European Memories
of the Gulag
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Brigade with forestry tractor (1956)
© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz
Women during a work break in front of a logging machine
© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz
My motorbike!
© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz
Rimgaudas Ruzgyz and his new motorbike in 1955
© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz
Rimgaudas Ruzgyz on his motorbike in 1956
© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz
Juozas Miliautskas and his family in front of his motorbike (1950s)
© Juozas Miliautskas

© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz

© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz

© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz

© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz

© Rimgaudas Ruzgyz

© Juozas Miliautskas
The importance of mechanisation
The glorification of mechanised work and the domination of man over nature were part of the Soviet discourse, and some witnesses adopted them. These photographs show the importance of machines and mechanical power, whether at work (particularly farm and forestry tractors) or in private life (the motorbike as a symbol of social success, especially for men).