This Universal International News reel from 1956 takes an interesting look at the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets. The clip includes an animation showing how Sputnik was believed to have been launched. This news piece was most likely shown in movie theaters around America.

The February, 1958 edition of Science Digest featured an interesting article on Soviet plans to build cities on the moon. Of course the Soviets never sent men to the moon, and it would be another 11 years before Neil Armstrong would make his historic landing. Back in 1958, however, it seemed that Soviet plans to colonize the moon were taken rather seriously by American scientists. The article is very interesting and gives some historic perspective on the space race between the US and USSR.

Link: Soviet Cities on the Moon?

Here’s a small collection of videos and photos posted by internet users on Victory Day 2007.

Russian National Anthem sung by soldiers during the official Victory Day celebrations on Red Square. You can follow along with the lyrics.

Video from inside the cockpits of the jets that flew over the Red Square ceremony.

Veteran. Originally posted by Encinar.

Veteran. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.

Veterans marching in Victory Day parade. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.

Victory Day parade, Moscow, 9 May 2007. Originally posted by urbanpostings.

Stalin poster in Victory Day parade. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.

Marchers in Victory Day parade. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.

Fire in the Sky. Originally posted by stranger in moskva.

Victory Day, the celebration of Soviet victory over fascist Germany in the Great Patriotic War, is celebrated each year in Russia on May 9th. Victory Day banners, posters and decorations are everywhere. Here are some pictures we took on a short walk around St. Petersburg.

Victory Day Decorations at Technology Institute Metro, St. Petersburg, Russia

Victory Day Decorations – Narva Triumphal Gate, St. Petersburg, Russia

Closeup of decorations at Narva Triumphal Gate

Building decorated for Victory Day

Victory Day poster in store window – “Happy Victory Day – May 9th”

Victory Day poster – “Happy Victory Day”

Here is a short American news clip from 1961 covering the May 1st celebrations in both the Soviet Union and Cuba. While the clip shows little about the actual May Day events, it does provide examples of both American and Soviet Cold War propaganda.

The Schusev State Museum of Architecture has some very nice online galleries featuring photos and drawings from the Stalin era. The first gallery features drawings of grandiose, yet unrealized, architectural projects. The second gallery, entitled “Life Became Better, Comrades, Life Became More Cheerful”, features photos of Moscow celebrations and construction projects from the same era.

Link: The Architecture of Moscow from the 1930s to the early 1950s. Unrealized projects
Link: Life Became Better, Comrades, Life Became More Cheerful

Last week’s article about Samantha Smith and Katya Lycheva generated a lot of feedback from our friends and readers. Many found the story of these child ambassadors inspiring and hopeful. Others found it hard to believe that a 10-year-old girl would ever write such a letter or even think about such topics as nuclear war. This led to a discussion of how American children viewed the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Why were American kids afraid of the USSR and of nuclear war? While there were many things that affected children during the Cold War, mass media was certainly a very strong influence.

Here’s a sample of some films that might cause a child to write things like “I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war” and “I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country.” ^[1] These are just a few of the many films produced during the Cold War that portrayed a Russian invasion of America.

Invasion U.S.A.
This 1952 film portrays a communist invasion of America. Here’s the original trailer for the film.

The Day After
ABC aired this made-for-TV film in November of 1983. The film portrays a Soviet nuclear attack on America and the aftermath of this attack. Here’s a clip from the film.

Red Dawn
A Hollywood blockbuster starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. The film portrays a Soviet and Cuban/Latin American invasion of the United States in the late 1980s, igniting a world war. Here’s the trailer for Red Dawn.

Amerika
This 1987 ABC mini-series cost about $40 million to produce and was watched by 100 million people. ^[2] Amerika’s plot takes place in 1997 after 10 years of Soviet occupation of America. While the plot seems fairly frivolous, it gives an interesting look into how Americans felt about the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Here is a commercial for Amerika

This clip from the mini-series shows a young American boy in a costume similar to that of a Soviet Young Pioneer. He is giving a speech about the new Amerika to a crowd saying,

“We are grateful to our Soviet brothers who saved the world from destruction, and we can now join them in a world of socialist brotherhood. Everyone will go to school, everyone will have a job, everyone will be equal. No one will exploit or be exploited, and all those who oppose this wonderful vision will be crushed.”

Link: Invasion U.S.A.
Link: The Day After
Link: Red Dawn
Link: Amerika

St. Petersburg is known for its many waterways and bridges. Petersburg-bridges.com presents a history of these bridges. The site features many old photographs and a detailed history of Petersburg bridges.

Link: petersburg-bridges.com

In 1982 Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old American fifth grader, wrote to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov to ask if he was going to wage a nuclear war against America. A few months later, she received a personal response from Andropov and was invited to visit the USSR. Her 1983 tour of the Soviet Union garnered extensive mass media attention in both countries. She visited Moscow, Leningrad and spent time with Soviet children in Artek. Speaking at a Moscow press conference, Smith declared that the Russians were “just like us”.

After her trip, Smith’s popularity grew in both countries and she became a political and peace activist. Samantha hosted several television shows and co-starred in an American sitcom. The Soviet Union even issued a commemorative stamp of Smith.

Samantha Smith died tragically in 1985 when her plane crashed in Maine.

As a result of Smith’s visit, Soviet schoolgirl Katya Lycheva was invited to tour the US in 1986. She spent time visiting cities across the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.. She even had the opportunity to meat President Ronald Reagan. Katya’s visit made headlines around the world. After her visit, Lycheva became quite famous in the USSR and went on to star in several Soviet films.

Link: Samantha Smith
Link: Samantha Smith at Wikipedia
Link: Children As The Peacemakers Foundation

On June 16, 1963 Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She orbited the earth for almost 3 days, taking photographs and keeping a detailed flight log. She only flew into space once, and it would be 19 years before another woman flew as part of the Soviet space program.

In later life, Tereshkova became a high ranking member of the communist government in Moscow. She was decorated Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded the Order of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, and the United Nations Gold Medal of Peace. In 2000, she was named “Greatest Woman Achiever of the Century” by the International Women of the Year Association.

Link: Wikipedia article on Valentina Tereshkova
Link: First woman in space dreams of flying to Mars
Link: BBC – Cosmonaut is Woman of the Century