Heroes and Highs of Stalinism – Prompt #5

After the tremendous upheavals of the First Five Year Plan and the cultural revolution, the early thirties marked a distinct shift in the tone of Soviet culture. While dictatorship and coercion became more entrenched in these years, the “new normal” also celebrated new brands of heroes, scientific and technological triumphs, and the country’s triumph over “backwardness.” This was particularly evident in the mass culture of the period — from popular films to popular song. Please select a cultural artifact from the early thirties and use it to explore this vibrant period of Soviet cultural life. Inspiration is to be found in the Mass Culture book (i.e. the section on “High Stalinism,” pp. 215-286) and on
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History — 1934 (NOT All Stalin’s Men, The Kirov Affair or the 17th Party Congress). You may also use the material from 1936 – Pilots and Explorers, but please save the other topics in that module for next week. Of course you are welcome to find material elsewhere if you like. Remember to cite your sources and base your post on a particular cultural artifact or figure.

Your “level-up” technical challenge for this week is to enhance your post by trying something new or developing something in more depth. You might use a hyperlink to refer to an important source or interesting related issue. You might caption the images you use.  You might embed a video and analyze it. You might link to (and cite) an online version of the artifact you are using. There are many options and what you choose will depend on what you’ve already learned.  Just be bold!

Image: Trofimov: Chapaev in Battle (1935) / Lacquer box from the Kholui school of lacquer painting