11 Vintage Postcard Images of 1970 Kiev, Soviet Ukraine USSR

Today we are looking at a small vintage folder of postcards of Kiev in 1970. Kiev was the capital of the Ukrainian SSR  from 1934 until the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is now the capital of Ukraine.

The folder has eleven photographic postcards of various buildings and attractions. A number of these are quite atmospheric and beautiful. I am especially fond of the Opera and Ballet Theatre night photo, the photograph of the Moskva Hotel square and the view of the Dnieper.

The photo of the Palace of Pioneers is also interesting as these were buildings dedicated to children's activities and development. These were free of charge and by 1970 there were 3,500 of them.


According to Wikipedia:

There were some essential differences between Soviet secondary schools and Young Pioneer Palaces. The latter consisted of specialized hobby groups and sections. Attendance was not mandatory for schoolchildren, and educational programs in Young Pioneer Palace hobby groups were designed so that they didn't duplicate school programs. However, there were also some similarities: hobby groups were organized by children's ages, similar to school classes, and admittance to Young Pioneer Palaces was completely free of charge. Educational work at the Palaces was designed to cultivate children's interests in labour, knowledge, development of creative abilities, professional orientation, and amateur talent activities. There were various sports, cultural and educational, technical, political, artistic, tourist, and young naturalist hobby groups in Young Pioneer Palaces. One of the main stated principles of educational work in hobby groups was: "Having been taught, now teach your comrade".

Tragically, with the fall of communism this network of children's centres was disbanded, many were left to fall into ruin (we have included a photo of one such), while others became "strip clubs and casinos".

(Click on images to enlarge)

The Shevchenko Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet

decorated with the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner of Labour.

The Shevchenko University Decorated with the Order of Lenin

Palace of Pioneers

While not from the folder, above is an example of what happened to

many of these Pioneer Palaces after the fall of the USSR taken from Instagram

Moskva Hotel

Museum of Ukrainian Art

Monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky

Building of the Ukrainian SSR Supreme Soviet

Kiev Rotund in the Ascold's Grave Park

View of Dnieper from the Vladimirskaya Gorka Park

Monument to Ivan Franko

Hydropark Bridge over the Venetian Bay

See also: Visit the USSR - A look at the Soviet Union in the late 1960s from Intourist (w. photos)

See also: A Trip to the Carpathian Mountains in Soviet Ukraine, 1973

See also: Trade Union Health Resorts and Spas of the Soviet Ukraine - USSR 1983