Forgotten Generations
It wasn’t until the aftermath of the World War II, that a counter movement to the glorified pioneers emerged. This movement was named the stilyagi which originated from the Russian word for ‘style.’ The stilyagi were centered around Moscow and St. Petersburg, and it was seen as a rebel group that like the pioneers is remembered in Russian society with much nostalgia. However, unlike pioneers, stilyagi were all about standing out and getting noticed. With the silhouette of women’s dress inspired much by Dior’s New Look and with the lifestyle inspired by the Jazz era in America, their clothes were bright and their attitude was maverick. Needless to say that they were not much appreciated by the USSR government and the era came to an end somewhere around 1960’s. Strangely enough, the word stilyagi, as a youth movement, was never translated into the English language as there was no equivalent for them in English.