I've begun scanning the first few pictures. Here's a taste, more to come.

Russians - or Ukrainians - have a weakness for reliving old Soviet films as part of their lifestyle. Much of their love for drinking vodka in the banya (bath house) is inspired by Ryazanov's "S Lyokhkim Parom" or "Ironiya Sudby" (An Irony of Fate).

Another curiosity is the habit of wearing Captain's hats at the seaside in general and in Odessa in particular, as worn by the heros of quite a few cult Soviet films, such as the 1976 Ilf and Petrov classic "The Twelve Chairs". Ilf and Petrov themselves were from Odessa, and there is even a statue of a bronze chair in the city centre in their honour.