In Moscow continues its series of image galleries covering life in the metropolis. In the late 1950s–early 1960s, space exploration invaded the headlines. Photo: Muscovites read about the second space launch in 1959.
© RIA Novosti / Go to the mediabank"In Moscow" continues its series of image galleries covering life in the metropolis. In the late 1950s–early 1960s, space exploration invaded the headlines.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second space launch in 1959.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second space launch in 1959.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/15/177431582_0:0:2162:1999_600x0_80_0_1_b9b46552a22bcce466cf812eadecad8a.jpg)
"In Moscow" continues its series of image galleries covering life in the metropolis. In the late 1950s–early 1960s, space exploration invaded the headlines.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second space launch in 1959.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second space launch in 1959.
© RIA Novosti . Dmitri Kozlov / Go to the mediabankIn the late 1950s affordable housing in Moscow, the five-story "khruschevki," continued springing up. The 1960s saw experimentation with "khruschevki" building techniques.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/15/177431596_0:0:1623:1998_600x0_80_0_1_b1dc81f5c74c5b968ce48c095c28fba8.jpg)
In the late 1950s affordable housing in Moscow, the five-story "khruschevki," continued springing up. The 1960s saw experimentation with "khruschevki" building techniques.
© RIA Novosti . A.Cheprunov / Go to the mediabankSpace was one of the main topics of Khruschev’s Thaw.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431610_0:0:1971:1998_600x0_80_0_1_5263db2693abc71f66c3af44ce72dde9.jpg)
Space was one of the main topics of Khruschev’s Thaw.
© RIA Novosti / Go to the mediabankA dog named Laika was the first living thing to orbit the Earth. She had a competitor to be the first in space, a dog called Albina, who took a number of rocket flights up to 100 kilometers, but was grounded when she became pregnant.
Photo: Space dog Albina with her puppies in 1959.
Photo: Space dog Albina with her puppies in 1959.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431627_0:0:3119:1996_600x0_80_0_1_104fd9ea46a970942ee71039b5c7b35e.jpg)
A dog named Laika was the first living thing to orbit the Earth. She had a competitor to be the first in space, a dog called Albina, who took a number of rocket flights up to 100 kilometers, but was grounded when she became pregnant.
Photo: Space dog Albina with her puppies in 1959.
Photo: Space dog Albina with her puppies in 1959.
© RIA Novosti . Lev Polikashin / Go to the mediabankA key event of the period was the 1959 launch of a space rocket to the Moon.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second Soviet space launch on September 12, 1959.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second Soviet space launch on September 12, 1959.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431642_0:0:2070:1997_600x0_80_0_1_cc13ef46cb97f75b7ea3e187c3e621a1.jpg)
A key event of the period was the 1959 launch of a space rocket to the Moon.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second Soviet space launch on September 12, 1959.
Photo: Muscovites read about the second Soviet space launch on September 12, 1959.
© RIA Novosti / Go to the mediabankPreparation for the world’s first manned space flight in March 1960. Yury Gagarin made his historic flight on April 12, 1961.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431657_0:0:1708:1998_600x0_80_0_1_d83e846bba778e366f60ff8782fa621b.jpg)
Preparation for the world’s first manned space flight in March 1960. Yury Gagarin made his historic flight on April 12, 1961.
© RIA Novosti . I.Gricher / Go to the mediabankA UFO report in Komsomolskaya Pravda created a sensation. The newspaper’s photographers claimed to have taken a picture of a flying saucer in the skies above the monument to Yury Dolgoruky in Moscow.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431671_0:0:3099:1998_600x0_80_0_1_7b7b7c21a1f5f8f3d7bf262fa7793d46.jpg)
A UFO report in Komsomolskaya Pravda created a sensation. The newspaper’s photographers claimed to have taken a picture of a flying saucer in the skies above the monument to Yury Dolgoruky in Moscow.
© RIA Novosti . Valeri Shustov / Go to the mediabank"Stylyagi" were also common among the Soviet Union’s younger generation in the 1950s and 1960s. The "Stylyagi" stood out from the gray mass of metropolitan residents by their bright clothes, the “cock” hairstyle and a peculiar way of speaking. They would listen to jazz music and dance the boogie-woogie. The Soviet press ridiculed the subculture.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431684_0:0:3008:1996_600x0_80_0_1_a5f33e312e60c5088c4419f19e1d7c8f.jpg)
"Stylyagi" were also common among the Soviet Union’s younger generation in the 1950s and 1960s. The "Stylyagi" stood out from the gray mass of metropolitan residents by their bright clothes, the “cock” hairstyle and a peculiar way of speaking. They would listen to jazz music and dance the boogie-woogie. The Soviet press ridiculed the subculture.
© RIA Novosti . B.Kolesnikov / Go to the mediabankIn the late 1950s and early 1960s, one could attend public performances by Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky and many others. Evenings with so-called “poets of the 1960s” at the Polytechnical Museum, featuring Robert Rozhdestvensky, Andrey Voznesensky and Yevgeny Yevtushenko (photo), were a symbol of The Thaw.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/16/177431699_0:0:2287:1998_600x0_80_0_1_78f3d5f6b6d360c4058019e8de7096bc.jpg)
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, one could attend public performances by Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky and many others. Evenings with so-called “poets of the 1960s” at the Polytechnical Museum, featuring Robert Rozhdestvensky, Andrey Voznesensky and Yevgeny Yevtushenko (photo), were a symbol of The Thaw.
© RIA Novosti / Go to the mediabankThe mid-1950s–early 1960s became an era of uncovering new talents in Soviet cinema.
Photo: "The Cranes Are Flying" directed by Mikhail Kalatozov won the Palme D’Or at the XI International Film Festival in Cannes.
Photo: "The Cranes Are Flying" directed by Mikhail Kalatozov won the Palme D’Or at the XI International Film Festival in Cannes.
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/17/177431713_0:0:2761:1998_600x0_80_0_1_9864cae3264727cc2639e4fe70a3431d.jpg)
The mid-1950s–early 1960s became an era of uncovering new talents in Soviet cinema.
Photo: "The Cranes Are Flying" directed by Mikhail Kalatozov won the Palme D’Or at the XI International Film Festival in Cannes.
Photo: "The Cranes Are Flying" directed by Mikhail Kalatozov won the Palme D’Or at the XI International Film Festival in Cannes.
© RIA Novosti . Boris Ryabinin / Go to the mediabankThe great Galina Ulanova shone on the Bolshoi stage in the late 1950s. She was the Principal Dancer of the theater until 1960 and officially wrapped up her stage career in 1962.
Photo: Ulanova performing in Reinhold Glière’s ballet "The Red Flower."
Photo: Ulanova performing in Reinhold Glière’s ballet "The Red Flower."
![Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO Moscow in 1958-1961: Space Flights, ‘Stylyagi’ and a UFO - Sputnik International](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/17743/17/177431738_0:0:1340:1999_600x0_80_0_1_de12a7d3c233325f31f34e4585a2015d.jpg)
The great Galina Ulanova shone on the Bolshoi stage in the late 1950s. She was the Principal Dancer of the theater until 1960 and officially wrapped up her stage career in 1962.
Photo: Ulanova performing in Reinhold Glière’s ballet "The Red Flower."
Photo: Ulanova performing in Reinhold Glière’s ballet "The Red Flower."