It is interesting to read about how a small class of people with their own culture fit in to the wider scheme of things. You mention their nationalism, but don’t say much else about any political motivations. Are they driven by politics in any way and how does their nationalism manifest itself? I would imagine they like Putin a lot!
Month: May 2018
Comment on Countering the Counterculture by nschuff7
Did rock artists commonly criticize the government in their music while the rock was still underground or was it purely a show of resistance more than criticism? I would imagine that if they continued to voice discontent even after coming “above ground” so to speak, that they would continue to appeal to the counterculture.
Comment on The Soviet Union- BYOB by Nick Schuff
Wow, those stats you included on the increase in alcohol consumption between 1955 and 1979 are incredible. I wonder if in your research you read about any theories as to why those numbers increased as much as they did? Nice post!
Comment on The Godfather: Russian Edition by Katelyn
I love the title of this post! I think its a really important topic to talk about because after the fall of the soviet union the people who were most experienced with “capitalism” such as the mafia and other black market organizations really rose to power due to their knowledge.
Comment on Maksimizing our Potential: Maksim Gorky and the Great Retreat by Katelyn
I realy liked this post and the pictures you included. I also thought it was interesting that Stalin allowed Gorky to stay as long has he did.
Comment on The Baltic Independence Movement by Katelyn
Sean I loved this post! It really highlights this great event!
Comment on The Baltic Independence Movement by zaneg96
The national songs of the baltic states were always a strong point of pride among the Baltic populations, and I think that they realized they could reconcile their protest for independence with these songs. Another part of it is I think that they realized that singing is about the most non threatening action a group can undertake, so the Soviet’s would have no justification to undertake violent actions to break up such a protest.
Comment on The Baltic Independence Movement by zaneg96
I definitely believe that the dissolution of Russia’s satellite states played a role in weakening the Soviet Union overall. These dissolutions sparked other satellite states to recognize that they too could abandon the Soviet Union if they executed a withdrawal in a proper manner, while also giving them the hope and morale to do so.
Comment on The Baltic Independence Movement by zaneg96
I think that some of the violence that occurred was inevitable- using violence to suppress protests was a commonality for the Soviet government. The use of violence failed, however, when protests (like in the Baltics) really advertised their causes and the protests to the outside world, thus putting more eyes on them on the international stage as a sort of warning against the Soviets not to get violent.
Comment on Maksimizing our Potential: Maksim Gorky and the Great Retreat by zaneg96
At first, Gorky helped Stalin and the Party out on his own volition, so in a sense yes he did support the beliefs. But as time progressed, it seems he became disillusioned and critical of the courses of action the Party was undertaking.
