The 60s/70s. Soviet Union.
VAX I also found wooden shoe shine stands. There sat big-nosed men with black caps of coarse, fine curly hair, polishing the shoes of the passersby with shoe polish until they shined. They looked Armenian, but were Assyrian. Assyrian shoe shine will surpass any tea ceremony. The first brush is to remove dust. The second is to apply shoe polish matching the color into the shoes. The third is to polish. And finally, velvet fabric - bring it to a mirror finish. They also sold beautiful laces in many colors. Never before or since have I seen such a concentration of different laces in one place! The Assyrians padded their heels with black and brown heels. They sold leather insoles, felt, cardboard and shoe polish in jars from Girls' Classics. They sold copper nails, which I used as solder contacts. And they exchanged 15 kopecks for a piece of five kopecks to call a public phone. Grandfather's Eyewitness Guide to the Soviet Union.