When the first subcultures appeared in the USSR the government simply considered those youngsters to be crazy. But when the movement went out of control it was already too late. Metallists, rockers, punks, rappers, bikers, etc. came out to the streets of the already crumbling Soviet society.
“Dog walking is prohibited”.
It reads “Dangerous Zone!”
Have they got the country they wanted?
via vbdevo4ka
All these little groups want to be special and noticed. Hey there…look at ME.
True but is there anything inherently wrong with that?
We want to be different, not special, we want to break away from the mold that society puts on people, to bad you can’t understand that, continue on your robotic life bro.
Thanks for the “common sense” understanding of Soviet subcultures. You really made me think about how they may different from western subcultures, why people would join these subcultures rather than following the traditional path, why the the subculturalists really started to come out in this time period in the USSR’s history, how they would have found out about the punk subculture that was started on the other side of the Iron Curtain, and so forth.
Mind blowing observation really.
“When the first subcultures appeared in the USSR the government simply considered those youngsters to be crazy.”
And in this case, the government was correct.
Or perhaps they were the sane ones and it was the government officials who were a bit crazy? A case of not being able to see the forest through the trees perhaps?
No, the photos of the people above are certifiably nuts. However, “crazy” ≠ wrong.
of course, they are.. I mean, how dare they think outside the box, and not look like corporate clones, right?
The Beatles did more to bring down the Iron Curtain then the Cold War. The Cold War simply kept the Communists at bay. But it was the Russian people who accomplished their own social revolution from within, and a long developing youth counter culture was certainly part of that.
“You don’t know how lucky you are boys, back in the U.S.S.R.” The boys didn’t know, apparently.
Actually what brought it down was the scarcity of goods, continuously low living standards and a police state that would come down at you at every step you took. But America is not totally wrong that the youth of the 70s and 80s totally lost touch with a system that just nuts, as they were not as brainwashed as the war and post-war generation.
Are these kids “stilyagi”?
Grandparents for gopniki
Nice to see people just as judgemental now as they were then.
Sure, these crowds want to be noticed, who wouldn’t in a culture that (at the time) did not want individuals or people to stand out from the crowd. They wanted human cattle to feed the machine.
Good on these people for trying to be something other than what was expected of them.
Damn, those soviet Kickers (the guys dressed like cowboys with the rebel flag) are awesome. I would totally hang out with those guys.
Researching the Early 1960′s Russia!
Looking for pictures of all walks of life in the early 1960′s!
Looking for hairstyles,Makeup,Fashion of the time!
Thanks Jule!!!