One of the most important effects of the emergence of “Rock & Roll” in the United States during the 1950’s was the social revolution that came along with it. The older generations were shocked by Elvis Presley and the way he shook his hips, the sexual energy of performers like Little Richard, and the personal […]
Red Star, Week 7 Posts
Smiles on Their Faces
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“They seem nice and handsome and educated. They worked. And rested. And worked again.” This description was found in the film Ordinary Fascism by Mikhail Romm. He was describing the German soldiers who were fighting on the Eastern Front during the Great Pattriotic War. While using these descriptors, Romm inserted into his film images that alternated […]
Red Star, Week 6 Posts
Nationalism, Communism, and the Soviet Union
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An interesting movement that slowly emerged over the course of the 1930’s and hit its peak in 1939 was the concept of nationalism in the Soviet Union. As noted in his essay entitled “The New Patriotism”, historian James von Golden noted that the later 1930’s saw a rise in the posthumous rehabilitation of figures from Russia’s […]
Greatest Hits, Red Star, Week 5 Posts
New Country, New Me
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The amazing thing about the formation of the Soviet Union was the new possibilities it presented. The Bolsheviks promised a new society, one where the working class, not the nobility and the church, were the center of power. Such a grand political and social revolution presented an opportunity not only for new government and social relations, […]
Red Star, Week 4 Posts
The Red Army’s Help to the Working Class
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With the Bolsheviks coming to power in 1917, there was no guarantee that they would be able to keep and hold power. World War I was still on going and, possibly even more importantly, there was still significant opposition to the Bolsheviks within Russia itself. The Bolsheviks needed to find a way to show the […]
Red Star, Week 2 Posts
Leninism and Class: Recognizing the Class Issues
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“Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country”- Vladimir Lenin To understand the rise of Marxism in Russia, especially after the Revolution of 1905, one needs to understand the life and ideology of Vladimir Lenin. He is widely known as one of the central leaders of the Revolution of 1917 and as […]
Red Star, Week 1 Posts
Iron Work in the Urals
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Mountains can have many uses for a nation. They can serve as a form of border between two countries, as a sort of natural defensive wall against invaders, provide incredible beauty to a, and as an important source of resources. This last use is shown in the picture above, entitled “Molding of an artistic casting”. […]
