Soviet photographers were masters of war reporting, car commercials and capturing Soviet daily life. But what about food photos? Well… you might want to judge for yourself.
Eggs, good choice for a diet, 1939
Milk, one of the staple foods of the ‘Homo Sovieticus’, 1926
Fruits… or that fancy plate! 1949
‘Before breakfast’, 1957.…
It’s hard to identify what exactly is under the knife: butter, cheese or maybe pork fat. The mystery makes it all very unsettling!
If you want to take a sexy picture of bread, put it on a bed of flowers obviously! And keep the cellophane. 1970s
‘Pears in a plastic basket’, 1950s
This one is worthy of a photography exhibit.
Still life a-la Rus with vegetables from your own garden, 1960s
‘In the kitchen’: vegetables preparing to be pickled and fish to be smoked, 1967
‘Breakfast’, 1978
Milk from a ceramic jug and black bread - both things that Russians miss when living abroad
‘Vegetables’, 1980s
Do you know what these yellow umbrella flowers are? They are heads of dill - one of our go-to flavors for pickling! (OK, this one kinda looks appetizing, if we do say so ourselves!)
‘Grilled chicken’, 1986
One of the first street foods. (Well, you couldn’t eat it on the go, but it was packed in foil and was an especially popular option as a night train meal)
‘Graylings’, 1982
Fishing has always been one of the most favorite hobbies of Russians. Fish was frequently salted once caught.
Those famous Soviet glasses… 1990s
Most likely containing tea (but we’re really not sure!)
‘Black caviar’, 1965…Well, that IS food porn!
Mikhail Ozersky / Sputnik