1974 in color. What the world was like 43 years ago

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

1974-30-01 General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (left) talks with the First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee, Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Government Fidel Castro (right) during his visit to the Republic of Cuba. Eduard Pesov / RIA:

Castro has ruled Cuba for 15 years and his famous beard is beginning to turn gray, which he promised not to shave off until the complete victory over American imperialism. Brezhnev has ruled the USSR for 10 years. They say that it was in 1974 that he began to noticeably fail in physical terms.

It is with the beginning of the extinction of the Soviet leader that the concept of "stagnation" is associated, and not with the Brezhnev rule as a whole.

The first 10 years just turned out to be very good. Hundreds of the largest enterprises and infrastructure facilities were built, which will then be "devoured" for long post-perestroika years.

The world's largest system of sectoral (departmental) research institutes was created, which allowed the USSR to somehow master the technological innovations of the West, and in some ways even to get ahead.

Constant technical modernization was the basis of the entire Soviet ideology of social and economic development, but the bureaucratic system did not quite cope with the implementation of ambitious plans.

Electronics and industrial automation have become particularly critical.

This is what the automation of control at Uralmash looked like in 1974:

And in the States, in the same 1974, some dreamer adventurers were already planning the production of personal computers.

Golden years of stagnation!

The main concerns of the citizens of the USSR were to save up for a "Zhiguli", build a house on a garden plot ("dacha"), go to rest "in the south". In general, it was a standard set of benefits.

Sun, sea, kvass, port, youth, finally - what else did people need for a carefree vacation in Sochi in 1974?

And if you want to see "real Europe" - go to Tallinn, where the first Soviet variety show opened in 1974. The program in it bore a very intricate name - "Traveling of Elder Ülemiste on Vacation":

Read more about how Estonian cowboys were lit at the Viru hotel here.

Particularly fortunate Soviet citizens could travel on a trade union ticket to the Golden Sands of Bulgaria, where in 1974 one could contemplate a beauty contest "just like in the West":

In the USSR itself, beauty contests with a fashion show in swimsuits were allowed only in 1988, and in 1974 it was possible to see only "Come on, girls!"

Back in the USSR, 1974 was marked by the cult film "One among strangers, a stranger among friends":

The film, heroic in form, was in fact a frank parody of American westerns, with a deliberate play on all Hollywood clichés, but the main musical theme of the film became almost the best Soviet melody of the 20th century.

It is also impossible not to mention such a wonderful film of 1974 as "The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia":

The most memorable event in the social and political life of the USSR in 1974 was the scandalous expulsion from the country of Solzhenitsyn.

On January 7, 1974, the release of the "Gulag Archipelago" and measures to "suppress anti-Soviet activities" by its author were discussed at a meeting of the Politburo. The question was brought up to the Central Committee of the CPSU; Yu. V. Andropov and others spoke in favor of the expulsion; for arrest and exile - Kosygin, Brezhnev, Podgorny, Shelepin, Gromyko and others. Andropov's opinion prevailed. On February 12, Solzhenitsyn was arrested, accused of treason and stripped of his Soviet citizenship. On February 13, he was expelled from the USSR (taken to Germany by plane).

On December 10, 1974, Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded back in 1970:

In the socialist camp in 1974, everything was calm and quiet. In China, the Cultural Revolution was finally coming to an end, the 25th anniversary of the republic was celebrated in the GDR (photo by Thomas Hoepker):

The main event in foreign life in 1974 was the resignation of US President Nixon under the threat of impeachment as a result of the Watergate scandal.

At noon on August 9, 1974, Nixon announces his resignation as head of state:

The overthrow of Nixon, like the assassination of Kennedy, was a specific American form of coup d'etat, behind which was a conspiracy of oligarchs and the higher bureaucracy. Just like Kennedy, Nixon "crossed the line", but this time it was decided to do without sniper rifles, and to arrange a "celebration of democracy." The organizers of the "hunt for Nixon" rummaged in last year's newspapers, found there a mention of some minor incident with "bugs", and the rest was already a matter of technology.

Nixon was replaced by a president with the automobile surname Ford:

America in 1974 was already a deeply sick country, demoralized by the defeat in Vietnam, with a dead ecology, degrading urban quarters and an obsolete industry.

The automotive industry was hit hard by the 1974 Oil Crisis, but by inertia it continued to produce some beastly petrol-eating mastodons, like this Imperial Model 74:

Even in the ugly design with the protruding edges of the "muzzle", the symptoms of the disease of the American society of the time are visible. Such expensive and bulky machines did not have much export prospects.

Japan was rapidly breaking into the leaders of the world auto export. Compact, cheap and economical Toyota 1974:

And in Europe came the fashion for "flattened" cars. Although the 1974 Citroen SM turned out to be more like this due to imitation of the unforgettable DS 1955:

And the largest auto industry of the modern world in 1974 was just in its infancy.

The Chinese in some semi-handicraft way riveted for their "nomenclature" executive cars under the "Shanghai" brand, based on the Mercedes-Benz 180 'Ponton' model of the 1950s. These initially obsolete cars they produced from 1964 to 1985!

In 1974, a slightly modernized model Shanghai SH-760A was released:

In general, a relatively calm 1974 was nevertheless marked by a number of important military and political events in the world.

On April 25, 1974, young left-wing officers carried out the "Carnation Revolution" in Portugal:

As a result, the oldest dictatorship in Europe, which had existed since 1932, was overthrown!

In 1973, Portugal was the poorest country in Western Europe, ranking 39th in terms of living standards. The protective policy of the regimes of Antonio Salazar and Marcelo Caetano for half a century has turned the country into one of the most backward agrarian European states. But even in agriculture, the level of mechanization was minimal, production actually did not grow, and, for example, the grain yield was 5 times lower than in Western Europe. The rural population was almost completely illiterate and practically impoverished in comparison with the farming of France or the Federal Republic of Germany.

At the same time, the fascist dictatorship of "black colonels" that had existed since 1967 was overthrown in Greece.

On July 15, 1974, a military coup took place in Cyprus, during which the Greek Cypriot terrorist organization EOKA-V overthrew Archbishop Makarios III, President of Cyprus. The Turkish authorities, seeing this as a threat to their interests in Cyprus, landed a 30,000-strong military corps, which occupied about 35% of the island's territory. Cyprus was divided into the southern Greek part and the northern Turkish part.

This is what the Cyprus dividing line looked like in 1974:

On March 11, 1974, a law was passed in Iraq on the proclamation of the Kurdish Autonomous Region (Iraqi Kurdistan), which confirmed its borders within three provinces. The law enshrined the complete dependence of all the main state Kurdish bodies on the federal government. The refusal to include oil-rich Kirkuk in the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan and the limited autonomy provoked one of the most massive Kurdish uprisings. As a result, from March 1974 to March 1975. there was a bloody war between federal Iraq and the Kurds, who were greatly assisted by Iran.

Kurdish refugees fleeing Iraqi bombing, Bruno Barbey, 1974:

In 1974 g. Yasser Arafat secured the recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the only legitimate (PLO) representative of the Palestinian people in the UN, after which he ordered the PLO to end acts of violence in all territories except Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Arafat in 1974:

One of the main events in the cultural life of 1974 was the appearance of new superstars on the stage Olympus - ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest:

In terms of their popularity, these four will almost catch up with the four Beatles, whose world triumph took place exactly 10 years earlier, in 1964.

In 1974, the first Philips VCR1500 home video recorder was presented:

A new era has begun! Homevideo!

The main archaeological discovery of the year was the discovery of an 8,000-strong "terracotta army" in China:

1974 is the first year of human life since the 1973 Oil Crisis, which led to a sharp jump in oil prices. In turn, this would lead to the emergence of the concept of "oil emirates", but the story of their fabulous prosperity was still ahead.

In 1974, Qatar, for example, looked like the real backyard of the Arab world:

Finally, perhaps one of the most curious events of 1974 was the surrender of the last soldier of the Japanese Imperial Army on the Philippine island of Lubang!

The hero's name was Hiroo Onoda.

On March 10, 1974, only after receiving an order from his former immediate commander, Onoda surrendered to the Philippine troops. He was in full military uniform, carrying a serviceable Arisaka Type 99 rifle, 500 rounds for it, several hand grenades and a samurai sword. The Japanese handed over his sword to the base commander as a sign of surrender and was ready to die. However, the commander returned the weapon to him, calling him "a model of army loyalty":

During his 30 years in the Lubanga jungle, Onoda adapted to their conditions, led a nomadic lifestyle, collected information about the enemy and events in the world, and also carried out a number of attacks on Filipino military personnel and police officers. The scout ate dried meat of wild buffaloes, which were shot by himself, as well as the fruits of palm trees, mostly coconuts. With his subordinates, Onoda carried out more than a hundred attacks on the American radar base, Filipino officials and the police. During these operations, he killed 30 and seriously wounded more than 100 military and civilians.

Under Philippine law, Onoda faced the death penalty for robbery and murder, attacks on police and the military during 1945-1974, but thanks to the intervention of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, he was pardoned. The capitulation ceremony was attended by dignitaries from both countries, including then-President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos. Onoda solemnly returned to his homeland on March 12, 1974.