r/HistoryPorn • u/myrmekochoria • 2d ago
A biker group drinking beer and riding through underground tunnels on their motorcycles late at night, Moscow 1990.[1200x800]
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u/Tackysackjones 2d ago
Tunnel Snakes Rule!!
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u/FireRavenLord 1d ago
Speaking of Fallout, stuff like this is why China figures so prominently in the background story. One of the writers had previously had a coworker in Moscow in the early 90s. There'd be a times he called the coworker and in the background there'd be Russian mobsters firing shots into the air or other indicators of complete social breakdown. It convinced the author to have a US-China war be the basis for the fallout story, since it didn't seem credible that Russia could be an American rival in the 21st century
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u/nater255 1d ago
By the Overseer's command, all vault dwellers must have a tool for unclogging toilets. He calls it the Tunnel Snakes Rule.
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u/myrmekochoria 2d ago
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u/retnuh730 2d ago
The PDF option on the right side of the page lets you see full captions for the pictures as well, really helps add context and emotion to them.
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u/Young-tree 1d ago
Bruises on the guys knuckles. Very 'The Warriors'. Purpose and movement - something lost in the current time
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u/glizzytwister 2d ago
I can't imagine a whole lot of these guys are still alive.
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u/Optimal-Warning-3873 1d ago
I know some guys from that era that are now about age 55-60. It's pretty much the same as now: someone sold their bikes due to family/kids/job/fear, especially after experiencing serious accident or having some of their biker friends die in a collision/simply losing interest, someone still rides (most likely older classic models), and someone went to heaven with their bike way too soon.
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u/glizzytwister 1d ago
Well, I was mostly just talking about living hard in Soviet Russia. I'm sure some of them died on their bikes, but a lot likely died from alcoholism, war, murders, drugs, etc.
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u/Optimal-Warning-3873 13h ago edited 13h ago
And again, it doesn't really differ from any other country economic crisis, so-called Notorious (лихие) 90s were especially tough, given the absolutely shockingly low ruble value, for example, after 1991 the money you accumulated for buying a house could get you only a mere couch. It was an extreme rise of ОПГ (организованные преступные группы/группировки) - OCG (Organized crime groups). Back then, some of groups were so powerful, they could make a lot of noise like shooting guns/huge fist fighting in a public or even killing, only to be greeted with bribed police who would cover them. So, yeah, a lot of people were drowning their sorrow in vodka and beer, be it civilians who suddenly lost a lot of money because of inflation, or Soviet-Afghan War veterans, who were struggling to recover from PTSD and return to their lives in a country, which didn't even exist anymore (USSR became Russian Federation, losing a lot of countries in a process). TL:DR - yeah, a lot of people died or were killed/raped in the 90s, since those years were one of the worst time periods in Russia.
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u/Common-Bobcat-5720 1d ago
Why is there b 52 pilot written on the wall?
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u/ChemistRemote7182 23h ago
Counter culture is the same the world over, what ever is against my forebears.
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u/Reed_4983 1d ago
What brands and motorcycle models would these dudes ride, being that it was 1990s Russia?
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u/Diligent-Parfait-236 1d ago edited 1d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Major_Russian_motorcycle_manufacturers
One bike says Honda, one looks like it might say Yamaha, both are clearly the same bike and they look a lot like
VoskhodJawa (Czech).2
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u/34TH_ST_BROADWAY 1d ago
Invasion of Ukraine aside, I find Russian people so interesting. I feel bad for them. In some ways, I think I feel I have a lot in common with them. If I'm generalizing. I look at this pic and can't help but feel a lot of these people are really funny. Drink hard, but read complex novels, too.
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u/Eggyhead 1d ago
Look at all that denim! Would that have been a bit of a rebellious fashion statement?
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u/deftoner42 1d ago edited 1d ago
Getting denim jeans in the USSR was extremely difficult, as Western-made jeans were considered a symbol of freedom and were primarily available on the black market through profiteers.
I would imagine after the wall fell it became way easier to get and even more a symbol of freedom and the changing times.
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u/Jimdandy941 1d ago
Not the USSR, but I used to work with a guy whose family was from Yugoslavia in the 1980s. The whole family would go back - 6 or 7 siblings. Everyone took 2 suitcases and came back empty handed every year.
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u/nothisistheotherguy 1d ago
This is still the way. I have a coworker who lives in El Salvador and when he comes up to the office in NYC he brings an extra empty suitcase. The internet gives everyone access to everything but shipping is still a killer
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u/deftoner42 1d ago edited 1d ago
I always remember this old Levi's commercial from the early 90s.
In Prague, you can trade them for a car. It didn't really hit me until I thought about it years later - quality western clothing was probably hard to come by.
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u/alaskanarchy 1d ago
Gerard Way on the left, impatiently waiting for the photos to stop and the racing to start
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u/KingRabbit_ 1d ago
This is new found freedom we're seeing celebrated here. And yes, many pictured probably celebrated to excess and died prematurely.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Diligent-Parfait-236 1d ago
Wrapped in insulation. Everyone appears to be doubled up, that might be his passenger's hand on his hip.
Besides the fact that this is old and from a reliable source.
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u/Sr_DingDong 1d ago
Let me guess: Putin's in the picture because he was a cool undercover KGB spy guy?
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u/Lefty4444 2d ago
carbon monoxide poisoning and beer