Vintage snapshots ...

... of the Soviet Union in 1966.

(See also here.)

Canine Resilience

Consider the workday of a Moscow subway dog.

This is not your Mother's Moscow.

Puttin' on the Ritz.

This is an old photo, but it's not *that* old.

Elena, one of the two younger sisters of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana was an actress in the Soviet Union.

Here's another snapshot of Elena, in character:

Moscow, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, about 1966. Elena writes, " A film about the life of Rus’ [Old Russia] in the sixteenth century. I am an aged mother. I am awaiting the warriors who were to return after a battle for Rus’."

Thanks to my dear friend D for translating the text from Russian to English.

Revisiting, with Translation

I earlier posted a photo of Elena, the younger sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana. Elena, like Tatjana, was born an aristocrat in Tsarist Russia. After the Russian Revolution, she came to know hardship. Eventually, Elena became an actress; she was typecast to portray an aristocrat.

Recently, my friend, D, translated what Elena had written on the photos she sent to Tatjana.

Here is what Elena wrote about the snapshot in which she is costumed as a lady in Catherine I's court:

 November 6, 1967

To my dear, my own, my sister Tatjana as a keepsake.

Tatjana, I remember our whole childhood. I clearly remember our papa and mama, you, our brothers.

I love you just as I loved you in childhood and youth. 

This photo was taken in the summer of 1967 at a play set in the time of Peter I. I was playing a court lady in the suite of Catherine I.

One of my shoulders is now somewhat higher than the other. This happened after my second rib was broken. My hands are the hands of a woman laborer. These are not the hands of an aristocratic lady. My hands have done a lot of washing, done housework, carried heavy things. It’s a pity that I wasn’t wearing gloves.

Yours with all my heart,

Your Elena

Playing the Part

Elena, the sister of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, worked as an actress in the Soviet Union. Stage directors usually cast her in the role of an aristocrat.

Here she is in the role of roles, as a member of Catherine I's court:

Moscow, Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, June 6, 1967. Elena is satisfied by a good performance.

UPDATE: I later posted what Elena said about this photo here.