Zhiguli in Daugavpils

It looks like the most of Latvia's zhigulis are concentrated in Daugavpils.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Stars

Stars are also considered as the symbols of Soviet Union, so you would normally expect to find some in abandoned military sites only, but not in the city centers. The top one shines in the center of Rēzekne, the bottom one in a factory in Daugavpils.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Lazy recycler

A closed glass bottle recycling point on Maskavas street in Riga. The note says that "I might be late until 12pm".
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Red chair

A disused chair in Rēzekne, East Latvia.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Anti-kissing campaign

These posters from 1939 promote the idea that kissing is bad because it transmits diseases.
Images from National library of Latvia

Zhiguli in Liepaja

Zhiguli, also known as Lada, was the most popular family car in 1980s. There are quite a few people still using it, especially on countryside.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

The walls of the past

There aren't that many wall murals left in Latvia from a few decades back, because now they are occupied by advertisements. In Soviet times the walls were mainly used for social advertising, work stimulating propaganda slogans or decorative paintings only.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Police station

A small police station in Daugavpils.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Glass bottle recycling in Riga

Glass bottle recycling is like a hidden industry in Latvia, because most people don't use it. You have to bring bottles to a special collection points (stikla taras pieņemšanas punkts) which are not that easy to spot and in addition you get only 0.01 Ls per bottle.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Abandoned shop in Liepaja

Abandoned shop in Jaunliepāja, West Latvia.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Street names

Street name plates in Daugavpils.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Teika cinema

This house on Zemitāna square in Riga is a home to three Soviet time neon signs - two of them refer to the cinema Teika, the third one (the bottom photo) to a bakery. Unfortunately, it's been a while since there's no cinema, nor bakery.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Barber shop

Another survivor in the streets of Riga - a broken neon sign for a barber shop on Tallinas street.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Academy of sciences

This is one of a very few places in Riga that still caries symbols of Soviet Union.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Soda water machines

You can spot out of date soda water machines in Tiraspol, the capital of the breakaway republic Transnistria (aka Pridnestrovie) within Moldova. Transnistria is sometimes called the museum of Soviet Union as there you can find a lot of things from the past that in other countries have been demolished long time ago. Such soda water machines were quite popular in Latvia and USSR, but now it's impossible to find even not working ones.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Student halls in Rezekne

Student halls of Professional high school in Rēzekne, East Latvia are located in a building that used to be hospital.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Foyer from 1978

Well staged photo from 1978. Schools used to have nice interior designs and large scale wall paintings. The photo's caption reads as "the foyer of the Professional Technical school No. 34 in Riga".
Photo - Latinform

Abandoned house in Daugavpils

It is quite easy to spot an abandoned house in Daugavpils. This is just one of them.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Daugavpils fortress

People who live in Daugavpils fortress have a creative approach in designing resting places.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Bus station in Rezekne

Bus station in Rēzekne, East Latvia has something common with a museum.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus

Sport in Livani

This sign in Russian in Līvāni in Latvia has survived only because it was built with bricks into the wall of the school, so you cannot remove it without destroying the school. Thanks to Martins from Līvani, who knew the last two letters behind "m", as for me it was impossible to see the last word behind the wall. It translates as "oh, sport, you - peace" and was meant to stimulate sport activities for pupils.
Photo by (c) Arnis Balcus

Kengarags embankment

The Ķengarags embankment by the river Daugava in Southern Riga reminds some old-time Soviet holiday resort.
Photos by (c) Arnis Balcus