Moscow in 1965: Sport Victories and Visits by Movie Stars

The Web portal In Moscow keeps publishing a series of photo galleries portraying life in the capital over the years. In 1965, an era of stagnation began with Leonid Brezhnev’s ascent to power. In the meantime, new universities were being opened and Soviet athletes achieved superior results at international competitions. The anniversary of the victory in World War II was another key event for the whole country. Nineteen sixty-five was also marked by visits on behalf of world celebrities, who attended the European Figure Skating Championships and the Moscow Film Festival.

After Yury Gagarin’s space flight in 1961 and the first flight made by a female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963, the Soviet Union became the first “space superpower.” Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who performed the world’s first spacewalk, consolidated the country’s achievements in space exploration.

The year 1965 was generally successful in terms of athletic victories for Moscow and the country. The European Figure Skating Championship was held in Moscow for the first time. Soviet skaters Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov (on photo), were the first Soviet skaters to win gold medals.

Soviet hockey players also won gold at the World Championships in 1965. The 32nd World Ice Hockey Championship and the 43rd European Ice Hockey Championship were held in Finland. Photo: 1965. The Soviet hockey team, the winners of the World Ice Hockey Championship, in Tampere, Finland. First left: the team captain Boris Mayorov.

The Soviet government placed colossal importance on the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the victory in World War II. On May 9, 1965, Moscow’s Red Square hosted a military parade; city streets were decorated with flags and banners. It became customary for war veterans to meet in the center of Moscow.

The democratization of the country’s cultural life, witnessed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, ended under Brezhnnev. Under these conditions, many poets, writers and essayists had to go underground. Photo: Writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

In July 1965 Moscow hosted the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. For the first time, world-famous Italian actress Sophia Loren came to the festival. The actress won an award for “best actress” in the film “Marriage Italian-Style” by director Vittorio de Sica.

The film festival attracted many celebrities. Among the festival guests were French actress Marina Vlady (left) and Indian director and actor Raj Kapoor (right). Later, at the next festival, Marina Vlady would meet her future husband, the famous Soviet actor, poet and singer Vladimir Vysotsky.