Oct 25
The might of the Soviet republics
This postcard, published in 1976 and celebrating the Bolshevik Revolution, shows a ship of the Soviet fleet surrounded by the flags of the Soviet republics, with the flag of the USSR largest at the top. The artist (phonetically spelled, of course) is B. Parmeyev. I hesitate to consider this a chrome postcard, as it seems to be printed on uncoated bleached manila.
Glory to Great October (Postcard Back)
Oct 25
Слава Великому Октябрю!
This is a Soviet greeting card, I suppose, measuring about 6-7/8 inches by 3-3/4 inches. I assume that, since Christmas was illegal, one needed a festive occasion on which to send such a card — and what better occasion than the anniversary (which just happens to be today) of the Octyabrskaya Revolyutsiya! (For you bourgeoisie out there, that’s Russki for “October Revolution.”)
As far as my extremely limited Russian can tell, the caption means, of course, “Glory to Great October.”
What’s really interesting is the “copyright” notice:
The first line is the artist credit: a name that sounds out to something like Lukbyanov.
I’m not sure what the first word is immediately after the copyright symbol. The second word, however, is one that I recognize. It’s pravda. I’m going to guess that copyright was held by the Soviet state, and God help you if you made unlicensed copies.
If you can shed any light on this particular card, then by all means please leave a comment.
Aug 16
Leningrad: Russian Museum (Front)
This very nice Soviet postcard of the Russian Museum in Leningrad was printed in the USSR in 1976. I could tell you where I got it, but then I’d have to kill you.
Leningrad: Russian Museum (Back)
From the arrangement of the printing on the back (and the lack of a stamp box), it’s not clear that this is actually intended to be a postcard — though it is of the proper size and card stock. Perhaps, if you were mailing it from the USSR, the printing on the left is intended to discourage you from writing a personal message — which would probably have been censored anyway.
