Soviet Stuff

22:30 22 December 2008

Last weekend in Karakol was really quite fun, I already wrote about the good times we had at the holiday party, but in addition to that I did some other fun things. I got a new hat at the bazaar, a Russian type driving cap. These caps are really common here and my idea is that in addition to being a dressier hat that I can wear in the classroom if needed (it gets cold) is that it will help me blend in slightly. I actually thing that it looks pretty darn good on me, it’s pretty warm, and it only cost about four dollars! So I got excited about that purchase, and the other volunteer I was with did the same as me when I did so we looked spiffy together. The difference in opinion was so stark that I actually got asked directions in Karakol! I didn’t know the answer of course, but it was really excited getting mistaken for someone who knew where he was.

In addition to a new hat, I swung by an Antiques store that I have visited a few other times. Much like any antique store, it has old machines, pictures, and other things, but the real treat to me is the authentic Soviet paraphernalia that he sells there for what I find to be incredibly cheap. I have heard there is somewhat of a market for Western buyers in Russia to buy Soviet-style things adorned with the omnipresent sickle and hammer. While I have no interest in knock-offs, finding legitimate pins, postcards, models, and other trinkets from the Soviet era is really fascinating to me. I took pictures of all the items I bought there and present them to you here. The prize of my collection so far is a model of Sputnik that was made to commemorate the launch of the first ever manmade satellite. In addition to being cool and historic, it is also a really neat model, despite the fact that the satellite is missing one of its three trademark antenna, and the famous satellite is propped on the word “Мир” which means both “world” and “peace”, in this case I would assume “peace”. The postcards there are significantly less expensive than modern day postcards of Kyrgyzstan, and these three are interesting as one is just a picture of Lenin, one is celebrating May Day, and the last is celebrating Victory Day. All are pretty intensely communist. I also got some pins, I told the owner I was interesting in the DDR (East Germany) and he showed me a pin made for the 17th anniversary of the Republic in 1965. Similarly, when I expressed my interest in Sputnik, he showed me a circa 1971 pin from (former) Czechoslovakia that commemorated the launch. Because I had already spent a fair amount there (about three dollars), he also game me the pictured ruble (Russian/Soviet currency) for the 1979 Olympics that features the Soviet space station Mir, Sputnik and other space related themes. The last pin was a gift and features a flaming red star, the head of Lenin, and the phrase “Always prepared”. Sounds like Soviet Boy Scouts.

To me, all these cool finds are really interesting, and I plan to acquire a collection by the time I return. I also think they would make really cool gifts so if anyone has any special interest in some facet of Soviet history, let me know and I will see what I can do.