionals in the city suburbs. I was taken along because she was dead set on showing me around town and, for added convenience, we could stay at our vacationing relatives apartment.
At one point, we ended up inside GUM, the main department store in the whole country. Outside a record store - cassettes weren't generally sold then - there was a bunch of suspicious looking personalities. One asks, "Are you a Slade fan?" I replied, "Well, of course".
Slade, at the time, was one of the biggest bands in Europe and everyone "with taste" knew who they were.
So, the guy opened up his jacket, "I have a Slade record. Five rubles". Well, a typical Soviet record was 2.15R but a Slade, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Nazareth in a sealed package were going anywhere from 30 to 70. So, the offer appeared fake. The record was probably some discount bin Brezhnev speech - those were often offered as a package deal with the popular Soviet bands of the era, since they couldn't be given away and paying 4.30R or so for a popular but often out of stock record was considered acceptable premium - carefully placed inside a bland paper album jacket. I shook my head and saved mom's 5R.
As to GUM (Glavny Universal'nyy Magazin), I found a photo that led to a whole album, taken by someone named "Dave Taylor" in the same 1976. Judging from the wardrobe, this looks to be somewhere in the fall, however. GUM, the only shopping mall in the USSR, is photos 2-7.
https://humus.livejournal.com/6101388.html
https://humus.livejournal.com/6101388.html
GUM has its own Wikipedia page, although its English version has less info than the Russian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUM_(department_store)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUM_(department_store)
NorBro
Major Contributor
I was going to say it should be in a glass with some kooky 90s European design on it, but it appears the glasses have something on them but they are turned the other way.
And I had mine in very short glasses.
There were always three drinks on the food table:
Kompot
Oranzada
Vodka
The vodka was always empty.
A lot of Americans probably don't know the vodka was drank warm and straight.
And I had mine in very short glasses.
There were always three drinks on the food table:
Kompot
Oranzada
Vodka
The vodka was always empty.
A lot of Americans probably don't know the vodka was drank warm and straight.
Vodka wasn't drank. It was gulped!
In my youth in the 70's, there were two main "brands", Moskovskaya (literally, Moscow) and Stonichnaya (Capitol). M-ya was 3.62R and Stoli was 4.12R. And I still remember a cartoon drawing with this dialog.
------------
A long haired college kid : hey, dad, I need to buy a couple of books.
Father - how much do you need, son?
A long haired college kid - 3.62 for one and 4.12 for the other.
And I was so young, I didn't get the joke because I didn't know what it meant.
In my youth in the 70's, there were two main "brands", Moskovskaya (literally, Moscow) and Stonichnaya (Capitol). M-ya was 3.62R and Stoli was 4.12R. And I still remember a cartoon drawing with this dialog.
------------
A long haired college kid : hey, dad, I need to buy a couple of books.
Father - how much do you need, son?
A long haired college kid - 3.62 for one and 4.12 for the other.
And I was so young, I didn't get the joke because I didn't know what it meant.