The War on the Church

In the early 1920’s, the newly solidified government of Russia began seeking to consolidate its gains and secure its future as the sole ruling group in Moscow. One of the primary objectives they set before themselves was the destruction of the Eastern Orthodox church, thus began years of anti religious campaigns, church closings and occasional, […]

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Stalin’s Shock Worker Cruise

Shock workers in the Soviet Union are the equivalent of “employees-of-the-month” in the United States. Exemplary workers who truly portray the corporate culture and go out of their way to help the organization. In 1930, 257 of these shock workers were given the opportunity to cruise around Western Europe and view “the West” mentality about […]

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“…A tower that reaches to the Heavens…”

Red brick dotted the horizon puncturing deep into the black clouds of industry. Horizons that had once been speckled with gold coated Christian Crucifixes, were now framed in brick and coal. The Party had found its titan, the factory. The mass industrialization of the Soviet Union and its cultural effects came about due to Stalin’s ambitious Five Year Plan. … Continue reading “…A tower that reaches to the Heavens…”

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Collectivization and Dekulakization in the first Five Year Plan

The first five year plan (1928-32) was a period of fundamental economic transformation. Stalin and the communist party called for the rapid industrialization of Russia and the collectivization of her agriculture. Enormous, unrealistic quotas were set to inspire a complete transformation of Russia’s economy. The collectivization of agricultural production was thought to be a more efficient means of producing grain

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The Push for Industrialization

Industry. Before the Soviet Party’s ride to power, Russia had very little industry. The majority of the world had already begun their respective industrial revolutions by the turn of the century, but not Russia. Russia fell behind on the “modernization” of the new world. But as the Soviets rose to power, all of this changed. […]

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A Devout City Becomes Godless (1929)

This image and video relate to not only the Stalin’s First Five Year Plan, but also revolutionary culture. Because of the socialist government’s desire to control everything in Russia they banned religion all across that nation. These two primary sources show church bells being taken down (27 bells out of 32 bells in the video […]

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