Despite the efforts of some well-known artists, the attitude of the authorities towards jewelry didn’t change. The level of their negativism could be measured, in particular, by the caricatures in very wide-spread satirical magazine “Crocodile”. For example, in № 9 (1932) one could see a disgusting woman playing cards, which wore two strings of beads, a ring and long earrings, what was to emphasize her hostile class essence (ill. 59).
All appeals of official publications to create a new Soviet fashion and to refuse jewelry didn’t take any effect. Women made every effort to look fashionable. In particular, the subject of their cherished dreams was jewelry in Art Deco style (ill. 60). These dreams sometimes could come true thanks to the small cooperative associations of artisans. In the photo 62 we see a group of vacationers in the resort Yessentuki (1934). Two women wear quite similar necklaces made very probably by some local handicraftsman.
Gradually old handicrafts began to revive, except icon painting, because Bolsheviks were atheists and fought actively against religion. So the inhabitants of Palekh in the countryside, who for hundreds of years painted icons, got into a very difficult situation. One of the masters 1.1. Golikov found the way out. He proposed to paint lacquered boxes in the style of icons. Along with the boxes they began to paint brooches with scenes of Russian tales and new Kolkhoz life (ill. 64). Their production was a great success, and later similar craftsmens associations were organized by other former icon painters in the villages of Mstera and Kholui. Masters of enamelling who painted holy pictures in Rostov Veliky did this too.
The factory in the country side Kostino also began to work (ill. 66). Among its most common products were beads in the form of black and white dumbbells (ill. 66a). Apparently, Czech beads at that time as well were not very dear (ill. 67).
But the “iron curtain” went down rapidly and in 1930s import of foreign jewelry ended. Common people were not allowed to travel, and to receive parcels from abroad became very dangerous. Nevertheless there were exceptions. For example, the beloved woman of our famous poet Mayakovsky Lilja Brik could ask him in her letter (1925) to bring her some fashionable green beads. May be they were a necklace in Egyptian style, made by Max Neiger (ill. 68).
Not everyone’s destiny developed so well as that of Mrs. Brik. So was the story of our great poet A.A. Akhmatova. Her husband – also well-known poet N. Gumilev, was shot. Her son was imprisoned. Her poems were not published for a long time. All her life she loved beads, but after the Revolution they looked rather like a sign of mourning (ill. 70a-70d). Looking at her portraits one notices that on one of them she wears a rosary instead of beads (ill. 70b). Most probably it was connected with the title of the first publication of her collection of poems “Rosary” (1914), that made her famous.