The Left Chapter: Soviet Odessa, Ukrainian SSR 1968 -- 12 Panoramic Views

The Potemkin Steps

Published in the USSR 1968 this postcard folder had 12 spectacular, panoramic photos of Odessa, third largest city of the Ukrainian SSR on the Black Sea coast.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Nazi and Romanian occupation and the subsequent fight to liberate the city it -- as was true of so many Soviet cities and towns -- suffered great damage and destruction. The reconstruction of Odessa and other Soviet cities is one of the great success stories of Soviet socialism. Due to its history of resistance Odessa was named a Hero City of the USSR.

This collection, of course, includes a photograph of the Potemkin Stairs that were made into an iconic locale of Russian and Ukrainian revolutionary tradition due to the famous massacre sequence set on them in Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein's cinematic masterpiece Battleship Potemkin. In 1905 Odessa had been the scene of a mutiny by the crew of the Battleship Potemkin and residents of the city that was seen in Soviet times as an important precursor to the revolution in 1917.

There are also interesting photos of a Soviet resort for youth and children, a Black Sea Communist youth beach and a variety of streetscapes and monuments. We have provided all the descriptions from the back of each card.

(Clcik on images to enlarge)

Railway Station

The Colonnade at the Palace of Young Pioneers

City Garden

Whaling Flotilla Sailors House

State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre

Children's Sanatorium and Resort

There was a huge network of the resorts for youth throughout the USSR that were free of charge for members of various youth organizations and that also often hosted youth from other countries. Sadly they were all either abandoned or put to other private uses after the fall of the USSR. The young couple holding hands in the photo is quite cute.