What Soviet Russia was like in 1966 (PHOTOS)

By 1966, Leonid Brezhnev had already been in power for two years.

He continued Khrushchev's mass construction of residential buildings. After living in communal apartments and dormitories, many Soviet families finally received their own private place. And they were happy, even with small, but their own, apartments.

New districts with residential developments and stores appeared in all cities.

Charles de Gaulle, the then President of France, visited the USSR and here is the motorcade that ceremonially greeted him in Moscow.

Twenty years had passed since the end of World War II and the country seemed to have finally recovered from the upheavals and losses. A whole new generation had grown up.

Moscow celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1941 Battle of Moscow, when the Soviet army  defeated the Nazi troops.

To honor the memory of fallen soldiers, the remains from a mass grave were solemnly reburied near the Moscow Kremlin walls. Now, the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ has become one of the main memorials associated with the war.

‘Marshal of Victory’ Ivan Konev engaged in more peaceful activities, such as fishing.

The sixties were a time of science. Space exploration, peaceful nuclear energy… and the profession of physicist became one of the most prestigious.

The sixties also saw a boom in poetry and literature; the ‘Sixties Poets’ (шестидесятники ‘shestidesyatniki’) filled whole stadiums with their performances. Here is Yevgeny Yevtushenko, one of the idols of that time.

And the growth in the number of amateur photographers sparked a real street photography boom.

Because of this, we can observe many candid shots of ordinary people's lives.

In the mid-1960s, echoes of the ‘Khrushchev Thaw’ could still be felt.

This was a time of relative freedom and romance…

…and a time of hope for the future and big dreams.

But, at the same time, the economy began to experience an upswing and people could afford more; cafes and restaurants became more accessible.

Personal cars also became more accessible. A motorists' holiday and a grand display of automotive technology – from retro cars to the modern Soviet auto industry – took place in Moscow.

Amateur-built cars and children's pedal cars were also on display.

Fashion of the 1960s. In the photo: models with hairstyles that won a hairdressers' competition.

May Day demonstrations remained unchanged.

Pioneers still marched and took their oath in front of the portrait of Lenin.

More and more foreigners began to come to the Soviet Union. In the photo: students of the Peoples' Friendship University.