Homo Sovieticus - USSR 1989 CCCP
1989
At a school in Moscow I have permission to take pictures. And each time I walk into a classroom, accompanied by the guide and the director, boys and girls leap out of their seats to greet us. The benevolent discipline, the teaching methods, the entire atmosphere take me back to my own elementary school class in Flanders during the sixties. We had Christ, King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola on the wall, they have Marx, Lenin and Gorbachev.
An anecdote from Carl De Keyzer in this book.
Using the terms Glasnost and Perestroika Michael Gorbachev rings in a new era for his extensive country at the end of 1987. Unknown reforms will have to steer the country towards a more western-oriented society.
It means that every speech and statement from Gorbachev is front-page news in the West Even the Soviet. Union itself is often in the news. The severe censorship of previous years seems to have given way to an unprecedented openness. Western journalists are allowed to visit Armenia for example after the heavy earthquakes in 1988. The official Russian press even reports on the huge national demonstrations and plots in Georgia, Armenia and the Baltic States.
But how is the 'Homo Sovieticus' faring in the meantime? The Belgian photographer Cart de Keyzer visits the Soviet Union twelve times in the space of a year (August '88 to August 89). De Keyzer does not allow himself to be enticed into casual photography. He travels in areas and finds himself in situations where any trace of change is barely noticeable. In the choices he makes and in his well-considered photography he manages to capture an atmosphere which perhaps will soon really belong to the past.
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SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
EREVAN, ARMENIA, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Demonstration against central power of Moscow. Near Opera house.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA 1988
Arbat street
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1986
Park of Economical Achievements.
Kosmos pavillion. Yuri Gagarin
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1986
The great library
Armenia (USSR) 1988
Armenia 1988
Armenia (USSR) 1988
Armenia 1988
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Dietski Mir. Childrens world. huge toy shop in central Moscow. Crowd waiting for mechanical clock to open.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Newyear childrens party at the Zyl car factory.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
1st of May celebrations and parades.
Labor day.
OURGENH, UZBEKISTAN (USSR) 1989
1st of may labor day parade.
TBILISSI, GEORGIA (USSR) 1989
Turkish baths.
Leningrad 1988
Leningrad 1988
Leningrad 1988
Beatles fans.
SPITAK, ARMENIA (USSR) 1989
Earthquake area.
SPITAK, ARMENIA (USSR) 1989
Earthquake area.
Khabarovsk - Siberia USSR 1989
River Amur ferry
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
7 November. Day of Revolution celebration.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Hermitage museum. Palace square.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Kremlin. Red Square.
7 November celebration. Day of the Revolution.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR)
1988
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Gulf of Finland. Fishing.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Gorki Park. Army Day.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Gorki Park. Army Day.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Peter and Paul Fortress. Neva River.
SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN (USSR) 1989
9 may victory parade.
BAKU, AZERBEIDJAN (USSR) 1989
City beach
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
New official building (KGB) under construction.
Russia. Leningrad. St Petersburg. 1988
Kirov ballet theatre.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
7 November. Day of Revolution celebration.
Kishinev, Moldavia (USSR) 1989
Kishinev, Moldavia (USSR)
1989
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Swimming pool near Kremlin. Now place of new cathedral.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
River Neva.
VILNIUS, LITUANIA (USSR) 1989
VILNIUS, LITUANIA (USSR)
1989
OURGENH, UZBEKISTAN (USSR) 1989
1st of may labor day parade.
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
May 8 Victory Parade.
OURGENH, UZBEKISTAN (USSR) 1989
1st of may labor day parade.
EREVAN, ARMENIA, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
EREVAN, ARMENIA, RUSSIA (USSR)
1988
EREVAN, ARMENIA, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Second world war memorial
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (USSR) 1989
May 9 Victory day parade preparation.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Kremlin. Red Square.
7 November celebration. Day of the Revolution.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Kremlin. Red Square.
7 November celebration. Day of the Revolution.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Peter and Paul Fortress. Neva River.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Rehearsal for may 8 Victory Parade.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Nevski prospekt
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Rehearsal for may 8 Victory Parade.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Peter and Paul Fortress. Neva River.
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Lake Baikal
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Lake Baikal.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
BRATSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
OURGENH, UZBEKISTAN (USSR) 1989
1st of may labor day parade.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
1st of May celebrations and parades.
Labor day.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
1st of May celebrations and parades.
Labor day.
Uzbekistan. Tashkent. 1989
Uzbekistan. Tashkent. 1989
Uzbekistan. Tashkent. 1989
Uzbekistan. Tashkent. 1989
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Behind the scenes of an opera performance at the Kirov theatre.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Behind the scenes of an opera performance at the Kirov theatre.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Behind the scenes of an opera performance at the Kirov theatre.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR)
1988
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Newyear childrens party at the Zyl car factory.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
SOCHI, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Russian riviera.
SPITAK, ARMENIA (USSR) 1989
Earthquake area.
SPITAK, ARMENIA (USSR)
1989 Earthquake area.
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Wedding, marriage at the river Neva.
VILNIUS, LITUANIA (USSR) 1989
VILNIUS, LITUANIA (USSR)
1989
ST PETERSBURG (LENINGRAD), RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Wedding
BRATSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
BRATSK, RUSSIA (USSR)
1989
TBILISSI, GEORGIA (USSR) 1989
Turkish baths.
Russia USSR). Moscow. 1989
Arbat street.
Russia (USSR). Sochi. 1988
Russian riviera.
IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Rehearsal for may 8 Victory Parade.
Ukraine (USSR). Kiev. 1988
School
Ukraine (USSR). Kiev. 1988
School. Children watching Michael Jackson clip for the first time.
Moscow, Russia (USSR) 1988
Red Square, The Kremlin
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Gorki Park. Army Day.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Photographers studio with penguin at train station.
Russia (USSR). Sochi. 1988
Concert ‘Alissa’
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Ismaelov park. Arcade.
Russia (USSR). Sochi. 1988
Russian riviera.
Russia (USSR). Sochi. 1988
Russian riviera.
Russia (USSR). Moscow. 1988
New Year school performance.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
1st of May celebrations and parades
VILNIUS, LITUANIA (USSR) 1989
Manifestation for independence bin front of the official TV station building.
Armenia (USSR). Erevan. 1988
Demonstration against central power of Moscow.
EREVAN, ARMENIA, RUSSIA (USSR) 1988
Demonstration against central power of Moscow.
Lenin square.
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (USSR) 1989
Ismaelov park.
George Michael, Kim Wilde.