During the 1970s, Kyiv was actively developing, urbanizing and modernizing, which left a noticeable mark on its architecture and social landscape that we can see today. There are a large number of archival photographs of Kyiv in the 20th century, which allows modern visitors to see how the city lived in those days.
Therefore, Apostrophe, referring to the Club of Native Kyivan, will show what Kyiv was like in the 1970s.
It is noted that all the collected photos were made by Serhiy Pyaterikov.
It is interesting to note that the 1970s was a time of significant changes of Kyiv. The 1970s were a period of intensive construction in Kyiv. Many typical multi-storey residential buildings, the so-called Khrushchev and Brezhnev buildings, appeared to solve the problem of housing shortages. Many important public and cultural buildings were built at this time.
In addition, in the 1970s, the Kyiv subway system continued to be actively developed, and became a key element of the city's infrastructure. The opening of new stations facilitated connections between different parts of the city. Active traffic could be observed on the roads in the city, and the photographer captured some interesting shots of the transport of that time and the traffic jams.
For many residents of Kyiv in the 1970s, everyday life was filled with routine difficulties, such as long queues at grocery stores and food shortages.
It is also important to recall that in the mid-1960s, the USSR re-established strict ideological control, and Kyiv became the epicenter of the dissident movement in Ukraine. In 1965, the first large-scale arrests of Ukrainian dissidents took place here. Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, new waves of arrests took place, and among those arrested were V. Chornovil, Z. Antoniuk, I. Dziuba, and V. Stus. Ukrainian intellectuals opposed repression and demanded justice for the Crimean Tatars. In 1976, the Ukrainian Helsinki Group was established in Kyiv to fight for the rights of prisoners under the Helsinki Accords.
The photo shows the rhythm of life in the Ukrainian capital in the 1970s. Some residents are noticeably in a hurry, probably to catch public transport. Instead, some found a free moment and decided to just relax in the park. And in some of the photos, you can see how parents decided to take a walk with their children to visit the amusement park. Bright lights and curious and interested passers-by are also captured.
Earlier, we published interesting photos of futuristic gas stations in the 1970s and 1980s.