The attitude of the Soviet authorities towards nudists who suddenly appeared on the streets in the last century became known from the material of Moslenta. Historian Valery Burt said that the revolutionary Vladimir Lenin himself was not against undressed people, since this was considered the norm abroad.
Then Lenin learned that foreigners without hesitation bathe together not only in clothes, but also without them, and do not have any scandals on this basis. The revolutionary wanted to achieve the same.
Almost immediately after the revolution of 1917, a whole society “Down with Shame” appeared, whose members considered clothing to be a bourgeois convention that must be freed from. They became especially active in the summer, demonstrating in the center of Moscow, although the movement was popular not only in the capital, but also in other cities.
Alexandra Kollontai was a typical representative of “naked” propaganda, who wrote the article “The way to the winged Eros!” Even at the age of 50, she calmly changed lovers and advised people to do the same. A supporter of such relations was Lenin’s girlfriend Inessa Armand, who, as a result of her lifestyle, gave birth to five children from different men.
But in September 1924, Izvestia published an article by People’s Commissar of Health Nikolai Semashko, who wrote that adventures around Moscow without clothes are unacceptable, especially from a hygienic point of view. He called for the immediate cessation of the work of the “Down with Shame” society, threatening reprisals.
Previously, nudists at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior did not surprise Muscovites.
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