Nostalgia of cheap Soviet flights

Before 1991, many Georgians came to Moscow on Aeroflot flights of 37 rubles. It was the Soviet Union, not any other country, that invented a model that later became a symbol of modern capitalism.
That is the main content in the article “Nostalgia about cheap flights in the Soviet era” published in the recent issue of Le Monde (France).

Sitting in a living room decorated with purple flower pots, Georgian Manana Natchkebia, 59, recalls her 30-year anniversary of low-cost Aeroflot flights. When she was 20 years old, Manana Natchkebi was a worker in a factory in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Her salary ranges from 300-400 rubble / month and she does not have to pay rent due to her living in the dormitory of the factory. On holidays, many people travel, Manana has another hobby, which is to fly to the Russian capital Moscow to shop. She loves buying French perfumes and fashion clothes. At that time, imports were not much in Georgia, so women like fashion like Manana often flew to the Soviet Union to satisfy their shopping needs. Fortunately, the airfare between Tbilisi and Moscow is quite cheap, only 37 rubles / way, an affordable price and not much higher than the train price. Facing the exit of the old Tbilisi airport, a mural paying homage to visitors was sculpted from the Soviet era. Photo: lemonde.fr In today’s Georgia, the former Soviet generation is now in its 50s but still remember the low-cost Aeroflot flights 30 years ago. “That day, we really liked Moscow. We often come here for a few days to visit the capital, watch movies, listen to good music to go to Mausoleum of Lenin because we are all Communist Party members. Once, we flew from Tbilisi to Moscow and vice versa within 24 hours to attend a party, watch a concert or get a haircut… ”, Manana recalls. According to the memory of former pilot Kakha Chachava, 60, during the 1970s and 1980s, many Georgians took an Aeroflot flight to Moscow for 37 rubles. “There are at least 10 flights a day between Tbilisi and Moscow, and that number goes up to 14 in the summer,” Kakha recalls. Not only Georgians but many people in the former Soviet republics are fond of Aeroflot flights of 37 rubbles. The Soviet Union invented cheap flights, symbols of modern capitalism, long before easyJet or Ryanair appeared. There are many things in common between Aeroflot flights and those on today’s low-cost airlines: Fewer business class seats, basic amenities, no side meals, and staff not always comfortable. . American historian Steven Harris, who is about to release a book about Aeroflot, observed: “Strangely, since the 1990s, Aeroflot has pioneered the provision of cheap flights. Service is reduced to a minimum so that people can buy the lowest fares “. In the Soviet Union, the number of non-commuter passengers increased significantly, from 8 million (out of 203 million in total) in 1958 to over 100 million (out of 257 million in total). 1976. The development of air traffic goes hand in hand with the development of tourism. Erik Scott, Professor of History of Soviet Studies at the University of Kansas (USA) explains: “In the post-Stalin era, the Soviet government gave people many opportunities to travel and a quality of life. better. Flights allow more people to travel ”. In 1990, Aeroflot entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest airline, with a network of more than 1 million kilometers of domestic routes connecting 3,600 towns and cities. Convenient air traffic also promotes trade and cultural exchange. Director Lana Gogoberidze, 92, who has worked with famous Russian film director and screenwriter Andrei Tarkovsky regularly flies to Moscow. “At that time, I had to go to Moscow to attend presentations or support the crew in front of the censorship committee,” said Lana. In addition, she also took advantage of meeting friends and enjoying the cultural life in Moscow. But it all ended in 1991, the time that marked the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Flight 37 rubble is suspended after restructuring Aeroflot. Since then, the Tbilisi-Moscow route has also reflected tensions between Russia and Georgia amid the separatist conflict of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In June 2019, Moscow banned all direct flights to Georgia after a violent anti-Russian demonstration in Tbilisi. This is the most serious crisis since the 2008 war. Today, Georgian youth love to travel in Berlin (Germany), Prague (Czech) Amsterdam (Netherlands), Barcelona (Spain) or Paris (France) on flights of low-cost airlines like Wizz. Air of Hungary, Pegasus Airlines of Turkey. But for Georgian elders who adore the Soviet Union, they still remember the phrase “37 rubble”, about Aeroflot’s low-cost flights. “It is a nostalgia for our youth,” Mrs. Manana Natchkebia emphasized.