Children, Middle of the 1920s. Child homelessness was fully liquidated by the 1930s.

This is the first article from the series "History of the USSR through Family Albums". These photographs were not taken by some professional photographers who could then be accused of censure. These photos came from private family albums and were taken by the average Soviet people between 1920 and 1950. Even though these photos were not made professionally, they reflect the life that people lived during that time. Much, of course, has been left out due to space reasons only. The Second World War is covered very briefly, and should be a subject of a separate article. However, these pictures give an idea as to what it was like to live in the Soviet Union between 1920 and 1950.

Look at the Soviet people in these pictures. Their faces, their clothing and surroundings reflect the time that they lived in. Sometimes, these photos can tell us more about their life than any historian propagandist or analyst!

These children hold textbooks for the first time in their lives. The Soviet Union was the first to introduce universal public education that was accessible to everyone.

At this time, the industrial base of the country was being built. There are lies spread that the industrial base “was built by political prisoners in 1937.” By 1937, almost the entire industrial base had already been built, while the prisoners’ contribution to the economy was less than 1%.

Now this industrial plant has been “privatized” – stolen by unknown individuals.

Look at the faces in this picture. They dedicated their lives to building factories and cities for their children and grandchildren. In 10 years they would have to defend what they had built in the most horrifying war in all of human history – dying so that we could live. And now we left all that they had built to be destroyed and stolen. Who would be able to look them in the eye?

Family in Leningrad: 1930-31 Intellectuals and specialists had very good incomes at that time.	Relaxing in the water, Kirovsk region, 1932-26
	A hike along the Georgian Military Road, 1934

 These are agricultural workers. An agricultural cartel was a non-governmental co-operative organization that was formed by people who made their own agreements with the Government and other co-operatives, paid their own taxes, etc.

Anyone who says that the Soviet Union was a super-controlled state, where everything was directly controlled by the government, either does not know history or is purposely lying.

The co-operative movement was very widespread in the USSR during the time of Stalin. Aside for the collective farms, which were themselves co-operatives, there were state farms, there were over 140,000 non-governmental workshops, which employed over 2 million people. These workshops produced over 6% of total goods in the USSR For instance – co-operative workshops created 40% of all produced furniture, 70% of cutlery and metal dishware, 35% of clothing and almost 100% of toys.

Co-operative agricultural farms usually employed workers part-time. In the 1930's they employed about 30 million people.

These co-operative and state farms were destroyed by Khrushchev with the start of the anti-Stalin hysteria.

Young men 1930's – Kirovsk region

"Pioneers Bench" a children's game. Pioneer Camp 1937

Air sleigh on the ice of the Volga River, near Kandavinsk Bridge, 1930's

These badges were given to them after passing the RWD test (Ready for Work and Defense) and RwSD (Ready for Work and Sanitary Defense). At that time, any self-respecting boy was expected to get one of these badges. People were respected for their personal traits, and not for their parent's money or connections. In a couple of years, these people will win the Great Patriotic War, rebuild a world superpower and launch a man into space.

Look at the attentive, strong-willed, adult faces of these boys. They are only 16 years of age.

These Air Sleighs were the high-tech at that time. They played an important role in developing aviation technology and were widely used in exploring the North and the far North, as well as in the Finnish War and in the Great Patriotic War.

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