The photo above was taken in Moldova in the early 90's inside of a Soviet-run shop where I would sometimes buy bread, rice or sugar, if they were available. At that time, some Soviet shops were still hanging on to the old methods, though the supplies of goods were steadily decreasing. Eventually, they dried up completely and this shop, among many, closed.
Oftentimes the shops were open but the shelves were bare. I got to the shop early that morning and when the clerk's back was turned I shot this photo as rapidly as I could without being caught. Note how dark it is. These shops were always dimly lit, but there was no electricity throughout the city at that hour. I had to rely on morning light through the shop's open door. At that time, depending on which city you were in, walking about with a camera and shooting pictures could get you arrested, assaulted or deported.
This was taken on a morning when the shop was well stocked. By afternoon, all the bread, and all the baggies of rice, sugar and grains were gone. Note the abacus, a tool that was still being used by Soviet clerks at that time. Money was in the form of coupons. None of the banks had money, so they were often closed. It would be another year before Moldova had its own form of currency, the Lei.
For those who are teachers, or want to be, and anyone interested in what life was like for young and old in Ukraine, Moldova and throughout the former republics during the early years of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Apron And Shawl And Housedress is a story you will, I hope, enjoy.
It's been included in my book, Off To The Next Wherever, and it was first published in Issue #13 of Superstition Review, at Arizona State University.
Link to it here:
https://superstitionreview.asu.edu/issue13/nonfiction/johnmichaelflynn
The photos below are of some of the paper ephemera, from bottle labels to trolley bus tickets, that I collected during two years of working in Moldova and travelling to Ukraine, Romania, and Russia when it was possible.
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