Category: 8th Weekly Edition

Out With the Old (Prisoners)

         It is well known that Soviet citizens were often victims to incredibly harsh punishments for mediocre crimes: examples of trial worthy crimes are here and here. But on March 27, 1953 De-Stalinization reached the prisoners that had been locked into the camps (Freeze, 2009, p. 410). Those who were released were […]

The Khrushchev Economy

The late 1950’s were a time of extraordinary high rates of growth in the industrial and agricultural sectors. The annual GNP increased from 5 percent (1951-1955) to 5.9 percent (1956-1960). Labour productivity rose 62 percent and the industrial sector experienced a total growth of 80 percent. Agriculture became the new focus of development. Khrushchev proposed … Continue reading The Khrushchev Economy

20th Century Russia: Maddie Williams 2017-03-26 11:36:28

During the war and years before, the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps also known as the GULAC held millions of prisoners. Gulag’s were the main punishing system for the Soviet Union. They held all different types of people including rapists, murders, thieves, political prisoners and many innocent men and women convicted for petty little […]

Genuine Desire to Reform, Or Another Play for Power

Setting the Stage We spent much of last week’s class time discussing the Soviet people’s expectation for social and political reform following the end of The Great Patriotic War. Russian citizens felt they had proven their loyalty to Stalin and the party through their immense sacrifice during the war. Instead of overseeing reform, Stalin choose to quell the peoples desire by tightening his control … Continue reading Genuine Desire to Reform, Or Another Play for Power

The Original Hipsters

During the 1950s in Soviet Russia, a counter-culture movement called the “stilyagi” emerged.  This movement was pro-Western in culture; they wore outfits similar to the zoot suits of the West with bright colors and tight pants.  They were intrigued by Western culture, and went to great lengths to be immersed in it—even as far as… Continue reading The Original Hipsters

Sputnik

Picture the scene. The year is 1957. The world is still recovering from the most brutal war in history. Millions of people were killed and the whole of Europe was decimated both economically and militarily. We, the US, are now the leading western power charged with cleaning up the whole mess. But the USSR, who was […]