The Cinema "Spartak"

The "Spartak" cinema was located in the building of the former German Lutheran Church of St. Anne ('Annekirche'), founded in the second half of the 18th century [1]. In the late 1930s, the church was closed and repurposed inside into a 702-seat cinema by the famous Soviet architects A. I. Gegello and L. S. Kosven [2].

The film industry of the USSR held an important place in educating (including ideological) Soviet citizens. With the beginning of the "thaw", the number of cinemas in the Soviet Union increased. Film installations were even put in collective farming clubs. Visiting cinemas was one of the main leisure activities of the Soviet citizen. From 1967 to 1975 cinema attendance reached its peak for the entire history of the USSR: with a population of about 240 million people, the number oftickets sold was 4.5 – 4.7 billion [3].

In Soviet cinemas, not only films were shown but also exhibitions and lectures on various topics. These topics could be based on things raised in films. "Opening words" were most often shown before sessions of foreign films from capitalist countries. Sometimes musical concerts were organized before the sessions. And in the hall itself, several issues of newsreels ("Soviet Warrior", "News of the Day"), Soviet cartoons or documentaries, and popular science films were displayed before the screening of the film. Some historical films about revolution were shown for free on special days: 1 and 2 of May(International Workers ' Day), on 7 and 8 of November (the day of the Great October Socialist Revolution), and on December 5 - Constitution Day of the USSR.

The cinemas` repertoire consisted of Soviet films, films from the countries of "people's democracy" and foreign films. It is interesting that during the ideological and economic confrontation with the West not only "trophy" foreign films were shown, for which there was no need to pay, but also newfilms from foreign countires were shown in the USSR. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that, firstly, foreign films collected more money at the box office and were more popular among the population. Secondly, the trade in film products with the West was "meter by meter" and the USSR could not refuse to distribute Soviet films abroad, as they contributed to the spread of Soviet ideology.

However, the distribution of foreign films was strictly controlled and some films even had scenes cut out. For example, in the Disney cartoon "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" themoment with Snow White praying before going to bed was removed [4]. The Mexican film "Yesenia" (1971), "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) from the United States, the Indian film " SaddleTramp" (1950), "Mackenna's Gold" (USA) and "Spartacus" (1960) from the United States also topped the list of the most viewed foreign films in the USSR [5]. In Leningrad a limited number of cinemas could run foreign films, and "Spartacus" was one of them.

Kirov Recreation Center, the Cinema "Cinematograph"

From 1967 until the mid-1980s, the Kirov Palace of Culture hosted the cinema of the State Film Fund "Cinematograph". There you could watch German, English, American and French films, which was special as not all Soviet cinemas could work with such an "assortment". The repertoire of the cinema consisted of post-war foreign films popularly called "trophy"films, classics of foreign and Soviet cinema, and films that were just released.

The cinema was located in a park area, not far away from one of the residential areas of Vasilyevsky Island. This is a fairly typical location for cultural centers in the USSR, which, first of all, had to fulfill leisure and educational functions. Cinema had a special place in the political and educational propaganda system, especially during the Cold War. During this period television had not yet been mass distributed, so cinemas had a kind of `showing monopoly`. Due to the fact that in the "Cinematograph" foreign films were shown there was a necessity to hold a lecture before each session. It’s goal was to help the Soviet audience to form the right attitude to the foreign films.

The Leningrad Office of Film Screening organized the "release of introductory words" to a number of films for this purpose. In her work "Film distribution during the ‘Thaw’, M. Zezina notes that "film distribution existed between two fires." On the one hand, the plan and profit, while on the other - ideological requirements on the subject and the ratio of domestic and foreign tapes. "In the first place", says the author, - "there was always a plan and profit" [6]. This happened because the film trade with the West was based on the principle "meter for meter". This is the answer to the question why foreign films were shown in the USSR during the Cold War, but no film from the countries of the Capitalist Bloc could appear on the screens of the country without the consent of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

The cinema "Cinematograph" was for the Soviet citizen not only an opportunity to look into another world, but also to look at it through the eyes of a "capitalist person". Cinema not only expanded the knowledge of the world. It also influenced human behavior, especially fashion. Songs and music from some movies, both Soviet and foreign, became popular and sometimes began to live their own lives. Thus, cinemas made the borders of the Soviet Union permeable, overcoming the barriers of the Iron Curtain.

Palace of Culture in the name of the First Five-year Plan (Central City Club of the 1st Five-year Plan)

The Pervaia Piatiletka Palace of Culture (Pervaia Piatiletka meaning 1st Five-Year Plan in Russian) was built in 1930 by architects N. A. Miturich and V. P. Marshakov. It was an example of classic constructivist architecture. However, in 1955-1956 it was rebuilt as part of a project by Stalinist neoclassical architects - M. Feinberg and V. Gorbachev. Despite the fact that this building was meant to be a symbol of the Stalin era’s greatness, at the end of 60s it became the center of developing youth movements. In order to achieve certain goals for developing Soviet culture and having an engaged youth, many recently "undesirable" subcultures and movements began to be encouraged and supported [7].

Western culture was becoming more accessible, including Western theater. A new "positive" Soviet culture was to be built from its example. In the Pervaia Piatiletka Palace of Culture, star theater groups from the West performed during this period, along with building Soviet Leningrad theater culture. In addition, in the the Pervaia Piatiletka Palace of Culture, there were many children's clubs and areas where children could engage in everything from applied art to the organizing theatrical productions [8].

Furthermore, young people were becoming interested in musical culture, especially rock culture. Places in the urban space of Leningrad such as the beat cafe "Eureka" or the club "Kanat"  are often associated with the history of the Leningrad rock. However, youth Houses of Culture also played a significant role in the formation and normalization of the rock movement. The importance of musical freedom and the rock movement in the context of the Cold War was determined by the sharp jump in the popularity of "Western" music among young people and the government's retaliatory sanctions against this music. Radio stations broadcasting such music were closed, and a ban was imposed on playing it in public places. However, with the liberalization of all aspects of the public, social, and cultural life of Soviet society, the availability of Western music increased. This was caused by the easing of tensions between the capitalist and socialist blocs [9]. Musical groups performing pop, jazz and even rock began to appear not only in underground clubs and cafes, but also on the stages of the Recreation Center. They performed sometimes vague compositions for the average Soviet person, but extremely interesting and attractive nonetheless.

Lenexpo

International fairs and exhibitions played an important role in the Soviet Union’s relations with other countries. At first, the number of such contacts was small and limited to cooperation with the new socialist countries of the post-war period. Significant events for those living in major Soviet cities during Khrushchev`s “Thaw” were foreign fairs and exhibitions of both socialist and capitalist countries. They were held on various topics - from the construction and chemical industries to textiles and art. International exhibitions and fairs fullfilled different functions. They showcased the goods and technologies of foreign countries to Soviet buyers, were a means of transferring technology to the USSR, and reflected the technological gap between the capitalist countries and the USSR, despite being commercial interactions without explicit ideological goals.

In the second half of the twentieth century it was decided to hold the international exhibition "Inrybprom-68" on Vasilyevsky Island. According to this, the first Lenexpo pavilions were built as part S. I. Evdokimov’s and E. I. Travnikov’s project and were opened in the year of the exhibition [10]. The exhibition "Modern means of production and processing of fish and seafood", also known as "Inrybprom-68", was held in August of 1968. This was the first post-war international exhibition which marked the beginning of the periodic reviews` organization on such topics.

270 foreign companies from 23 countries and 149 organizations of the Soviet Union attended the 1968 exhibition. After the event, the pavilions were preserved to accommodate future expositions. "Inrybproms" of 1975, 1980, 1985 and other international exhibitions were held in Lenexpo.

International exchange also worked in the opposite direction. The USSR sent exhibits to fairs in other countries. For example, exhibits of the Winter Palace, the Moscow Kremlin Museum, the State Russian Museum and other cultural institutions were sent to US exhibitions named “Russian and Soviet Paintings” from April 16 to June 26, 1977, [11] "Exhibition of the USSR: Arts and Crafts in Antiquity and Today" (traveling exhibition in the United States, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in October 1972), [12]"Treasures of the Kremlin: an exhibition from the State museums of the Moscow Kremlin" [13] at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.


The memories of the Leningrad’ residents:

Kirov Stadium

Kirov Stadium, now better known as Gazprom Arena, hosted football matches for the XXII Olympic Games in 1980. The 1980 Olympic Games are one of the strongest cultural indicators of the memory of the USSR. They absorbed the trends of that time - sharpening the understanding that the world is divided by two powerful superpowers, and at the same time showing that people of completely different cultures, customs, and traditions could interact and cooperate. The Cold War left its mark on this moment: new stadiums were built for these events, cities were transformed for hosting guests, and the political situation also changed. Kirov stadium was appropriately reconstructed for the XXII Olympics. The stands were reinforced, new benches were made of Siberian larch wood, and the limestone steps were replaced with granite ones. On the central staircase, new bronze sculptures of athletes were installed by a group of Leningrad artisans under the direction of M. K. Anikushina. Also, a bowl for the Olympic flame was mounted. Furthermore, in 1980 four 70-meter lighting masts were installed, which brought vertical accents to the flat panorama of the Kamenny Islands, where the stadium is located [16]. After the reconstruction, the stadium could accommodate about 70 thousand spectators from different countries. They were together in the stands during the matches and supported their national teams with chants, songs, and dances. On the Internet, you can find stories showcasing the impressions of people who were lucky to attend those matches [17]. All of them noted that it was something outlandish - a holiday for Leningrad residents. Locals admired the culture of peoples from Africa and tried new foreign goods that replenished store shelves.

6 group stage matches and 1 quarterfinal were held at the stadium:

July 21 Czechoslovakia-Columbia 3:0
July 22 Cuba-Venezuela 2:1
July 23 Czechoslovakia - Nigeria 1:1
July 24 Venezuela - Zambia 2:1
July 25 Czechoslovakia - Kuwait 0:0
July 25 Czechoslovakia met Kuwait (0:0).

As you can see even from the matches that took place in Leningrad, the geography of the participating countries was very diverse: South America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia. All of these were areas of interest and influence of the USSR. The Czechoslovak national team became the Olympic Champion of the XXIInd Summer Olympic Games at the end of the tournament. Sports events, and in particular, the 1980 Olympic Games, most strongly characterized how the Cold War situation affected the politics of many nations. Mulitiple countries boycotted the XXIInd Olympic Games because of the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, but this did not prevent the USSR from organizing such large-scale, multicultural events.

How it is remembered by eyewitnesses:

Sport and Concert Complex

The Sports and Concert Complex was originally built for the 1980 Olympics but was not used for competitions during the Olympics. This was one of the largest sports and concert facilities in the country.

It is located in the central part of the Moscovsky Victory Park. The composition of the building is based on a combination of a main cylindrical volume (diameter - 193 m, height - 40 m) and surrounding two story rings (width - 15.5 m, height-  9 m) [19].

It is important to note that it was at this stadium very famous rock bands as "Scorpions", "Black Sabbath", the group "Kino", and others gave their concerts. The group `Kino` was a Soviet band led by legendary Victor Tsoi. Their music symbolized the changes happening in the USSR during Perestroika and the end of the Soviet era. That is why in Russia their music is considered as never going out of style. In April 1988 "Scorpions" played 10 concerts in Leningrad at the Lenin Sport and Concert Complex where the number of visitors reached 140 thousand people. It was rumored that Mikhail Gorbachev personally banned the band from performing in Moscow. Originally the plan was to hold 5 concerts in Moscow and 5 concerts in Leningrad, but in the end it was decided to play 10 concerts in Leningrad at the Lenin Sports and Concert Complex. Legendary concert performances were opened by the Moscow group Gorky Park [20].

Leningrad became one of the first and most important sites for the penetration of American culture into the USSR, where it was one of the key elements of the local culture of that time. Such concerts allowed the opportunity for larger cultural exchange among the two superpowers. Futhermore, the performance of these groups in the late 80s proved that the vector of total confrontation and closeness was shifting towards open cooperation and competition at all levels. Soviet citizens had a choice which meant that local companies and collectives had to revise their policies and integrate themselves into global trends.