Russia

Rare Archive Photos of May Day Demonstrations in USSR

May Day, or International Workers’ Day, is a public holiday marked on May 1 every year in many countries around the world. Today, Russia celebrates it as Spring and Labor Day.
Sputnik
The International Day of Workers' Solidarity was one of the most important holidays in the former USSR. Traditionally, official rallies, organized street demonstrations, and marches were held in every city of the Soviet Union on that day. Moscow’s iconic Red Square would become a venue for parades to demonstrate the power of the Soviet Union.
Sputnik dipped into the archives for some rare photographs showing how May Day was celebrated in the USSR.
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May Day demonstration in Petrograd. May 1, 1917.

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Legendary Soviet “Maxim Gorky” aircraft during a May Day parade on Moscow's Red Square, flanked on both sides by Tupolev I-4 fighter aircraft.

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May Day street rallies in the Russian capital on May 1, 1932.

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A workers' demonstration at Moscow's Red Square in 1939.

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Soviet people attend a May Day demonstration in Moscow.

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Amateur talent groups perform on Red Square on International Day of Workers' Solidarity.

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People participate in a May Day march on Gorky Street (now Tverskaya Street) in Moscow.

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Moscow marks May 1. A festive workers' demonstration on Red Square.

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Orchestra musicians march on Red Square as part of celebrations of the International Day of Workers’ Solidarity in Moscow. May 1, 1969.

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A column of banner-bearers marching across Red Square on May Day.

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Pilot-cosmonauts, Heroes of the Soviet Union Yuri Gagarin (on the right) and Pavel Popovich on the guest podium during a May Day parade on Red Square in Moscow.

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A festive demonstration on Red Square in Moscow dedicated to International Workers' Day. Standing on the podium of the Lenin Mausoleum are (from left to right) Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Nikolai Podgorny, General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexey Kosygin.

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Muscovites during celebrations of May Day in the Soviet capital.

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Red Square in Moscow plays host to a demonstration to mark the International Day of Workers’ Solidarity on May 1.

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Young pioneers from Moscow's schools perform during celebrations of the International Day of Workers’ Solidarity on Red Square.

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Festive demonstration with banners and flags on Red Square during a celebration of the International Day of Workers’ Solidarity on May 1, 1986.

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A parade on Red Square during celebrations of the International Day of Workers’ Solidarity on May 1.

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A May Day demonstration and rally of supporters of the “Labor Russia” movement on Red Square.

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