Entertainment
What Russia was like in 1974
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The era of stagnation, space flights and the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway. Thanks to these photos, we can now see what this year was memorable for the country.
Leonid Brezhnev had been running the country for 10 years by the year 1974. The years of his rule have gone down in history as ‘zastoi’, or literally the “era of stagnation” (however, the communists called it “developed socialism”).
Yury Abramochkin/Sputnik
The Kremlin Palace of Congresses hosted a solemn meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (Russia), dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Soviet Union.
Eduard Pesov/Sputnik
The USSR national ice hockey team is playing against Canada in Moscow.
Dmitry Donskoy/Sputnik
USSR national team forward Valery Kharlamov, an ice hockey legend (The movie ‘Legend No. 17’ [2013] is a biopic about him).
Yury Somov/Sputnik
International students of the Peoples’ Friendship University enjoying traditional Russian winter entertainment.
Sputnik
In 1974, Leonardo da Vinci’s Gioconda of Louvre made its historical trip to Moscow‘s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. This was only its second ever trip outside the Paris museum.
Alexander Abaza/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
Andrei Tarkovsky shot his cult ‘Mirror’ movie in 1974. The photo below shows the director on set.
Igor Gnevashev/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
Another cinematic masterpiece of the year was the TV show ‘Seventeen Moments of Spring’, which gave Russians one of the most popular fictional characters, intelligence officer Stierlitz.
Sputnik
Chess nation: men playing in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park.
Vladimir Bogdanov/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
In the Summer of 1974, then U.S. President Richard Nixon paid a visit to the USSR.
Yury Abramochkin/russiainphoto.ru
Together with Leonid Brezhnev, Nixon visited Moscow and then traveled to Crimea. This was not the first meeting of the leaders and all of them contributed to the warming of relations between the two superpowers. However, a month after his visit to Moscow, Nixon left office because of the Watergate scandal.
Sergei Smitnov/Izvestia newspaper/russiainphoto.ru
In 1974, an important milestone was the resumption of the Baikal-Amur Railway construction. The ambitious project, conceived by Stalin, had begun in the 1930s by Gulag prisoners, but was put on hold after the war.
Yury Sadovnikov/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
In the 1970s, huge numbers of young volunteers went to the construction site seeking a new job and a new life.
Yury Sadovnikov/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
Entire towns were built for the builders of the Baikal-Amur Railway.
Yury Sadovnikov/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
Meanwhile, legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov would go on tour to Canada in 1974 and would not return to the USSR. But, in the picture below, he still poses for a photographer on the streets of Leningrad.
Valery Plotnikov/russiainphoto.ru
Famous American pianist Van Cliburn came to the USSR on tour. He had become world-renowned in Moscow after winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958.
Pavel Manych/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
The 1970s also saw the rise of unofficial art. It was then that the infamous ‘Bulldozer Exhibition’ took place in Moscow. The spontaneous exhibition of avant-garde artists was broken up by the police using water cannons and bulldozers.
Public domain
The dispersal of the exhibition caused such a public outcry that, two weeks later, authorities allowed the exhibition to be held officially in Izmailovo Park.
Vladimir Sychev/russiainphoto.ru
Artists painting the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery on the outskirts of Vologda.
Perventsev/Sputnik
In the 1970s, even kids started to have photo cameras.
Dmitry Vozdvizhensky, Nina Sviridova/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
Residents of the Ural city of Perm posing in a minus 40-degree Celsius frost.
E.Kotlyakov/Sputnik
Nuclear power was actively developing in the USSR. The first nuclear power plant had been opened 10 years earlier and, by 1974, there were already more than five of them. The photo below shows the control panel of the Kola nuclear power plant, the first one built above the Arctic Circle.
G.Koposov/Sputnik
Wonders of science: conducting a radioisotope scanning of internal organs at the Research Institute of Oncology in Leningrad.
Rudolf Kucherov/Sputnik
The Soviet manned spacecraft Soyuz-15 was launched into space in 1974. The photo below shows commander Gennady Sarafanov (left) and flight engineer Lev Demin before takeoff. Due to a systems malfunction, the ship was unable to dock with the orbital station and had to terminate the flight early. However, the Soyuz-15 was the first in the world to perform a night landing.
Alexander Mokletsov/Sputnik
But, the next flight with the Soyuz-16 spacecraft in December 1974 was more successful. The launch was conducted in preparation for the joint Soviet-American Soyuz-Apollo project to be realized in 1975. The photo shows cosmonauts Anatoly Filipchenko (left) and Nikolai Rukavishnikov after returning to Earth.
Alexander Mokletsov/Sputnik
Alpine skiers lining up for a ski lift at the Dombai ski resort in the Caucasus Mountains.
B.Loginov/Sputnik
Below is how Moscow subway cars were assembled in 1974.
Anatoly Sergeev-Vasiliev/Sputnik
In a classroom in a Moscow school.
Sergei Sukharev/Pavel Sukharev archive/russiainphoto.ru
Moscow fashion of the 1970s. Kalininsky (now New Arbat) Prospect.
Buteyev/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
An elderly woman selling potatoes at a countryside Ural railway station.
Dmitry Vozdvizhensky, Nina Sviridova/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru
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Emirates Dubai 7s is returning to The Sevens Stadium from November 27 to 29, with tickets now on sale for the three-day sports and entertainment festival.
The 2026 edition will bring together international rugby, amateur sports, live music and family entertainment, with organisers promising a bigger programme than previous years.
The festival attracted more than 88,000 visitors in 2025 and will again take place during the final weekend of the Dubai Fitness Challenge.
Ticket prices
Ticket prices for General Admission and Hospitality have stayed the same for a third consecutive year.
Three-day General Admission tickets cost Dh595 per person, while the three-day Family Pass is Dh1,136 for two adults and two children.
Other ticket options
- Group pass: Dh446 per person for four or more adults
- Saturday or Sunday: Dh455
- Friday: Dh75
- Under 15s: Free
- People of Determination + carer: Dh375
Tickets can be purchased through the Emirates Dubai 7s website and app.
Bigger family attractions
Family entertainment will get a major boost this year as the UAE celebrates the Year of the Family.
The festival will feature its biggest-ever Kids’ Zone, including the UAE’s largest inflatable kids’ zone, along with a Ferris wheel and zipline. More attractions are expected to be announced ahead of the event.
Six sports and top rugby action
Alongside elite rugby, visitors can watch or take part in competitions across six sports — rugby, netball, cricket, WODON3 fitness, Rebound padel and Gaelic Football.
Gaelic Football will join the festival for the first time in 2026.
The Sevens Stadium will also host the opening round of the HSBC SVNS Series 2027, bringing the world’s leading rugby sevens players to Dubai.
The WODON3 Elite final will take place on Pitch 1 between HSBC SVNS matches, with competitors potentially performing in front of crowds of up to 20,000.
Music all weekend
Live entertainment will run throughout the festival, with local and international artists performing across three days.
Last year’s line-up included Tinie Tempah, Sean Paul and Fisher, while the 2026 headline acts will be announced later.
For a premium experience, The Sunroom returns with all-inclusive food and drinks, shaded seating, prime sporting views and dedicated access. Packages start from Dh1,925 per person.
With sport, music and family attractions packed into one weekend, Emirates Dubai 7s is gearing up for another big Dubai event.
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