During the Soviet period, religious celebrations were discouraged by the official state policy of atheism. Christmas tree and related celebrations were gradually eradicated after the October Revolution. In 1935, in a surprising turn of state politics, the Christmas tradition was adopted as part of the secular New Year celebration.
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New Year celebration in 1963 in the Dom Profsoyuzov, Moscow (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) USSR
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Ded Moroz and Snegurochka entertain children in the Kremlin Palace of the Soviets, Moscow, 1977
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New Year celebration in the Kremlin Palace of the Soviets
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New Year celebration in the Kremlin Palace of the Soviets
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Queue at Detsky Mir (Children’s World) toy store, Moscow, 1983
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New Year celebration in the Tbilisi Palace of Sports, Tbilisi (Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic) USSR
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Buying a new TV set ahead of the New Year holiday, 1963
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New Year programme on Estonian TV, 1982
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New Year celebration in a kindergarten, Moscow, 1964
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Sale on the Arbat ahead of New Year, Moscow, 1985
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Ded Moroz at a winter Pioneer camp in Moscow Oblast, 1984
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Antonov An-2 aircraft delivered New Year trees to residents in Bukhara Oblast, Uzbek SSR, 1965
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New Year celebration, 1985
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Ded Moroz leads gymnastics class in Moscow, 1985
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Ded Moroz in Riga, Latvian SSR, 1986