Copyright-free Images From The Soviet Union

One of the magazines in my magazine collection is an old copy of Soviet Export magazine. It was the 5/110 1977 issue of Soviet Export, published in 1977. It was written in English, for the purpose of educating Americans about the products that the Soviet Union was exporting to other countries. The magazine was filled with pictures of tractors, and other machines that the Soviet Union was exporting. It also had articles about industrial processes that had been developed in the Soviet Union, including steel-making processes.

The message above was printed on the title page of the magazine. It says that all articles and illustrations in this issue may be freely reproduced. The Communists who ruled the Soviet Union believed in collective ownership of property, and therefore, the idea of owning a picture or an article may have contradicted their communist beliefs. They allowed people to reporduce the articles and pictures in the magazine, so that their massage of industrial progress could be spread without ‘copyright laws’ becoming an obstacle.

The photo above shows workers in an aircraft factory.

The photo above shows the Yakovlev-42,which was known as the Yak-42. The Yak-42 was an aircraft designed by the Yakovlev design bureau. In the Soviet Union, aircraft were designed by design bureaus, instead of by ‘companies’ or ‘corporations’.

The photo above shows the Il-86 jet aircraft.

The photo above shows a woman working in a textile factory.

The photo above shows a heavy stamping press in a factory.

The photo above shows the K-701 farm tractor.

The photos above show the use of electronic instruments by a Soviet technician.

The picture above is a painting of Lenin, it shows Lenin gesturing towards a map on the wall, the map is a map of a Soviet electrification project, the project was intended to build power lines and bring electricity to remote rural areas of the Soviet Union.

The picture above is a painting titled ‘The Victory’, it shows soldiers celebrating a military victory.

The picture above is a portion of a mural made by Soviet artists.

The picture above is a painting titled ‘Space Explorers’.

The photos above show doctors in Damascus,Syria, who had gotten drugs and medical equipment that was made in the Soviet Union. The authors of this magazine emphasized the effort that was being made by the Soviet Union to reach out to Syria and other countries.

The photos above show doctors in Syria who have gotten drugs and medical equipment from the Soviet Union, including a machine that is used to treat kidney stones, or ‘bladder stones’.

The photos above show drugs stores in Damascus,Syria, and the captions that accompany the photographs claim that there are plenty of Soviet drugs available in Syrian drug stores.

Anthony Ratkov, February 6,2012.