In its place, cultural propaganda deftly replaced erotica with sport: fit and scantily clad bodies were there, but only within the context of athletics. Holding an oar or a putting a shot, for example. Erotic scenes in foreign film were usually edited out. So what were Soviet filmmakers to do in such a situation?
Inside the Soviet Union's secret pornography collection
Inside the Soviet Union's secret pornography collection | Russia | The Guardian
MOSCOW - Surrounded by erotic toys, half a dozen women of all ages sit in a central Moscow basement facing a whiteboard as a sex coach trains them in speaking openly about their sexual desires. Barely spoken about publicly in Soviet times and with the Kremlin pushing conservative values in recent years, sex, as a subject, remains largely an unmentionable in Russia. To help people overcome their shyness in talking about sexual pleasure, sexologist training courses, psychologists and so-called sex coaches are now appearing in Moscow, adding to TV shows and articles in women's magazines. Viktoria Ekaterina Frank, a psychologist and sexologist, said that her course at the Sex. Nearly three decades after the end of the USSR, Russian society remains deeply marked by the aura of taboo around the issue of sex in the Soviet Union, according to sociologists. Soviet authorities primarily promoted the idea that "the sexual act should serve only for reproduction," sociologist Yelena Kochkina told AFP.
Was there erotica in the Soviet Union? Yes, and we’ve hunted down the landmark films
Off limits to the public but enjoyed by Soviet-era leaders, the Lenin Library collection grew out of erotica confiscated from aristocrats after the revolution. The Moscow Times reports. I n the heart of the Russian State Library, Marina Chestnykh takes the creaking elevator up to the ninth floor. She walks past stack after stack of books kept behind metal cages, the shelves barely visible in the dim light from the frosted-glass windows. When she inserts a key in the padlock, the door swings open to reveal thousands of books, paintings, engravings, photographs and films — all, in one way or another, connected to sex.
Some people even used tights packages as wallpaper, turning their bathrooms into peep shows. When perestroika came, Burda and tights were joined by illegal porn movies and Playboy print issues, for those who could get their hands on them. The late 80s were also the time when so-called chernukha films like Interdevochka and Little Vera hit screens — the first Soviet films with scenes of explicit character, they attracted millions of viewers.