In the USSR carpets became popular in the 50-ies with the ear of “khruschevkas” (of low-cost panelled or brick three to five-storied apartment buildings), they we usually hung on walls or put on the floor to make rooms warmer and quieter as the walls were usually thin.
Advertisement:
Just like in ancient and medieval times, when people decorated their dwelling houses with animal skins tapestries, the USSR citizens tried to make the apartments look nicer and probably more comfortable with the help of carpets.
They weren’t cheap, and it was believed that if a family has at least carpet is was doing well, and if it had more than one, neighbors could suspect the family of being too prosperous. You could not just go a local store and buy this “luxury” as usually for getting this thing people had to have a pull.
Expensive carpets were placed on sofas and armchairs, and never on the floor, as for the Soviet people it was one of the most desirable treasures of their household. A good, high-quality and big carpet cost approximately 1500 rubles, and the average salary was around 150, so it was really a very costly thing to buy. In some families carpets were partly covered with photos and medals or just fine pictures.
But to be honest, the tradition of taking photos of people with a carpet on the background originates from the early 20th century as the pic below shows. It is a photo of baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, and judging from the ornament this carpet was a scientific artifact brought from the expedition to Kazakhstan.
Over some time, when simple hand-held cameras became a thing for everyone to have, Russians launched a weird tradition of making home photos with a carpet on the background, and in any family album you could find a couple of pictures of this kind, usually highly primitive and vulgar. Nowadays this ritual still survives. Sometimes an old and ugly carpet can go with brand-new furniture and hi-tech video-system.
Most young (and not very young) fans of home photography don’t even want to think of giving up this tradition and just love to be shot standing, lying or sitting on carpets oк just near this thing, hanging on the wall. This fact couldn’t attract the inquiring minds of conspiracy theorists who started a community devoted to the carpets anomaly and called it “The Carpet Rise”.
Their main conclusion was (quote): “carpet_rise community believes that not many of you know that a carpet is a sentient being. Carpets can breed, carpets can think and they are alive. And the main thing is that carpets love people. A carpet controls you by giving commands via electromagnetic field and a bunch of lints getting right into your brain. If you don’t have a carpet, sooner or later you will buy it at last and it will come to you.
Photo credits – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Anna Rudenko
1st
that pic is awful but the rug on wall idea does make sense
Nice you got our Mannerheim (Marski) here also. Who had his proud and didn’t be a close friend of Hitler. From Russian army to Finnish army leader and president. Great man!
wow wee look at that hot babe in the last pic
i want to see first picture without black bars. whats up with the bird on the wall?
Carpets aren’t good if you got asthma.
Here is the link to the community: http://community.livejournal.com/carpet_rise/
It’s really a russian phenomenon.
Lots of adult pictures, so be careful.
Carpets were used on walls in Europe since the middle age, at least.
Living in russia the one thing I’ve always hated was carpets on the wall.
Carpets on walls remained only with old people and at silly people which to spit what kind at them in the house. It is very old fashion come of east countries.
OMG
Where is miss india by now?
Miss India was crushed by an elephant. Very tragic.
Btw, Mr. Sherlock Holmes used Watson’s carpet to cover up the holes from bullets. As you remember, Holmes liked to fire V.R. monogram on the wall of his room. Awful Russian influence
))
very nice great article thank you.
English Russia » Carpets Now and Beforevery nice article. thank you.
Lach, sehr gut. Komme nun
Hey, don’t knock the wall carpet until you’ve lived through a 90F average summer with insulation that has been largely eaten by squirrels. They definitely work to keep the heat out.
You do not understand it! My babushka likes to hang rugs on the wall: “For warm and comfort!” – she says. 0:)