Jeans in Russia were the unofficial symbol of a democracy in fashion. Anyone who had a pair was coveted be anyone who didn't have a pair. To get a pair you would have had to go to extreme length to get a pair. The people in Russia got their first pair of jeans in the 1950's when Moscow hosted the World Festival of Youth and Students. From then on jeans represented everything the Russia needed. At first jeans were banned from Russia, which meant that you could get fired from your job, or worse you could be expelled. Jeans were first really worn by sailors or diplomat's kids. They brought them in from other places. People would often go to jail because they would try to smuggle jeans in from across the border.
In a radio interview talking about the relationship between West and East Germany it brought up the trust between them. The common everyday people had to trust each other. In East Germany the people didn't have the rights to allow them to host a radio show telling whatever they wanted, so they needed help from the west side. After recording what was happening on their side, the people on the east side would smuggle the tapes to the other side, which the people would then radio broadcast. There had to be trust between the two of them that the west wouldn't edit everything out, and the east were actually doing what they said they were doing.
What a strange way to live your life, not even being able to do normal everyday stuff freely. It would be interesting to know what the Russians thought of East Berlin. They would seem to relate to each other.
Berlin Wall
Jeans were to die for! (Sometimes literally)
Oranges were an exotic not seen very much fruit in Russia in the 80's.
A dairy store.
A bus station.
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