In 1980, the Soviet Union hosted the Summer Olympics in Moscow. Times were different back then. Athletic shorts were shorter. And the posters were… awesome! We’ve dug up a few of these rare specimens for you to flip through, lightly annotated for context. Behold the wonders of their minimal design, awkward tangent propaganda, and bears. Meet Mishka, the Soviet Olympic Mascot, the definitive bear of all of USSR. He’s like Paddington Bear, but he comes in a giant floating balloon. Yeah, take that, London.
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Misha dominates all of the pictograms.
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“Olympian year — not just for Olympians.” Seriously, it says that. Keep working, comrades.
Naturally, the international community will respond positively to posters that look like Slavic DECORATIVE TOWELS. Swag.
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These are “welcome flowers” for the foreign visitors. They are red, naturally.
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Oh, look. Misha is back and he stole several children from different countries.
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This is when housing project-style architecture was really, really hot.
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A statue-inspired Soviet sport: Mixed gymnastic synchronized torch-running.
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Ah, minimalism. Also, don’t forget to harvest your wheat at the communal farm this season. Never forget about the communal farm.
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“From the depths of time, to the Olympics of today.” Now, with more wheat.
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Best ice cream cone ever?