In early 90s a Moscow expatriate adman being at his Russian colleague’s asked:
— Look… Please explain why on earth you Russians have the same books?
Soviet Encyclopaedia. Mayakovsky. Tolstoy. Hugo. Verne. Ideology dictated the sameness of books, and state-controlled economy led to the sameness and scarcity of all the rest. Everything was alike, from furniture to children’s toys. Now seeing the overwhelming product mix of IKEA one can hardly imagine his own parents 30 years ago who picked up planks around the city and invited their neighbours to show a hand-made wardrobe. True masterpieces were brought to life by the hands of amateur craftsmen.
This is how creativity against the odds appeared, opposing to the landscape monotony and detail deficiency. Unvaried environment bred frenetic creativity in everyone. A country man from the Urals covered all his house with shattered teapots and saucers. That was something the source sample of which caught my eye later, when borders were unlocked and I visited Barcelona designed by Gaudi. How did the craftsman from the Urals come to creating that?
Children played with all they could get. Scent bottle stoppers were highly popular, we unscrewed them from father’s colognes and mother’s perfumes and called them different names: ‘Little elephant’, ‘Officer’, ‘Festival’. My earliest childhood impression is this: I am about 5 and at my great grandmother’s old house which exists no more. We are making a toy car. Close-up: granny saws a round stick (was it a spade handle?) slicing it like a sausage to make wheels. Then she heats a knitting-pin over a gas-jet to burn out the wheel spoke pattern. A perfume carton makes the car body. The finishing touch is the driver’s head balled up of brownish play dough. I cannot recollect the car itself. However, I remember the exciting process of creation which felt like (and still stays) the greatest wonder ever.
Children of the 90s who grew among the variety of books, furniture and toys enter Russian advertising now. In a few more years no former stopper-players will be found here.
Photo: Old Soviet cologne bottles with ‘Festival’ and ‘Officer’ stoppers.
