The first decades of the 20th century. Culture in the first post-October decade

Blogger Donna Julietta writes: “Today I was looking through various retro photographs that depicted the history of people’s lives and then I thought that it would be nice to look at photographs that related to fashion, to see how it changed, how interesting fashionistas dressed then. And I decided, why not make a review of fashion by decade. Let me make a reservation right away that I will not give examples of women who were popular at a certain time; it is better to pay special attention to them. Let's just discuss fashion."

(Total 43 photos)

Post sponsor:: For every taste. Huge collection.
Source: Zhzhurnal/ make-your-style

Let's start with the 10s of the 20th century.

1. Corsets have been holding women back for years, making their figures much more beautiful and graceful, and making life harder. The inability to inhale and exhale once again, constant illnesses due to too tightly tightened “shells” - all this made the corset, although a significant item of the era, very unpleasant.
Therefore, in 1906, women all over the world literally exhaled - a couturier named Paul Poiret first proposed wearing dresses of a simple cut, without corsets. Very soon, such dresses came into fashion - that is why the tenth years are remembered as the years of “liberation” of women from the oppression of one of the most inconvenient items of clothing, and Paul Poiret became a real savior for ladies of high society.

2. In the tens, Russian chic was in fashion - the “Russian Seasons”, which the famous Sergei Diaghilev brought to Paris, were a huge success. Ballet, opera, art, exhibitions - all this was accompanied by a huge number of receptions at which our ladies could adopt the art of haute couture among Parisian women.

3. It was then that all the now familiar attributes of “chic life” in the wardrobe began to come into fashion - women bared their shoulders, began to wear very boudoir-looking toilets, decorating them with a huge number of feather fans, precious jewelry and shiny accessories.

We smoothly move on to the fashion of the 20s

4. During this period, sports and male sports figures entered fashion with confident steps, and female forms gradually began to lose relevance and popularity. The ideal is a thin lady with narrow hips, without the slightest hint of a bust or other roundness. The famous Gabrielle Chanel can be called a fashion reformer and revolutionary of this period. Along with her, fashionable clothes were created in such fashion houses as Nina Ricci, Chanel, Madame Paquin, Jean Patou, Madeleine Vionnet, Jacques Doucet, Jacques Heim, Lucille”, fur fashion house “Jacques Heim” and others.

5. Egyptian motifs began to come into fashion in the 20s. The designers' models were decorative, with an abundance of decorations and embroidery in the zig-zag style. This style was called “Art Deco”, and came from the name of the exhibition of modern decorative and industrial art in Paris in 1925.

6. It was a style of decorating and adorning things. Decorative elements were present on furniture, kitchen utensils, and women's dresses.

7. Shoes trimmed with embroidery or appliqués, decorated to the taste of popular couturiers of that time, came into fashion. "Art Deco" is an eclectic style in which African abstract exoticism is mixed with the geometric forms of cubism; non-traditional inexpensive and simple materials are mixed with expensive traditional materials of good quality.

8. Such a combination of incompatible things, mixed in one style.

9. As a result, the fashion features of the 20s:

— the main elements of clothing are, of course, dresses, straight-cut suits;
- pleating is in fashion;
- a fashionable straight-cut coat tapering towards the bottom and with a fur collar;
— pajama trousers and pajamas are in fashion, which were worn to the beach at that time;
- the first swimsuits for women appeared - a revolution in beach fashion;
- clothes were made from more affordable fabrics and knitwear became a discovery;
— sporty style is in fashion, not only trousers, but also shorts are appearing;
- the appearance of the classic Chanel little black dress;

30s fashion

10. In these times, the cutting of clothes has become more complex. The quality of mass-produced ready-to-wear clothing has improved markedly. Hollywood is a trendsetter in the USA. But even here, companies began to appear that traded using catalogs sent by mail. These companies distributed new fashion models in millions of copies.

11. Long skirts became the standard of fashion during the crisis times of the thirties. In 1929, Jean Patou was the first to offer long dresses and skirts, the waistline of which was in place. After this innovation, all fashion houses lengthened their models in two stages. At first, the length of dresses and skirts reached mid-calf, and a little later dropped almost to the ankle. Ladies who follow fashion trends independently lengthened their clothes. They sewed on wedges and various frills.

12. A very popular piece of clothing in the 1930s was the women's street suit, which came in a wide variety of variations. Outerwear - coats and jackets - were distinguished by their extraordinary elegance and variety of styles.

13. Each type of clothing, including a suit, was characterized by a wide variety of shaped lines and finishes. The cut of suits became more complex and began to rely on geometry, giving the silhouette clarity.

14. Decorative details and decorations were widely used in the costume. A hat, handbag, gloves and shoes - that's what should have been in the same color scheme. Accessories were selected very strictly. As a rule, they were black or brown, and in summer they were white.

15. Accessories selected in this way easily matched any dress or suit, which was relevant during the crisis. In the fashion of the 30s, accessories played a huge role. After all, most women of those years could not afford anything else except a hat or a handbag.

40s fashion

16. The dominant fashion trend of the early 40s was multi-layered long skirts, huge bows on clothes, sometimes with the addition of vertical stripes, and puffed sleeves. It is worth noting that at that time, striped clothing was the most popular. As war broke out and the world became militarized, fashion in the 1940s underwent significant changes. Women no longer have time to think about makeup and replenishing their wardrobe.

17. During this period, the appearance of outfits was significantly simplified to minimalism in everything. Natural fabrics are no longer used for civilian purposes. Clothes for women began to be produced and sewn from acetate silk and viscose.

18. Floral designs are coming back into fashion: ornaments and small flowers have become the main decoration of fabrics and dresses made from this material. It became impossible to sew blouses and shirts from white fabric, so cuffs and collars began to be introduced into fashion. The military style, which is still popular today, became a discovery of the war period.

19. At the same time, a new shoe model was released: shoes with stiletto heels.

20. Also new was the production of turtleneck blouses; these models with a high turtleneck deservedly received recognition from the fashionistas of those times.

50s fashion

22. In the post-war years, social differences became noticeably worse. Wives again turned into a symbol of the well-being of their spouses, as a kind of showcase for others. A mandatory ritual for every woman is visiting a hair salon and applying makeup. The ideal woman, even if she did not work anywhere and was a housewife, had to be fully prepared already early in the morning: with a perfect hairstyle, in heels and makeup, stand at the stove or vacuum the carpet.

23. Even in the Soviet Union, where the lifestyle was significantly different from the Western one, it was customary to have your hair styled at a hairdresser or permed at least once a week, which also began to become fashionable with particular rapidity.

24. 50s style contrasted the hourglass silhouette with the crisp, shoulder-flared silhouette that was popular during the war years. Thus, there were special requirements for the figure: sloping shoulders, thin waist, rounded feminine hips and lush breasts.

25. To meet these standards, women wore constriction corsets, placed fabric or cotton wool in their bras, and tightened their bellies. The images of beauty of those times were: Elizabeth Taylor, Lyubov Orlova, Sophia Loren, Klara Luchko, Marilyn Monroe.

26. Among the young population, the standards were Lyudmila Gurchenko and others. A fashionable and stylish woman of the 50s style resembled a flower in silhouette: a fluffy floor-length skirt, under which they wore a multi-layered petticoat, high stiletto heels, nylon stockings with a seam. Stockings were a must-have accessory to complete the look and were extremely expensive. But women went to great lengths to look attractive and feel like beauties who follow fashion trends. It was difficult to buy fabrics at that time; no more than a certain amount of them was sold per person, approved by the norms of those times. To sew one skirt to fit the “new silhouette”, it took from nine to forty meters of material!

60s fashion

The legendary 60s are the brightest decade in the history of world fashion, free and expressive, a period of solemn procession of the so-called youth fashion. The new style needed new hairstyles. And again London was ahead of Paris in terms of innovative ideas. In 1959, the French film “Babette Goes to War” with Brigitte Bardot in the title role was released. A casually tousled hairstyle with a backcomb, despite the fact that it takes fashionistas a lot of time to create it, is becoming super popular.

27. Accessories became very popular: necklaces made of large beads, voluminous jewelry, “macro” glasses that covered half of the face.

28. The most scandalous clothing of the sixties was born in London - the miniskirt, a symbol of emancipation and the sexual revolution. In 1962, the legendary Mary Quant showed her first collection of mini-length items. The new style, called “London style,” very quickly conquered young people around the world.

29. The 60s - the era of synthetics and everything artificial. Synthetic fabrics are widespread in mass fashion - they are considered the most comfortable and practical, as they do not wrinkle and are easy to wash, in addition, they are cheap.

30. The fashion of that time favored unnaturalness - false eyelashes, wigs, hairpieces, costume jewelry. High women's boots with low heels, with a narrow or wide rounded toe made of leather or synthetic material, called go-go, are becoming super popular. Boots became widespread with the emergence of fashion for mini lengths and the dance style of the same name.

Fashion of the late 1960s was influenced by the hippie movement. Young people opposed social and class differences, racial discrimination and war. With their appearance, hippies emphasized their rejection of the norms of official culture. Their clothes are deliberately casual and even sloppy - ripped jeans, beaded bracelets, fabric bucket bags slung over their shoulders. The sexlessness of the appearance is emphasized, long hair symbolizes freedom.

70s fashion

31. In the 1970s, fashion became even more democratic. And, despite the fact that many call the 70s the era of bad taste, it can be said that it was in those years that people had more means to express themselves through fashion. There was no single style direction; everything was fashionable: ethnic, disco, hippie, minimalism, retro, sports style.

32. The motto of the 70s was the expression “Anything is possible!” The couturiers presented several styles for progressive and active young people to choose from, none of which could be called dominant. The most fashionable element of the wardrobe was jeans, which were initially worn only by cowboys, and then by hippies and students.

33. Also in the wardrobe of fashionistas of that time were A-line skirts, flared trousers, tunics, overalls, blouses with large bright prints, turtleneck sweaters, A-line dresses, shirt dresses.

34. In addition, it should be noted that clothes have become more comfortable and practical. The concept of a basic wardrobe has emerged, consisting of the required number of things that can be combined with each other. As for shoes, platform shoes have gained popularity.

35. Among the designers in the 70s, Sonia Rykiel was singled out, who was called the new Chanel. Sonia Rykiel created convenient, comfortable clothes: sweaters, cardigans, dresses made of woolen knitwear and mohair.

80s fashion

36. The fashion of the 80s intertwined retro images, rethought by designers, as well as those born of youth subcultures, music and dance trends, and the ongoing boom in sports.

37. Hip-hop, gothic, post-punk, rave, house, techno, breakdancing, snowboarding, skateboarding, rollerblading, step aerobics - all these phenomena affected the style of the decade.

38. The list of iconic items of the decade of stylistic revelry is impressive - padded shoulders, banana trousers, military and safari style clothing, kimono, batman and raglan sleeves, leggings with bright patterns, black fishnet tights, worn denim, so-called Varenka, black leather jackets, lurex, massive jewelry, jewelry buttons on jackets, voluminous hairstyles or styling with the effect of “wet hair”, cascading haircuts, spiral perm, hair of decorative colors, such as “eggplant”, feather highlighting. A lot of cosmetics were used in deliberate shades with sparkles and mother-of-pearl.

The massiveness of the 1980s can be described as excess. Everything is, as it were, “too” - too narrow, too voluminous, too flashy, too bright. In the 80s, designers who thought outside the box and created unusual clothes with original decorative elements enjoyed success: Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Jean-Paul Gaultier.

90s fashion

39. The 90s style in clothing, which has become universal, is better called not a style, but a new approach to choosing clothes. Because in the fashion of the 90s, the very principle of creating your image changes, as well as the principle used in creating a costume. The main call of the nineties is “be who you are!” In those days, denim clothes were given special importance - only the lazy did not wear them. Avid fashionistas managed to wear jeans with denim shirts, bags and boots. So the style of the 90s can be safely called “denim”, since every person had more than one copy of a similar thing.

40. In the nineties, unisex fashion spread throughout the world: jeans with a T-shirt or loose-fitting trousers with a sweater, complemented by comfortable shoes.

41. The nineties were the time of sneakers and flats. This unisex style is very popular with large Italian and American companies, such as Banana Republic, Benetton, Marko Polo. Costumes strive for simplicity and functionality, which, however, revives the traditions of partner art, when, along with strict asceticism, the costume contains deliberate theatricality with a bright range of colors. Fashion changes depending on social orientation and territoriality, so in Europe bohemians prefer conceptual designer clothes.

42. The main fashion emphasis of the nineties is not on clothes, but on its owner. A fashionable look is created by a slender figure with tanned or milky-white skin. Body culture is flourishing as in the times of Ancient Greece. Fashionistas and fashionistas visit not only sports clubs, but also beauty salons and even use the services of plastic surgery. Supermodels from fashion catwalks are becoming role models; television and fashion magazines have made a significant contribution to this.

43. Well then. This concludes the review. I would like to say that of all times, my preferences are closer to the 30s, 50s and 70s. In general, everything new is long forgotten old.

The history of Russia contains many interesting events. The 20th century is a new era in the annals of our state. Just as it began with an unstable situation in the country, that is how it ended. Over these hundred years, the people have seen great victories, and great defeats, and miscalculations of the country's leadership, and tyrants in power and, conversely, ordinary leaders.

Russian history. 20th century. Start

How did the new era begin? It would seem that Nicholas II is in power, everything seems to be fine, but the people are rebelling. What is he missing? Of course, factory legislation and solving the land issue. These problems will become the main reasons for the first revolution, which will begin with the execution at the Winter Palace. A workers' demonstration with peaceful goals was sent to the Tsar, but a completely different reception awaited it. The First Russian Revolution ended in violation of the October Manifesto, and the country once again plunged into confusion. The second revolution led to the overthrow of the one-man reign - the monarchy. The third - to the establishment of Bolshevik politics in the country. The country turns into the USSR and the communists come to power: under them the state flourishes, overtakes the West in economic indicators, and becomes a powerful industrial and military center. But suddenly there is a war...

Russian history. 20th century. Trial by war

There were many wars in the 20th century: the war with Japan, when the tsarist government showed its insolvency to the fullest, and the First World War, when the successes of Russian soldiers were extremely underestimated; this is the internal civil war, when the country plunged into terror, and the Great Second World War, where the Soviet people showed patriotism and courage; this includes the Afghan war, where young guys died, and the lightning-fast Chechen war, where the brutality of the militants knew no bounds. The history of Russia in the 20th century was filled with events, but the main one still remains the Second World War. Do not forget about the Battle of Moscow, when the enemy was at the gates of the capital; about the Battle of Stalingrad, when Soviet soldiers turned the tide of the war; about the Kursk Bulge, where Soviet technology surpassed the powerful “German machine” - all these are glorious pages of our military history.

Russian history. 20th century. Second half and collapse of the USSR

After Stalin's death, a fierce struggle for power begins, in which the extraordinary N. Khrushchev wins. Under him, we were the first to fly into space, create the hydrogen bomb and almost lead the whole world to nuclear war. Many crises, his first visit to the United States, the development of virgin lands and corn - all this personifies his activities. Afterwards there was L. Brezhnev, who also came after the conspiracy. His time is called the “era of stagnation”; the leader was very indecisive. Those who replaced him, Yu. Andropov, and then K. Chernenko, were little remembered by the world, but M. Gorbachev remained in the memory of everyone. It was he who “destroyed” a powerful and strong state. The instability of the situation at the turn of the century played a role: as it all began, so it ended. The default, the dashing 90s, the crisis and deficits, the August putsch - all this is the history of Russia. The twentieth century is a difficult period in the formation of our country. From political instability, from arbitrariness of power, we came to a strong state with a strong people.

The Far Eastern knot of contradictions, the formation of the Entente, the struggle of the Entente with the German bloc in the 10s. XX century, the world on the eve of the First World War.

End of the 19th century was marked by the completion of the struggle of the great powers for the division of the world and the first wars for its redivision. By the time the division of the world was completed, England became the undisputed leader, on whose possessions “the sun never set” 5. France became the second colonial power. The old colonial powers Spain and Portugal weakened , they were pressed by the powerful.Among those who most aggressively pressed them were the USA, Germany and Japan, which were late to the colonial division of the world and at the end of the 19th century were actively trying to tear away from the colonial pie from those who could not defend their possessions.

The USA occupied the Hawaiian Islands in 1893, and in 1898 they took advantage of the uprising in Cuba and took it by force from Spain, which had previously refused to sell it to the Americans for $100 million. At the same time, the USA took Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines from the Spaniards , which Germany claimed. Thus, the United States opened the era of wars for the redivision of the world. At the same time, the main goal of the United States was China as a huge market for American products. However, it was already divided between England, France and Russia. In September 1899, Secretary of State (USA Hay) addressed all the colonial powers with notes proclaiming the doctrine of “open doors” or “equal opportunities.” The British, French, Germans, Japanese and Italians agreed with the US proposal, but Russia took an evasive position, which predetermined the formation of an anti-Russian coalition in the Far East.

Germany more aggressively than others laid claim to a share of the colonial pie, considering itself unfairly deprived. The Germans bought the Caroline, Mariana and Palau islands from Italy, and also received a small concession in China. They claimed more, but England and France categorically objected. Kaiser Wilhelm was extremely irritated and looked for an opportunity to strike at his opponents.

Japan was lagging behind in its development and only at the very end

XIX century managed to create a navy that allowed her to declare her claims to Korea and Northern China, where Russian influence was strong. Japan's claims were encouraged by England and the USA, who wanted to weaken Russia's position in Korea and the northeastern province of China - Manchuria. Russian Foreign Minister Muravyov understood the weakness of Russia's position in the Far East, with which there was no constant communication, and began to seek an alliance with France. At the same time, Russia began construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. In the summer of 1901, extreme militarists (the Katsura cabinet) came to power in Japan, who in 1902 signed an alliance treaty with England directed against Russia. The treaty gave Japan a free hand, and on January 8, 1904, it began a war against Russia. Japan was in a hurry to start a war before Russia completed the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway. In addition, she feared a rapprochement between Russia and England. Japan also benefited from the support of the United States, which wanted to weaken Russia in the Far East. Japan was pushed to war by England, which feared that Russia might enlist the support of France in the Far East, which, under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty, obligated England to fight on the side of Japan.

The creation of an Anglo-Japanese alliance against Russia in a certain sense suited Germany and Austria-Hungary, since it diverted Russian forces to the Far East. At the same time, these two powers did not want the strengthening of England and Japan at the expense of Russia, therefore, when the Japanese started the war against Russia, its rear in Europe and the Balkans were covered by Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia lost the war and, according to the Treaty of Portsmouth, lost concessions in Korea and Manchuria, was forced to cede to Japan the Liaodong Peninsula with Port Arthur and Dalny in China, Southern Sakhalin, and the right to fish in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, Bering and Japan.

For Russia, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty became a national disgrace. ! 1, King Nicholas II agreed to it only because Russia

"seemed on the eve of the 1905 revolution.

In Japan, the peace conditions were also considered a disgrace. The Japanese expected to receive 1200 million yen indemnity from Russia and all of Sakhalin. However, Russia flatly refused to pay the indemnity. The war ruined Japan, the treasury was empty, and its creditors, England and the United States, believed that Russia was already sufficiently weakened in the Far East and at sea (Tsushima), and refused Japan loans. It was under these conditions that Japan signed a peace treaty on September 5, 1905.

Along with the knot of contradictions in the Far East, the situation in Europe was no less complex, where relations between England and Germany became increasingly conflict-ridden. The interests of the two powers subsided and clashed all over the world. England was extremely worried about the growth of the naval power of Germany, which in 1900 adopted a law on the fleet, clearly encroaching on English naval primacy. In South Africa, where rich gold deposits were discovered in 1886, a conflict began between the Afrikaners, or Boers, supported by Germany, and the British colonists, rushing into the new Klondike. England simply provoked the Boers to war, and in 1899 it began. For three years the country fought heavy battles, and only in 1902 did the Boers agree to sign peace, agreeing to internal autonomy. All this time, the Germans secretly supplied the Boers with weapons, which extremely strained relations between England and Germany.

England was even more concerned about the acquisition by Deutsche Bank in 1899 of a concession to build a railway from Istanbul to Baghdad. The Deutsche Bank initiative was supported by Chancellor Wilhelm II, which caused a storm of indignation in London and St. Petersburg. Russia was frightened by the strengthening of Germany in the Bosporus-Dardanelles area, while London suspected Germany of intending to settle on the near approaches to India and take control of Palestine and Mesopotamia, which England already considered almost its own possessions. France also could not come to terms with this, as it feared for the Levant, which it had already mastered and had already invested about 200 million francs in its economy.

The struggle with Germany pushed England towards rapprochement with its eternal rival, France. The English king Edward VII became increasingly wary of Germany and hated William II, considering him an arrogant upstart. It was he who pushed the government towards an alliance with France. In turn, William II spoke of Edward VII as a parquet shuffler, a lover of wearing and flaunting fashionable attire and nothing more. This was indeed the case, but Edward, undoubtedly, was also a talented statesman. He, like Wilhelm, delved into all state affairs, although he could not have done so.

In France, the head of the Foreign Ministry, Delcasse, was a champion of rapprochement with England. On April 8, 1904, the two powers signed a treaty of “cordial agreement” - the Entente. In essence, it was about the policies of the two countries regarding Egypt, Morocco, Siam, Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. Germany was not mentioned anywhere in the text of the treaty , But in Berlin it was regarded as clearly anti-German, since Germany laid claim to part of Morocco and understood that Gibraltar and the Suez Canal would be closed to the passage of its military fleet. In response, Berlin began to look for approaches to Nicholas II, proposing to conclude an alliance treaty. Its text was prepared, but on the eve of its signing, the Russian Tsar offered to show it to the French, which was humiliating for the Germans. Wilhelm, in a letter to his chancellor Bülow, called Nicholas “a rag who did not want to conclude an agreement without the agreement of the Gauls.” Personal meeting of Wilhelm with Nicholas II in July 1905 g. also did not prompt the tsar to enter into an alliance with Germany.On the contrary, Russia's course towards rapprochement with Germany was changed and negotiations followed with England on the division of spheres of influence in Asia. In August 1907, such an agreement was signed in St. Petersburg. Thus, the Triple Agreement, or Triple Entente, arose, consisting of England, France and Russia. It was also opposed by the triple alliance represented by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, which, however, was a shaky member of this alliance. The formation of the Entente, of which England was the central link, meant that the Anglo-German contradictions turned out to be so deep that England neglected the contradictions with Russia and France to resolve them.

After the formation of two blocs, England and Germany launched an arms race. Germany tried to catch up with England,

I the latter considered this a threat to her vital interests. In 1908, King Edward VII visited William II to persuade him to limit the construction of military courts. The German Kai-sr behaved irreconcilably, and the visit of the English king ended with mutual threats to start a war.

England's maritime rivalry with Germany was complemented by a number of other antagonisms. Having received a concession for the Baghdad Railway, Germany laid the route of the future road through the areas of northern Mesopotamia, in which British and American oil companies, while exploring for oil, found it. The terms of the concession allowed Germany to engage in economic activities in a two-hundred-meter exclusion zone on both sides of the road. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II, saving it from collapse, relied on Germany and Austria-Hungary, primarily due to their Russophobic course. He considered Russia the patroness of Christians in the empire, who were regarded by the Sultan as the “fifth column” of Russia and the West as a whole. Germany was rushing headlong into the Middle East, which angered not only England, but also Russia.

Germany's ally Austria-Hungary sought to take over the Slavic states of the Balkans, which Russia could not agree with. It was clear to the leaders of the Entente states that if Austria-Hungary crushed the Balkans, it would be impossible to stop Germany’s advance into the Near and then the Middle East. Therefore, the antagonism between the Entente and the German bloc in the Balkans worsened to the limit by the end of the first decade.

England took all measures to prevent the construction of the Baghdad railway. With her help and support, in July 1908, a coup d'état took place in Turkey, called the “Young Turk Revolution,” during which the Sultan was forced to adopt a constitution, in accordance with which elections were held, and the new government of Turkey was headed by the Anglophile Kamil Pasha. England seemed to have won. Sultan Abdul Hamid was overthrown and the new Sultan

the old, weak-willed MSHMSD V was appointed. However, in 1913, Germany played the game in Turkey and promoted the Germanophile Shevket-yasha to the post of first vizier, who invited a German military mission to Turkey and granted Germany new concessions.

Even more complex were the Balkan tensions, especially between Austria-Hungary and Russia. Russian military agent Colonel Izvolsky made desperate efforts to prevent the Balkans from falling under the control of Austria-Hungary. However, in 1909, the latter bought sovereignty over Bosnia and Herzegovina from Turkey for 2.5 million pounds sterling. Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria began to prepare for war with Turkey, which began in October 1912. The Turkish army suffered a crushing defeat. The troops of the Balkan allies captured most of European Turkey, and the latter sued for peace. Bulgaria and Serbia were unable to take full advantage of the fruits of their victory. The terms of peace with Turkey became a compromise between the great powers. At the same time, the First Balkan War strengthened the position of the Entente, as it strengthened Serbia, the enemy of Austria-Hungary. The latter tried in every possible way to tear Bulgaria away from Serbia. Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov tried to prevent a breakdown in relations between Bulgaria and Serbia, relying primarily on Serbia. The Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand took the path of rapprochement with Austria-Hungary and in June 1913 began a war with former allies - Greece and Serbia. Austria, which encouraged the Bulgarians to go to war and promised them help, never decided to attack Serbia. But Türkiye took the side of Greece and Serbia, and Bulgaria was defeated. The Peace of Bucharest, signed on August 10, 1913, deprived Bulgaria of all its conquests and part of its ancestral lands, which offended the Bulgarians for a long time.

First decade of the 20th century. for global industry was characterized by incredible progress in science and technology. The world was entering the age of steel, oil, electricity and chemistry. The development of technologies for the production of strong grades of steel opened up the possibility of building completely new machines: the steam engine was replaced by an internal combustion engine.

12 early This entailed the development of petrochemistry and, first of all, the production of new types of liquid fuel. Those states that possessed these technologies were able to produce new types of weapons. Deposits of iron ore, chromium, nickel, natural rubber, and oil fields became the object of the coveted interests of the great powers. They were ready to fight for their possession until the war. In Europe, by the end of this decade, Germany had overtaken Great Britain in steel production, and Krupp's factories produced the strongest steel in the world. However, the United States, which together with Canada produced more steel than England, was ahead of everyone. France and Germany. Russia was significantly behind in steel smelting; it still smelted iron and was just beginning to produce good grades of steel. This caused it to lag behind in mechanical engineering.

German industry had outgrown its raw material base; it needed new sources of raw materials. Particularly acute was the issue of Germany's access to sources of oil, which it did not have. The oil fields were owned by the USA, England, Holland, Russia and Romania. The struggle for oil was becoming a geopolitical problem.

France by 1914 produced only a sixth of the amount of steel that Germany produced. The development of heavy industry in France was hampered by an acute shortage of coking coal, which Germany had in abundance. The German Ruhr was the longed-for dream of French industrialists.

Electric motors were introduced into production at a colossal pace. The leaders were the USA, Germany and Holland. By the end of the decade in Germany, about 25% of industrial enterprises had already switched to electric traction, while in England only 10%, and in other countries even less. Thus, Germany was getting ahead in all respects, and stopping it became a need for national security, primarily for the leader of the Entente, England.

If you try to describe the style of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries in one word, then the most accurate would be “luxury”. The ideal woman of that time was an image of a living goddess, to whom cares and physical labor were alien.

This was the era of the development of cameras, stereoscopes, phonographs, telephones and gramophones. They listened to arias from lyrical operas performed by Caruso, danced Strauss waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, quadrilles, lanciers, country dances and gallops.

Cinema was still in the experimental stage, the first primitive films were being made, the image twitched as if it was raining on the screen.

Cars were rare, but there were many private carriages used for trips during which women showed off themselves and their toilets.

Sports took up little time for women. Horseback riding, ice skating, roller skating, and tennis slowly crept into life, not displacing the then popular sports, croquet, and golf.

The most attractive sight of these times was the woman herself. Preparing her person for this role cost the woman a lot of work. Daily combing of long hair, putting on and lacing a corset, high boots, and many wardrobe items - all this took a lot of time.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, female beauty was elevated to a cult, trying to achieve perfection with the help of corsets and S-shaped silhouettes. Ladies slimmed down their figures, achieving the desired curves: emphasized breasts, too narrow a waist (the “correct” volume of which was an inhuman 42-45 centimeters) and wide hips. The hourglass figure was created by wide bell-shaped skirts; later they became narrower at the hips and flared at the bottom, often with a train.

At that time, women changed outfits several times a day: it was believed that a dress for morning tea was not suitable for a daytime walk, and in the evening a lady could appear in society only in a special, more elegant and “rich” suit. It took a lot of time to change clothes, given the complex cut of clothes, but in an era when a woman’s main task was to strive for perfection, this was normal. To decorate outfits, fashion designers often used glass beads, appliqués, lace and frills. Feminine hairstyles completed the look: ladies of the turn of the century wore tight buns, and individual strands were curled with hot curling irons and styled in large curls.

Callot Soeurs, day dress, "La Mode Artistique", 1901

Women with full torsos and disproportionately thin waists were in fashion.In connection with fashion, various advertisements and advertisements in newspapers have spread, informing about ways to care for a full bust. Even doctors convinced that any breast can be developed and rejuvenated by using appropriate patented means.

A special design narrowed the dress of this period at the knees to further enhance the bulge at the back; the hem of the dress along with the train was laid out around the feet like a fan.

Despite the large bust and sculpted hips, the silhouette was light, and its airiness was emphasized by the rustling of folds and the strong smell of perfume.

New fashion items appeared, of course, in Paris, in the spring, on opening day, as well as at the famous horse races on the day of the Grand Prix in Longchamp.

Socialite ladies, looking at the costumes of the artists demonstrating new models, ordered what they liked the very next day from the famous fashion houses: Doucet, Madeleine de Roof, Worth, Felix, Poiret, Rebaud, etc.

The female figure is corseted, but in 1903 the ballerina Isadora Duncan dances in a loose, see-through dress called a peplos, without a corset or whalebone. Black dresses, “falling from the shoulders in hopelessly sad folds” (as Gana Kvapilova characterizes the fashion of the end of the century), were replaced by the brilliant sparkling colors of the Fauves.

The authorities in the field of fashion in the Fraction were famous ladies of the demimonde who had open salons. Parisian women accepted or rejected the new fashion, dubbing it mauvais gerne, gerne cocotte, etc. The rejected models usually did not emerge from the ranks of actors; sometimes they took root in the provinces or outside France.

According to the fashion ideal shown in fashion magazines, on the stage of theaters and in the pages of pulp novels, a woman was supposed to be weak and sophisticated, but at the same time have blooming skin and a vibrant blush.

A woman had to constantly pretend that she cherished some vague ideals - this was prescribed to her by fashion. Always weak at home and tormented by frequent migraines, such a woman showed an excess of strength in dance.

The “decadent” girls achieved a languid look by using crushed coal instead of mascara. The woman was supposed to resemble a moth or chrysanthemum, be flexible and dressed in flying, wave-like draperies.

Impressiveness was at that time one of the main roles of a woman who became a slave to fashion. She wore large hats with an abundance of feathers, bows, birds and flowers, and had to study facial expressions and gestures.

Just as Balzac defined a woman’s psychology by the way she carried a handkerchief in her hand, during this period a woman was judged by the way she held her dress: "Some women did this energetically and with their whole hand, others - with two fingers, delicately, manneredly, unnaturally. Some lifted it (the dress) from the side, others - from behind, some to the height of the palm, others - barely lifted it, sweeping dust from the floor. Therefore, the lower the skirt was of such great importance at that time and was always more beautiful than the dress..."(Bohen).

"The Ladies" Field, 1903. Ladies' sportswear is still not much different from a secular dress. The suit is trimmed with fur, the sleeves are lace, the toilet is complemented by a hat decorated with feathers; only the skirt is slightly shorter.

"The Ladies Field", 1903. The material for secular toilets is more pretentious than the fabric for formal wear; these dresses are embroidered and trimmed with lace and fur; hats are decorated with feathers.

Fashionistas of the early twentieth century generally adored rich decor. They were decorated with furs, feathers, luxurious fabrics, bows, and an abundance of jewelry. The hair on the head was arranged in lush “labor-intensive” hairstyles. The process of dressing turned into a real art, and the process of undressing into backbreaking work. Jean-Philippe Worth, the son of the famous fashion designer, once said: “Undressing a woman is a process comparable to taking a fortress.”

"The Ladies Field", 1903. In evening dresses, heavy satin skirts are combined with lace and tulle. The neckline and skirt of the dress on the right are decorated with embroidery in the form of large star-shaped flowers.

A photograph of a lady from that time attending the races. She is wearing a two-piece dress, a fur cape, a hat with feathers, and is carrying a handbag and an umbrella.

Ladies' costumes, 1912 Ladies' jackets take on the style of a classic men's jacket.

Ladies' suits, 1912. Two versions of a simple, close-fitting ladies' suit.

"New ladies' dresses by G. Buschmann." Afternoon dresses.

"New ladies' dresses by G. Buschmann." House dresses, one-piece.

Jewelry by Sarah Bernhardt, made in the Art Nouveau style. From the book “Paris, end of the century” (Paris, fin de siècle).

“Ulk”, Berlin, 1910 “How can you wear a skirt in the Art Nouveau style and move forward at the same time!”

Poiret held positions in art that were opposite to those of Picasso, but both were motivated to work by similar circumstances. The main thing is that both of them sought to work completely differently than their predecessors. Picasso's group, called "Bateau-Lavoie", first referred to the art of the primitivists, while Poiret's fantasy fed on the old exoticism and antiquity.

Poiret's fame and style were more short-lived. After the First World War, he ceased to be fashionable, his models were too pretentious for this time; Poiret was unable to adapt to the democratization of fashion.

The process of “liberating” the female body had already begun. The famous Isadora Duncan also played a significant role in this, who revolutionized not only choreography, but also women’s fashion. Already at the beginning of the twentieth century, she danced in a transparent shirt of an antique cut, “decorated” with only a shawl. By 1910, suits began to acquire strict lines and free forms. A new stage of “naked fashion” was beginning. Transparent light fabrics were worn on top, and cuts were made on the bottom, exposing the legs. Isadora Duncan

Since 1909, there has been a wave of interest in harem themes, generated by the success of “Russian Seasons” by S.P. Diaghilev in Paris,costumes and scenery for which Leon Bakst creates. The young fashion designer, more an artist than a tailor, Paul Poiret, who first worked for Bort, follows all these impulses very closely and finally goes out onto the streets of Paris with toilets that bear the imprint of history - he offers a dress in the form of a tunic and peplos - and imprint of the East. His sketches alternate between Japanese kimono, Persian embroidery, colorful batik and oriental turbans with fur and brocade.

The costumes, created according to Bakst's sketches, stunned the audience with their colorfulness and exoticism. Arab trousers, Greek chitons, sandals, and bright rich colors opened up the charm of antiquity and the East to Europe. Rich embroidery and transparent smoky muslins are in fashion.

Sketches by Leon Bakst.

Fashion abandoned corsets and paid attention to phlegmatic, half-naked, round women reclining on ottomans. The object of adoration was plump figures with plump, well-fed arms and legs. Fashion designer P. Poiret was the first to pick up this new trend and introduce corsetless dresses, trousers and transparent fabric into fashion.

The Soviet government saw one of the most important tasks in the field of culture in eliminating the cultural backwardness of the population. A new cultural management system was formed. The leadership of the entire spiritual life of society was transferred to the hands of the People's Commissariat of Education. It was headed by A.V. Lunacharsky, a prominent figure in the RCP(b), literary critic and publicist. Departments of public education were created under local Soviets. Later, an agitation and propaganda department was organized under the Central Committee of the RCP (b). His responsibility included party leadership of cultural development.

From the first days of the existence of the People's Commissariat for Education, one of the areas of its activity was the protection of artistic and historical values. The State Council for the management of museums and palaces of the republic was created. His duties included control over the activities of museums, of which there were over 150 in the country. Many famous artists were involved in the work of the council, in particular artists A. N. Benois, A. M. Vasnetsov and V. D. Polenov, architects R. I. Klein and V. A. Shchuko. With their participation, the nationalization of private art collections, theaters, and photo and film industry enterprises was carried out. The Winter Palace (Hermitage), the Tretyakov Gallery, and the Museum of Fine Arts were declared state museums. Private publishing houses were closed and a state publishing house was created (1919), which published educational literature, works of Russian classics, etc.

The revolutionary events of 1917 and the civil war did not stop the processes of artistic development. They had a profound and ambiguous impact on all areas of creative activity. New trends have emerged in the field of culture. Previously emerging groups of futurists and imagists declared themselves representatives of revolutionary art. From the pages of the newspaper “Art of the Commune,” Imagist poets called for the destruction of “junk” literary works and for the dictatorship of “leftist art.” The proletcult movement became widespread in many cities. Proletkult (proletarian culture) was a cultural, educational, literary and artistic organization that emerged in the fall of 1917. The leaders of Proletkult (A. A. Bogdanov, V. F. Pletnev, etc.) saw the main goal of its activities in the creation of proletarian culture, opposing its entire previous artistic culture. Proletkult circles and studios introduced the broad masses of working people to literature, theater and fine arts, identifying among them future poets, writers, artists, and actors. Proletkult members published their own magazines - “Gudki”, “Proletarskaya Kultura”, etc. Collections of poems by proletarian poets were published; for example, the books by A.K. Gastev “The Poetry of the Worker’s Impact” and V.T. Kirillov “The Dawns of the Future” were published. In 1920, about 400 thousand people took part in the proletkult movement.

Other literary groups were created and quickly disintegrated. So, for example, during 1917-1918. The Scythians group operated, in whose ranks there were M. M. Prishvin, N. A. Klyuev, S. A. Yesenin. Poets A. A. Blok (poem “The Twelve”) and V. V. Mayakovsky (poem “Mystery Bouffe”), artists K. S. Petrov-Vodkin (painting “1918 in Petrograd”) tried to comprehend the events that took place in their work. ) and K.F. Yuon (“New Planet”).

A noticeable phenomenon in the artistic life of the first post-revolutionary years was monumental propaganda. The decree on monumental propaganda adopted in 1918 provided for the destruction of monuments built before 1917 “in honor of the tsars and their servants” and the erection of monuments to revolutionaries, figures of Russian and world culture. The authors of the new monuments were famous sculptors N. A. Andreev (Obelisk of the Soviet Constitution in Moscow), S. D. Merkurov (monuments to K. A. Timiryazev and F. M. Dostoevsky), L. V. Sherwood (monument to A. N. Radishchev ).

Representatives of the Russian intelligentsia perceived the revolutionary events of 1917 and the political and socio-economic changes that followed in different ways. The intelligentsia, which made up 2.2% of the total population of the country, was heterogeneous in its social status and socio-political views. The question of the essence of the revolution, the fate of cultural heritage, and the attitude towards the new government was considered in different ways in its circles. The dispersal of the Constituent Assembly and the system of Chekas alienated many representatives of culture from the Bolsheviks. Writers I.A. Bunin and D.S. Merezhkovsky, aircraft designer I.I. Sikorsky and academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, chemist P.I. Valden, could not withstand the hardships or did not accept the new regime and left Russia. At the same time, part of the radical left intelligentsia supported the new government and took the path of professional cooperation with it (naturalist K. A. Timiryazev, poets V. V. Mayakovsky and V. Ya. Bryusov). The country's leaders understood the need to work together with scientists and artists and took measures to involve them in government bodies.

Conditions for the development of culture during the NEP years

With the end of the civil war and the transition to NEP, new trends in the development of culture emerged. In the context of liberalization of the public sphere, the activity of the intelligentsia increased. Public debates were held on questions about the role of religion and the fate of the intelligentsia in the new Russia. The activities of previously created scientific societies (philosophical, historical) revived. New public associations emerged - scientific, creative, cultural and educational. Thousands of people participated, for example, in the work of the International Organization for Assistance to Fighters of the Revolution (IOPR), in patronage workers' organizations, the Society of Friends of Radio, etc.

In large cities there were private and cooperative publishing houses (Byloe, Ogni, Grzhebin Publishing House, etc.). Non-state publishing houses, of which there were over 200 in 1922, published philosophical and economic journals, literary almanacs and collections, books for children and educational literature. Some entertainment enterprises were denationalized. About 30% of the total number of operating cinemas, theaters, and art schools were transferred to collectives and individuals.

The process of liberalization of public life was inconsistent and contradictory. The country's leaders feared that freedom of opinion could lead to increased activity by opponents of the Soviet regime. In order to counter bourgeois ideology, political schools, joint party schools, and community universities were organized[i]. To promote Marxist philosophy and combat philosophical idealism, the Society of Militant Materialists was created (1924). Since the mid-20s, the work of private publishing houses, as well as public organizations, began to be limited. Control was established over the press, the activities of publishing houses, and the repertoire of cinema and theaters.

Education and science

One of the central directions of cultural policy was the work to eliminate illiteracy among the population. On the eve of October 1917, approximately 3/4 of the entire adult population of Russia could neither read nor write. There were especially many illiterate people in rural areas and ethnic areas.

At the end of 1918, the reorganization of the public education system began. Gymnasiums, real schools, parish and zemstvo schools were liquidated. In their place, a unified labor school of two levels was created for the entire country (with a training period of five years and four years). Tuition fees were waived.

At the end of 1919, the government adopted a decree “On the elimination of illiteracy among the population of Russia.” The law obliged all citizens aged 8 to 50 who could not read and write to learn to read and write in their native language or Russian. Those evading this duty could be subject to criminal prosecution.

The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for the Elimination of Literacy was created. Together with the People's Commissariat for Education, she led the country's efforts to teach literacy to the population. Educational centers were created in cities and rural areas to teach the illiterates to read and write. However, this work was complicated by a lack of financial resources, a weak material base, and a shortage of teaching staff. Under these conditions, public organizations provided great assistance in the fight against illiteracy. In 1923, the “Down with Illiteracy” society arose. Over 1.2 million people were united by city patronage organizations designed to help the village in raising culture.

Under the NEP, allocations for the development of education and work to eliminate illiteracy were increased. In 1925, the government passed a law providing for the introduction of universal primary education in the country and the expansion of the school network. The All-Union Population Census, conducted in 1926, recorded a significant increase in the number of people who could read and write. The number of literate population over the age of 9 years reached 51.1% (in 1897 - 24%). The gap in literacy levels between urban and rural residents has narrowed somewhat.

Transformations affected higher education. New rules for admission to universities were introduced. Students were enrolled without exams and without documents of secondary education. Young people from among workers and peasants enjoyed advantages when entering universities. In 1919, in order to improve general educational training for those entering universities, workers' faculties (workers' faculties) were created. The reform of higher education was supposed to contribute to the creation of a new, worker-peasant intelligentsia.

Attention was paid to restoring the country's scientific potential. New research institutes were opened. Among the sneezes are the Physico-Chemical, Physico-Technical (now named after A.F. Ioffe), and Central Aerohydrodynamic (TsAGI) Institutes. Well-known scientists took part in the organization of new research centers: a major theorist in the field of aviation N. E. Zhukovsky, physicist A. F. Ioffe and others. A library of the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences was created, which was later transformed into the Fundamental Library of Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences (since 1969 Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences - INION). In conditions of civil war, famine and lack of resources, the return on the work of research institutes was small. The government made attempts to improve the living conditions of scientists by introducing natural rations and increased salaries. But these measures were sporadic and could not change the difficult situation of scientific personnel. Only after the end of the civil war did conditions arise for the development of science. New institutes were founded in the system of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which in 1925 became known as the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Literature and art

The artistic life of the 20s developed complexly, in the struggle of artistic views and systems. Literary groups of futurists, Lefovites, and constructivists made their declarations. What they had in common was a view of art as a means of transforming the world. Writers and poets who broke with Proletkult (M. P. Gerasimov, V. V. Kazin, I. N. Sadofiev, etc.) organized the literary association “Kuznitsa” (after the name of the magazine of the same name). The group declared itself the only organization expressing the interests of the revolutionary working class.

In the early 20s, the Russian and Moscow proletarian writers' associations (RAPP and MAPP) arose. The leaders of both organizations saw one of the tasks of the writers they united in influencing the reader “in the direction of the communist tasks of the proletariat.”

Identical processes took place in the sphere of musical life. The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians (RAPM) advocated for the reflection in the works of composers of themes related to the creation of a new society. The associations showed intolerance towards so-called non-proletarian writers and composers. The struggle for the “purity” of proletarian art was led by the Russian Association of Proletarian Artists (RAPH).

The musicians, writers, and artists who were part of the proletarian creative groups sought to reflect their contemporary reality in their work. The paintings “Heavy Industry” by Yu. I. Pimenov and “Cart” by M. B. Grekov were shown at art exhibitions. The theaters staged the political operetta “White and Black” by V. Schmidtgoff and S. Timoshenko; “Mystery-bouffe” by V. Mayakovsky. Artists sought to establish agitation and propaganda forms on the theater stage. The search for a new spectacular theater was most fully reflected in the productions of director V. E. Meyerhold.

Many writers and playwrights of the 20s turned to the historical past of the country (novels by A.P. Chapygin “Razin Stepan” and O.D. Forsh “Dressed in Stone”). The theme of the past civil war occupied a large place in the works of the writer M. A. Bulgakov (the novel “The White Guard”, the play “Running”) and the playwright K. A. Trenev (the play “Yarovaya Love”).

Internal restructuring occurred in the poetry of S. A. Yesenin and N. N. Aseev. The theme of everyday life is firmly embedded in their works.

By the end of the 20s, a new theme was firmly established in the work of the overwhelming majority of the artistic intelligentsia. There has been a shift away from the previous negative attitude towards all previous art.