What decorated Christmas trees then and now Bashny.Net

The 1990s brought a new tree in Russia. Radical political and economic changes, cultural and ideological transformations that have taken place in the country at that time, could not help but reflect on the current "Christmas tree" ideology. In place of the Soviet tree, "frozen" and "ossified" together with the entire Soviet society in its festive "monotonous" splendor 1970-1980's, came the post-Soviet tree - bright, bold, destroying existing canons and stereotypes.





Toys 1930
Loss of interest in this toy is largely due to the fact that in the sphere of consumption, it passed through the same quite typical stages that characterized the modes and levels of people's attitudes to things in the USSR, and then in post-Soviet Russia. Initially, and by the way, for a long time - since its launch in the second half of 1930 and for more than a quarter of a century - Christmas toy was scarce and therefore very valuable and carefully stored. For toys treated with care: whole families have accumulated a collection of Christmas decorations transmitted to subsequent generations.





Christmas decorations from different periods of the USSR
Going to the car, industrial production Christmas toys in the middle of the 1960s led to the emergence of many standardized products. This toy is not sorry to break up or break and easy to replace. In the Soviet society has mass consumption patterns of Christmas decorations that one way or another, met the Soviet economy. Let this economy was ascetic and almost isolated from the rest of the world, let these toys were often poor and even miserable, but they had one big advantage - they are cheap cost, and could afford one.





Pre-sale in the "Children's World»
By the mid-1980s Soviet citizens consumer expectations have changed significantly. To a large extent, they were focused on imported goods, which could not compete sturdy and environmentally friendly, but not very graceful and not always beautiful domestic samples. Goods world the Christmas market were now well known not only due to penetrate the USSR Western glossy magazines and subjects of foreign newsreel.





Reindeer from the magazine Burda Moden 1994
"On the occasion of" imported Christmas decorations can be purchased in the Soviet shops (having stood a long line or "to pull"), purchased at a flea market or brought from a trip abroad. Especially familiar with imported Christmas decorations were higher strata of Soviet society. Put the home Christmas tree decorated with toys overseas, was considered particularly prestigious.





Vintage Christmas ornaments from Britain
On the shelves of the same until the early 1990s were still only toys domestic production. In the context of scarce economy range of their increasingly narrowed, and the quality has deteriorated: I still recall bought in December 1991, the glass lump - a huge, palm-sized, crudely and rudely painted, terribly hard, so that not every fir branch could it endure.

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A variety of Christmas balls
In the 1990s, with the opening of trade borders the Russian market captivated mass imported, mainly Chinese-tree products - beautiful, cheap, practical (to replace the breaking glass came synthetics and plastics), and sometimes is not safe, but diverse. & Lt; ... & gt; Wonderful, but with rare exceptions among this abundance of Chinese looked handmade Christmas decorations made by the Russian master glassblowers - glass balls and peaks with multicolor carpal swipe painted, decorated with different materials; hand-painted wooden ornaments and others. However, the production of Christmas decorations at a difficult time for the country has been steadily decreasing. According to the well-known collector of Soviet Christmas decorations, American Kim Balashak, the first 15 post-Soviet years could go down in history of the Russian Christmas toys as the reign of faceless monotone balls and icicles, aged in strict Western aesthetics and produced by industrious Chinese.

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Tree in the European style monochrome
"Invasion" of imported toys accompanied by changes in the general style of the Christmas decorations, which, in essence, this toy and determined. In herringbone fashion there was a sharp jump from a cozy, homely, largely "child" tree pretentious designer Christmas tree for adults, where a bright motley raznotsvete and there was no place. Seized a commanding lead tree decked out in "European", monochrome style. It was decorated with "tone on tone" with the obligatory presence of "classical" in silver or golden color and the "classic" Christmas tree decorations - balls, bows, strings of twinkling. In such a tree dominated restraint and conciseness, which nevertheless gave rise to a sense of stylish luxury. Also became a popular style of "minimalism" when hung on a tree only a few bright balls. Fashion on the artificial Christmas tree with colored needles - blue, silver, yellow, red, orange and even black - also need to change the whole style of decoration.

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"It is obvious that the former Soviet Christmas tree toy did not fit into this new style of Christmas, not only in content but also in appearance»
However, with time and stylistic minimalism monochrome Christmas tree, at every step, especially when decorating public trees - in open space, restaurants, hotels, offices and hypermarkets - got a bit annoying. Much more unusual look tree decorated in retro style, whether Victorian garland of silk bows and Christmas decorations Soviet 1950s. And if such a tree recently was largely the property of aesthetes or the older generation, who wanted to please the unusual ornaments of his grandchildren and great grandchildren, then gradually a Christmas tree decoration is increasingly coming into the festive life.

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