Astrakhan In 1974

[lillemask]

Hi!

 

My name is Petter Sjolund. I'm in the process of writing the script of a comic that a friend of mine will draw. As a challenge I've been given a random place and time: the area around the Russian city of Astrakhan in the summer of 1974. As I am presently unable to travel there myself, and as the changes over the last 30 years probably have been big, I'm looking for somebody to help me fill out the blanks in my knowledge.

 

In short, the story is about a Moscow policeman chasing an escaped prisoner that has been located in the city of Astrakhan. The policeman arrives by train, stays at a hotel, then chases the criminal through the city, into the countryside and finally to a beach on the Caspian Sea, where he is caught and brought back on the train to Moscow. Hopefully the final story will be a little more interesting than that, but at the moment the environment that is my biggest concern.

 

I would be very grateful for any information about this time and place. Photos would of course be preferred, but any descriptions of places, people and events that my characters might encounter would be of interest. What do the houses look like, what is the nature like in the countryside, how are people dressed? Remember that my story takes place in the Soviet Union of 1974, but more recent descriptions and photos would be of interest as well.

 

My email is petter (dot) sjolund (at) spray (dot) se

 

If this post is considered off-topic for this forum, I apologize and blame my bad Russian. In that case I hope somebody could point me to a more appropriate forum.

 

Yours sincerely,

Petter Sjolund, Sweden

[jnc]

lillemask

don't think you will be able to get any useful info in this forum since most of its users are under 16 and have little knowledge about seventies, but good luck anyway :-)

 

regarding pictures, it's very unlikely you will find anything online except tons of lotus flowers and watermellons for whose our city is famous :-)

[КГБ]

Well the pair of photos of those times can be taken here, and the description anything I can not help.

[lillemask]

Thanks! Some of those were great!

 

As I wrote, I'm interested in modern photos too. If you happen to have any pictures of the countryside around Astrakhan or the Caspian Sea on your HD, I'd be really grateful it if you could mail them to me or send a link to them.

 

Thank you in advance,

Petter Sjolund

 

(Translated by the Babelfish for a laugh:)

 

Спасибо! Некоторые из тех были больш!

 

По мере того как я написал, я заинтересован в самомоднейших фотоих

слишком. Если вы случаетесь иметь любые изображения природы вокруг

Астрахани или прикаспийского моря на вашем HD, то я был бы

реально признательн если вы смогли переслать их к мне.

 

Вы заранее,

Petter Sjolund