Retro Museum of Socialism - Bulgaria

[Bucketeer]

So, as per the title, I've done been to the newly opened Retro Museum of Socialism in Varna, Bulgaria.

 

*SPOILER ALERT*

I know a lot of you will be planning to pop by Bulgaria and visit the museum this weekend, maybe after a trip to MFI or something, so if you are and you don't want to know what happens, look away now.

 

 

WARSZAWA

 

Warszawa 200 with Wojciech Jaruzelski, the laugh-a-minute former leader of the Communist People's Republic of Poland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ZAPOROZHETS

 

Zaz 965 and 968 accompanied by former First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita 'fun-time' Khrushchev.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIAT

 

124, 5 and 6.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SKODA

 

Skoda 1000mb

 

 

 

Skoda Octavia Super

 

 

 

 

Skoda Octavia Combi

 

 

 

Gustav Husak, former Secretary General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and President of Czechoslovakia. And some more Skodas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plenty much more to come, communism fans.

[stillOrange]

Oh it brings back the memories!

 

Carry on comrades.

[Six-cylinder]

Great, any Oltcit?

[garethj]

We are fighting the oppression of the masses from the western decadent people, and we're doing it with very shiny chassis and mirrors on the floor.

[Andrew353w]

Beautiful, just totally beautiful! Varna's one of the destinations served from my new workplace, Luton Airport...

[Clanger]

Fuck you! I had tickets for this weekend, but now you've ruined it for me....

[cros]

Great pics!

[Bucketeer]

No to Oltcits, unfortunately.

Yes to shiny decadence. The whole collection belongs to one Bulgarian multi-millionaire businessman and is situated on the top floor of the Grand Mall.

Andrew353w, get over here.

 

A few more before I have to watch Bake Off with the missus. Some things you can't escape from, even in Bulgaria.

 

 

VOLGA

 

GAZ M-21 with Vladimir Vysotsky the Russian seven string acoustic guitarist voted second in a poll of 20th Century Russian icons behind Yuri Gagarin.

 

 

 

 

GAZ 24

 

 

 

 

Kosta Dimitrov Tsonev, a prominent Bulgarian actor. Obviously.

 

 

 

Toys and posters.

 

 

 

 

Politburo chiefs. Handsome buggers.

 

 

 

Loads more cars and models and shit to come when I'm allowed to (according to Lady_Bucket) 'fanny about on the computer with those internet car wankers'.

[chaseracer]

'fanny about on the computer with those internet car wankers'.

 

I like Lady_Bucket a very lot 

[tooSavvy]

I like Lady_Bucket a very lot 

...... &1 [swmbo]

 

 

TS

[hairnet]

wow

 

jawa speedway bike please

[fordperv]

You really should get her signed up, she sounds like she would fit right in

[anonymous user]

I'll take the pedal-cars, just put them in the back of the Skoda Combi please. Just one question, are those the actual people standing next to the exhibits? Is it some form of pennance for bad deeds during the communist era, or their new employment?

[Barry Cade]

I got a Balkan 250 from the transport museum in Sofia. Wonder if they want it back?

[Bucketeer]

^^^^  I remembered you asked for any info about the Balkan a couple of years ago. I still haven't found anything out.

All the bikes here were informationless and my old bike knowledge is limited.

 

 

MOTORBIKES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WARTBURG

 

Wartburg 311/3 with former leader of the GDR Erich Honecker.

 

 

 

Wartburg 353

 

 

 

 

 

TRABANT

 

 

[Bucketeer]

LADA

 

 

 

Todor Kolev. Bulgarian actor and host of Dancing Stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Velko Kanev. Actor.

 

 

Emil Dimitrov. Bulgarian singer. 55 million albums sold in Russia alone. Everyone must remember his 1970 hit 'My Country, My Bulgaria' which was later voted song of the century.

 

 

 

 

Mikhail Gorbachev. And a Samara/VAZ 2108.

 

 

 

Janos Kadar. Hungarian communist leader and twice Prime Minister of Hungary.

 

 

 

 

 

DACIA

 

Dacia 1310 and Nicolae Ceaușescu.

 

 

[Bucketeer]

MODEL/TOY CARS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[purplebargeken]

Honecker - useless stupid twat.

 

Feck, I would have any of those cars in a heartbeat. Bloody ace post

[brownnova]

 

Velko Kanev. Actor.

 

 

 

Interesting fact* This waxwork was originally supplied to Madame Tussauds as the Richard Hammond.

 

Fantastic posts- thanks for sharing these photos!

[garethj]

I would ship that lot over to the US for a holiday and win everything at Pebble Beach concours.

[purplebargeken]

That would really 'tick off' Wayne C wouldn't it.

 

Ok, after much drooling and deliberation, the car I would most like to steal away from the collection would be.......

 

 'all of them'.

[Taff]

I blame Bucketman entirely for my recently developed Lada urges

[purplebargeken]

Now for you that is a good urge.

[skoda_fan]

Just stunning. I'm just picking my jaw up off the floor. I had no idea such a place existed. Those pics have made my day. Thank you so much for taking the trouble to fanny around for us wankers!

[SOUL]

The Octavia saloon is beautiful   Can't say that for the modern shite running around here as taxi cabs.

[Bucketeer]

The only blemish I found in the whole museum was one drop of clear fluid on a floor mirror underneath the engine end of one of the cars.

 

Taff - You're welcome.

 

 

GAZ

 

GAZ-67 accompanied by Lenin and Stalin, the Soviet equivalents of Paul and Barry Chuckle.

 

 

 

 

 

MOSKVICH

 

I still can't fully get my head round the model numbers for the Moskvich range, so I'll just title the ones I know.

 

Moskvich 407

 

 

 

 

 

Moskvich 407 with Petar Slabakov, Bulgarian actor.

 

 

 

Moskvich 408 with Bulgarian actor Georgi Todorov Kaloyanchev.

 

 

 

Moskvich 412 (or 408)

 

 

Moskvich 408

 

 

Moskvich 2138

 

 

 

Moskvich 426

 

 

 

 

 

Moskvich 408 with Yuri Nikulin, Russian actor and clown.

 

 

Moskvich 2141/Aleko

 

[strangeangel]

They're all brilliant, but I would love to own that Jawa Manet

 

[Bucketeer]

CHAIKA

 

Ex-Politburo GAZ-13 with Leonid Brezhnev and Todor Hristov Zhivkov, communist head of state for the People's Republic of Bulgaria for 35 years.

Possibly the nicest car on display and definitely the worst photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOME OTHER STUFF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, that's the lot.

I think I managed to photograph everything in the museum except for maybe a display of Russian soap and the emergency exit signs.

[Richard]

That place is amazing, the displays are like something that one of us would dream up after a night on the sauce. It must be enormous too, how does it compare in size with something like the Science Museum or the National Railway Museum?

[stillOrange]

I wonder there were similar urban legends in Bulgaria about black Volgas driving around at nights abducting people for their organs, blood etc.