What Soviet Russia was like in 1956 (PHOTOS)

The main political event in the country was the 20th Congress of the CPSU Party. Nikita Khrushchev delivered a report whose main agenda was the debunking of Stalin's personality cult. This moment is considered the beginning of the so-called ‘Khrushchev Thaw’.

An important part of Khrushchev's economic policy was the Virgin Lands campaign. All efforts were thrown into cultivating previously untouched lands to increase crop yields.

Volunteers, students, soldiers and state enterprise employees were sent to help with the harvest.

Exactly 70 years ago, just like this year, the Olympic Winter Games were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This was the first Olympics in which the Soviet team participated.

And, by the way, they won seven gold, three silver and six bronze medals. Here's how the winners were greeted back home.

At the same time, the first ‘Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR’ was held on a grand scale within the Union itself.

Sport, in general, was an important part of Soviet life. Mass physical culture parades were organized regularly.

The whole country was crazy about soccer, with stadiums packed to capacity.

Pioneers and students also actively went on hiking trips.

And the whole country was keen on ice skating. It's no wonder why there are so many famous figure skaters in Russia now.

Here's a vivid example of the passion for skiing. A day off, people returning by commuter train from a ski trip out of town.

The ‘Soviet Marilyn Monroe’ – actress Irina Skobtseva (later she became wife of director Sergei Bondarchuk and played Helen Kuragina in his Oscar-winning screen adaptation of ‘War and Peace’).

Every Soviet girl dreamed of being like her. And permanent wave locks became a fashionable hairstyle trend.

An assembly line of the Ryazan Machine-Tool Plant. It’s unusual to see that the majority of employees are women.

Women in the USSR mastered absolutely all professions, many “fragile” ladies worked on construction sites, among bricklayers and high-altitude fitters.

And they ended up on magazine covers.

Every enterprise had a nursery for infants, so that women could work actively and also become mothers.

On the assembly line at the Moscow Small Car Plant, a popular people's car, the ‘Moskvich’, is being prepared for release.

Cars became more accessible and turned into a popular hobby. In 1956, the USSR held a car racing championship.

Vintage transport seen near the Pashkov House, one of the most beautiful buildings in Moscow.

The Moscow Metro. The photo was taken by a delegation of British energy workers who visited the USSR in 1956.

A common pastime in Moscow's Gorky Park, the parachute tower (today, it remains only in photos).

Backstage at the famous Obraztsov Puppet Theater, one of the most widely touring Soviet theaters. In 1956, it became a member of UNIMA, the international union of puppet theater artists.

Meanwhile, a motorcycle with a sidecar was the main transport of the Soviet police (called ‘militia’ back then).