First May Day demonstration in Tselinograd

This picture captures Tselinograd residents preparing for the May Day demonstration, an annual event in the USSR held on May 1st in honor of International Workers' Day—one of the major holidays of the Soviet era. Organized columns of demonstrators marched along the central streets of the town to the sounds of music and marches, with radio-announcers' greetings and political slogans broadcasted through loudspeakers. Authorities, industry leaders, veterans, and honorary citizens greeted the demonstrators from tribunes usually set up near major administrative buildings. The event was covered by local radio and television channels. In 1977, the population of Tselinograd was 222,000. For comparison, in 1939 it was 31,000, and in 1959 it was 99,000.