New outlook on beauty
Soviet fashion & beauty weren't as bland as stereotypes might suggest. But it’s also true that such "bourgeois" events as beauty pageants weren’t a thing back then. This changed in 1988, when the first official contest took place.
It was called Moscow Beauty (Moskovskaya Krasavista). Unlike many popular pageants, it welcomed married women – hence “beauty,” not “miss” in the title. Participants from outside Moscow could apply, too. As a result, out of 2,500 applicants, only 36 young women were chosen. The winner was Maria Kalinina, just 16 years old at the time. Upon winning, she started to model for the popular Burda magazine.
The Poster to Moscow Beauty pageant, 1989, by Andrew Pavlosvky. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, thttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MosBeauty89.jpg
Criticized by some and supported by others, but definitely widely discussed, it became a huge breakthrough for the local fashion and beauty industry. Since then, pageants and other shows – like the first Russian fashion week of 1994 – have firmly become a part of the mainstream.
Invasion of Monsters of Rock
Picture this: a rock concert by the world’s top bands. At least 500,000 fans (and possibly up to 1.6 million!). At an airfield. With helicopters circling above the crowd. This might sound like a fever dream, but it actually happened.
In 1991, the town of Tushino near Moscow hosted a show called Monsters of Rock that featured Metallica, AC/DC, Pantera, and other famous bands. Not only was it the first international rock concert in Russia, it was one of the largest gigs ever. Honestly, it would sound fake if there wasn’t enough great footage of this mind-blowing event:
Rock music existed in the Soviet Union, too, but mainly underground. The concert in Tushino marked the beginning of a new era for this genre and music in Russia overall.
Next chapter of Russian culture
Events like Moscow Beauty and Monsters of Rock marked the end of the Soviet era and the dawn of modern Russian history. With them came new influences that left a lasting imprint on the nation’s fashion, music, and culture.
For more on art & entertainment in Russia, see ITMO.NEWS articles on sci-fi classics, art about students, and video games by local developers.
