How hair bows became a symbol of school in the USSR (PHOTOS)

A first-grader from the Rostov Region.

TASS

All Soviet schoolchildren were obliged to wear the same uniform - according to the idea of the educational system, no one should stand out, so as not to upset others.

Moscow. September 1, 1986. First-graders during a lesson.

Boris Kavashkin, Valery Khristoforov/TASS

Boys wore blue and gray suits, girls wore brown dresses with black or white aprons. 

Moscow. September 1, 1986.

Alexander Chumichev/TASS

No jewelry or accessories were allowed, except for bows in hairstyles. It was not allowed to walk with loose hair.

Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod now). September 30, 1988 Concert for the youngest students in the chamber hall of the school.

Vladimir Voytenko/TASS

High school girls often cut their hair shorter or made “adult” hairstyles, but younger girls almost all wore braids, fastened with bows.

Moscow secondary school 857 on the day of the exam.

Boris Kavashkin/TASS

Just imagine the intricate braids they used to weave - ‘Spikes’, ‘lambs’, ‘baskets’… 

Bolshoi Ballet School.

Vladislav Mikosha/ MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru

Until the end of the 1960s, bow ribbons were made out of satin and had to be constantly ironed.

First graders on September 1st on Knowledge Day.

O. Ivanov/Sputnik

Then came nylon ribbons, which no longer required special care. They could also be used to make big fancy bows. 

Pioneers with books in the village of Veshenskaya, Rostov Region.

Ivan Denisenko/Sputnik

Girls wore braids with bows during class, during physical education and on special occasions.

The first day of classes at a general secondary school in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Sakhalin Island).

Valery Shustov/Sputnik

On weekdays, they would use brown or black bows, with white ones reserved for the abovementioned official events. 

Zina Andriyanova, a 1st grade student of Moscow secondary school .

Boris Kavashkin/Sputnik

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