The field is red with rye, and the bride is a dowry – an old Russian proverb teaches. In the era of our mothers’ youth, excessive concern for material goods was considered philistine, but it was customary even in the USSR to sleep on bed linen and eat cutlery from plates. Therefore, every bride, even a Komsomol member, at a certain moment in her life thought about a dowry. What did Soviet women get married with?
The first and most important thing a bride should bring to her new family is bed linen. This tradition has survived all — revolution, civil war, the triumphal march of Soviet power, collectivization, the formation of pioneers and the Komsomol, and so on. While the young Komsomol members were building communism, the grandmothers and aunts in the villages gathered for them fluff to fluff fluffy pillows, featherbeds and blankets. Those who are not lucky with such old-fashioned grandmothers, they bought in stores the usual Soviet bedding, so that they would have the usual Soviet ottoman or sofa bed. We only note that in the Soviet Union both beautiful sheets, duvet covers, and decent furniture needed to be “got out” – in the dictionary of that time, one of the most popular was the word “deficit”.
Provincials went to storm the capital’s shops. For the shortage, they defended kilometer queues, but then proudly covered the matrimonial bed with beautiful sets
Tamara, 65 years:
“On the eve of the wedding, my future husband and I went to Leningrad – to admire beauty, and to go shopping. In Gostiny Dvor, I bought myself bed linen as a dowry – with lace, with embroidery! In our town this beauty was not available. Returning home through Moscow and there, in the Pervomaisky department store, I bought some beautiful towels. Their quality was excellent, some of them still serve and look decent. ”
Olga, 68 years:
“I distinguished myself: I bought a white moire with an embossed pattern and sewed luxurious pillowcases with ruffles into my dowry! Nowhere and no one was like that, I was proud. ”
This piece of Soviet interior does not cause anything but irony among today’s youth. Photo against the background of a carpet – what could be more vulgar? And even 40 years ago, against the background of wall carpets, they took pictures with pride: luxury, comfort, prosperity!
It is now full of carpets everywhere, went and bought, if necessary. In the USSR, the purchase of a carpet was an event. They were brought to furniture stores, and in strictly limited quantities, and distributed among the population according to a strict system. People signed up for the purchase of carpets in a queue, moreover, priority was given to citizens with special merits to the Fatherland, for example, war veterans. If there was a queue to buy a carpet, the person would receive a postcard announcing that he had finally received this honor. The lucky man came to the store and took what he had, with a minimal choice.
If the queue was alive, people wrote on their hands the number of their queue with a chemical pencil and once every couple of hours they called to see if everything was in place. For the sake of the carpet, they were ready to literally while away the nights at the entrance to the store.
The bride, able to decorate the living space with carpets, was considered not anyhow. By the way, the carpets of that time, unlike modern ones, were of very high quality, made of natural wool. They were easy to clean and did not fade in the sun
The magic word is set! For example, the famous “Golden Daisies” of the Leningrad Porcelain Factory. Or quite chic – “Cobalt net”, the same manufacturer. Or a masterly, sybaritic “Madonna” produced by the GDR!
Sometimes the bride and groom received this priceless beauty as a gift from guests at a wedding, but often the mother of the future young wife “got out” the service in advance so that the young people entered a new life fully armed.
In the famous Moscow department stores, luxurious cutlery sets were bought in suitcases – cupronickel, with elegant rounded knives, and heavy cast handles.
Crystal vases, sugar bowls, candy cans, and the like, letting rainbow bunnies decorate the future furniture wall for young people, as a rule, were given by guests.
Polished wardrobes and bedside tables, mirrored three-part trellises – everything that now refers to the country house for its old-fashioned and provincial look was a hit in the 70s.
Furniture shining with varnish made by friendly countries of the socialist camp was much more natural, for example, fashionable clothes of those years, entirely synthetic
And it is certainly much more environmentally friendly than modern furniture. These are not pressed shavings of our days, but natural wood veneer – oak, ash and so on.
“Before the wedding, we went to Moscow with the future husband to buy a sofa bed. In our province, too, it was possible to buy furniture, but simpler, but we wanted a special one. Our sofa bed had a polished cover, under which you could hide bedding and pillows during the daytime. It cost 170 rubles. ”
Vacuum cleaner, iron, refrigerator, washing machine – usually young people started to save money together on all these items immediately after the wedding. But even in the USSR not everyone had the same wealth. A wealthy bride could surprise a new kin even with a coffee grinder or, scary to say, with a mixer!
They hunted for scarce equipment in shops in the capital.
Karina, 66 years:
“In our family, we thoroughly prepared for the marriage of our daughters: Mom and I regularly combed all the large stores in the capital — the department store Moscow, Polish Fashion, Belgrade, Leipzig, Novoarbatsky, the Svet store, and the department store Dobryninskaya metro station, and, of course, GUM and TSUM. So when I got married, I carried myself proudly: I had everything and even more! On my luxurious veil, all the brides in the registry office devoted their heads! But my husband was an enviable bridegroom, already in 26 years he had his own Zhiguli car, which for those times, in 70-s, was very good.
Some brides, fortunately, were not spoiled by the brains of Soviet propaganda. The best start for a young family is a decent amount of money! Since pre-revolutionary times in this regard, nothing has changed.
Galina, 67 years:
“I am a practical person and have been like that since birth. Therefore, she began to save money even when she was not familiar with her future husband. I generally liked to save. So, when I got married, along with the dowry, I brought my husband as much as 500 rubles! We immediately bought a Java motorcycle with this money and took it on our honeymoon along the Caucasian ridge! “
Few could afford a dowry worthy of millionaires from bourgeois countries in the USSR. For example, high government officials or successful market traders of southern fruits from the union republics. Let’s just note that in those years it was impossible to simply take and buy an apartment – they were all owned by the state. But if you wanted, you could buy a private house.
Housing could be inherited, transferred to the young as a result of an act of donation, or by other means: parents helped the newlyweds with money for the first share in the cooperative, and then they paid the contributions themselves. But the cooperative apartments also got to the new settlers in turn and were not the property of citizens. Parents with good incomes gave their daughter motorcycles and cars.
… and even musical instruments
Irina, 69 years:
“I moved to my husband after the wedding with almost one piano – at that time I worked as an accompanist and gave music lessons at home. I inherited the grand piano from my mother. It was my main dowry, I earned my grand piano and at some moments I fed the whole family. The grand piano was sold when I retired. ”