Painting by Vladimir Struzer: paintings that were banned by the Ministry of Culture of the USSR

Why New Year trees were banned in the USSR

In the modern New Year, there is a huge number of Soviet traditions. It is not surprising, given that this is a time of miracles, they most often happen in childhood, many of us prefer to celebrate the change of the year the way our parents did, and therefore in the USSR. Why, even a drink, without which a New Year's table is impossible for many - "Soviet Champagne". And "The Irony of Fate …", which will invariably be included in the television network of many channels, "Blue Lights" also hails from the USSR. How did you create

How Soviet soldiers survived, who were carried into the ocean for 49 days, and How they were met in the USA and the USSR after they were rescued

In the early spring of 1960, the crew of the American aircraft carrier Kearsarge discovered a small barge in the middle of the ocean. On board were four emaciated Soviet soldiers. They survived by feeding on leather belts, tarpaulin boots and industrial water. But even after 49 days of extreme drift, the soldiers told the American sailors who found them something like this: help us only with fuel and food, and we will get home ourselves

The fading star of the 100-year-old queen of romance: Why Isabella Yuryeva's songs were banned in the USSR

September 7 marks the 121st anniversary of the birth of the famous singer, People's Artist of Russia Isabella Yurieva, who was called the "queen of romance" and "white gypsy". She was the same age as the century and during her long hundred-year life she witnessed all the cardinal changes in the life of her country. But these changes did not promise her happiness: at the beginning of the twentieth century. she was worshiped, then her songs were forbidden, and in the 1970s. they remembered her again. She received the title of People's Artist of the USSR only at the age of 95, and at

Under the yoke of censorship: 10 authors whose books were banned in the USSR

Censorship exists all over the world, and books, theatrical performances and films are often subjected to censorship. In Soviet times, literature, like many other spheres of culture, was under the total control of the party leadership. Works that did not correspond to the propagandized ideology were banned, and they could only be read in samizdat or by taking out a copy bought abroad and secretly brought to the Land of the Soviets

What paintings of Russian classics were banned from showing, and for what reason they fell out of favor with the censors

We are used to associating censorship bans with forbidden books or films. But even in such a seemingly harmless genre of art as painting, artists could go against the ideological attitudes of the authorities, which is why certain paintings were not accepted for display at public exhibitions. Several such stories happened in the Russian Empire, and they are associated not with some little-known artists, but with generally recognized masters of the brush