In the Delta of the Volga -- Images of Soviet Astrakhan and Region, 1976

Astrakhan is a city that sits on both banks of the Volga River very near to the Caspian sea. During the Soviet era it was major administrative and commercial centre.


This collection of 21 postcards contains 40 images of the city and its surrounding area. They were meant for domestic consumption as the text is only in Russian. I have translated the image descriptions which are included below each one.

There are cinemas, plazas, and monuments to Lenin as well as to those who died fighting in the revolution and WWII.

Included is a view of an art gallery named for famed artist and Astrakhan native Boris Kustodiev who died in Leningrad in 1927. Also notable is the administrative building that served as headquarters for the Red Army's Political Department headed by Kirov during the civil war.

In addition the collection contains a number of regional photos as well as some from the Volga Delta. We see beautiful views of the Volga itself, watermelon and rice farms, pictures of the Lenin Nature Reserve (as it was known at the time), a floating drill rig and camels by the river's banks, among others.

One shot shows workers hanging Vobla -- also known as "Caspian Roach" -- a fish generally eaten dried and salted that is popular in various regions of the former USSR. 

(Click on images to enlarge)

Cosmic Summer Cinema / "Crystal" Department Store

Floating Fish Factory / Gifts of the River

Astrakhan Watermelons

Astrakhan Drill Company Floating Drill Rig /

The River Meets the Desert

Shipyard / Cellulose-Cardboard Combine

On the Water

Swan Lake

Ulyanov Family House / Ulyanov Monument

Boris Kustodiev Art Gallery / The "October" 3 Hall Cinema

Monument to the Red Guards Who Died Establishing Soviet Power /

Eternal Flame to Soldiers Killed in the Great Patriotic War/

Monument to Military Sailors Killed in the Civil War

Obelisk to the Fighters for Soviet Power /

Flower Garden in Lenin Square

Lotus Blooms / Bird's Nest

In the Lenin Nature Reserve

High Water / Hanging Vobla

Administrative Building "During the civil war the political department of the Red Army under Sergey Kirov was stationed here" /

Canal Embankment

At the Volga Berth

Evening on the Volga

Lenin Monument / Lenin Square

The Youth Theatre and its Foyer

Irrigation / Rice Harvesting

Autumn Market

See also: A Visit to the Soviet Crimea 1979 -- 26 Vintage Postcards

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