The Iron Curtain was a figurative and ideological wall — and eventually a physical one — that separated the Soviet Union from western Europe after World War II.
The Iron Curtain was a figurative and political barrier that divided Europe.
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Gorky Street in Moscow.
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It sealed off the Soviet Union from Western countries between the end of World War II and the end of the Cold War in 1991.
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Tour buses in front of the Winter Palace in what was then called Leningrad in 1970.
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The Soviet Union was believed to be brutally restrictive, but after Joseph Stalin died in 1953, there were changes to everyday life.
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Colleagues congratulate the best seamstress of the sewing shop.
TASS/Getty Images
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
In 1961, the Berlin Wall was built, and a combination of curiosity and fascination with American culture began to build throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s.
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Women drinking at a bar in Moscow in 1974.
Michel ARTAULT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Source: History.com
Some of this fascination was fueled by the US State Department, which sent popular American music to Eastern Europe.
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A jazz band of college students inspired by American jazz.
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Music like jazz gave people a chance to experiment with a new version of entertainment they were otherwise unfamiliar with.
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Young men play jazz on the street.
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But Soviet leaders continued to ban rock 'n' roll music.
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Punks rocking out in St. Petersburg.
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Source: Smithsonian Magazine
"Style hunters" were basically the Soviet version of today's hipsters. They would listen to smuggled music and dance in hidden discotheques before the police busted them.
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A group of style hunters rocking the wildest outfits they can come up with.
Marc DEVILLE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Fascination with punk style took the youth by storm, and punks would do anything to get their hands on even just a few seconds of rock 'n' roll.
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This group of punks is probably everything the Soviet leaders feared.
Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images
Source: The Guardian
In the 1950s, "bone records" were old X-rays printed on flimsy vinyl sheets that were used to share American rock music. The sound quality was awful, but it provided the taste of rebellion they were after.
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A punk messes around in 1987.
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Sports, and particularly soccer, were popular in the Soviet Union. When the soccer team won the European Championship in 1960, there were huge celebrations.
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The Soviet Union played Yugoslavia in the 1960 final.
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In the earlier years of the Soviet Union, Stalin's leadership had organized teams as a way for the state to maintain control.
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A soccer team in Moscow, Russia in 1960.
Photo by V. Sychev/TASS/Getty Images
While the government was no longer in complete control by the 1960s, they still used victories as a propaganda tool and claimed success whenever there was a big win.
Source: livemint, futbolgrad
But as younger citizens stirred up trouble, members of the older generation continued to represent Soviet culture and abide by the communist lifestyle.
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Commuters in Moscow in 1967.
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Public transport was a crucial tool to keep the republics connected. The Moscow Metro system was known to be the best kept to flaunt socialist success.
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The Moscow Metro pulling into the station.
Vitaly Sozinov/TASS/Getty Images
Source: ForeignPolicy
But public buses were the predominant means of transportation.
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A bus pulls around Central Square.
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On a normal day, adults would head off to work and occasionally browse a store.
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Men and women head off to work on a sunny day.
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Photographer David Hlynsky told Fast Company that "very few products were branded with anything like the legendary trademarks of the West."
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A group of women admire a display of plain clothing in Moscow, 1977.
Gilbert UZAN/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Source: Fast Company
Rather," he said, "these were generic products devoid of any accompanying mythology."
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A sales assistant shows clothing to shoppers in the GUM department store in Moscow in 1961.
James McAnally/Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Pictured, a sales assistant shows shirts to customers at the GUM department store, known as the State Department store, in Red Square, Moscow.
Nikita Khrushchev, a former Soviet statesman, visited the US in the 1960s and tried to bring the concept of the Western supermarket to the Soviet Union, but it didn't catch on.
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A group of people stock up on their fruits and vegetables.
Illustré/RDB/ullstein bild/Getty Images
Source: Geohistory
The production and distribution systems just couldn't keep up, and most Soviet citizens continued to shop at small mom-and-pop stores.
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Shoppers at a store in Moscow in 1967.
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Winter in Eastern Europe is known for its extremely cold temperatures, making daily commutes and grocery runs even harder.
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A woman stands bundled up in central Moscow.
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But come the summertime, the sunshine and trips to the beach united everyone.
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Children admire a painting on a sunny beach day in Russia.
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Extreme weather didn't stop military parades.
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Crowds cheer alongside the parade as military tanks roll by on November 7, 1977.
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Every November, thousands would gather in below-freezing weather to celebrate the Soviet Union's anniversary in front of the Red Square.
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Tanks roll past a huge Lenin portrait in front of the Red Square on November 7, 1977.
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Missiles were displayed to show the Soviet Union's military power and capabilities.
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Intercontinental ballistic missiles parade through Red Square in 1969.
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