Exhibition "Childhood in the USSR: The Toys That Raised Us"

About exhibition

The Tenishev Cultural and Exhibition Center invites Smolensk residents and visitors to the city to attend an exhibition of Soviet toys. Children in the Soviet Union had no smartphones, tablets, or computer games. But they were never bored. Children who grew up in the USSR knew many ways to occupy themselves, made friends only offline, and could imagine and take joy in small things. Toys in the USSR were a cherished childhood dream. Although the selection was very limited, Soviet dolls, balls, and toy cars were of high quality. Today Soviet games and toys are highly valued by collectors and historians. Like any everyday object, toys—being an important tool in raising the younger generation—reflected the Soviet era and the changes that took place within it. The exhibition features more than 100 exhibits: Soviet dolls, teddy bears and toy horses, toy cars and toy soldiers, which can evoke nostalgia for childhood and recall cultural and historical events of the past.