Almost immediately after WWII in Europe concluded in Europe, the Cold War began. This refers to the time between 1947 and 1991. With victory of the Germans in Europe, the two remaining super powers were the United States and the Soviet Union. Though there are many major events throughout the Cold War I believe that … Continue reading The Beginnings of the Cold War
Month: March 2018
Another Explosion in the Cold War
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The first testing of a Hydrogen Bomb was conducted in 1952 by the United States of America in Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific, during Operation Ivy. Not to be outdone the Soviet Union then tested their own version of the Hydrogen bomb on August 12, 1953. This back and forth of weapon and … Continue reading Another Explosion in the Cold War
Blog 5 – The Famine of 1946
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Pictured: A newspaper ad headlining mass starvation and the effects of grain confiscation. (http://alphahistory.com/coldwar/communist-russia/) One of the challenges that faced Soviet society after WWII was food. In 1946, Russia faced one of its largest famines. This famine led to the mass starvation across the country, and in turn, many deaths. The conditions were caused by … Continue reading Blog 5 – The Famine of 1946 →
Evtushenko: The Part The Poet Played.
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On this March 6th, a radio announcer begins, “Dearest Comrades and friends.” He begins knowing that the lives of all those who listened were about to be changed forever. And those poets who listened would somehow know their art could never be the same. The relationship between the Soviet citizens and Stalin is one of …
Not One Step Back!
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By G. Savitsky, USSR Post. – свой скан бумажных марок из личной коллекции, Public Domain, Link
The imperative of order 227 (and the potential punishment for failure to obey the command to not retreat) conveys the all-encompassing urgency of the Soviet Union’s struggle to defend itself and repel the German invaders during World War II.This weekly edition features a rich assortment of posts on the many facets of that costly defense — from the evacuation of factories from the country’s West to safety behind the Urals, to snipers, tactics, and the broader reasons for the Soviets’ lack of preparedness for the war and for their eventual success. Enjoy reading. We will be back with more features on Stalin’s final years and the transition to life after the Vozhd’ next week.
6th Blog Post Guidelines: From the Big Deal to the Thaw
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Dramatic changes in Soviet society, culture and politics followed Stalin’s death in 1953. This week we consider Stalin’s final years before turning to the initial period of “De-Stalinization” and “The Thaw.” The modules on 1947, 1954 and 1956 from Seventeen Moments in Soviet History are good starting points. You might also be interested in the photographs and films from the Martin Manhoff Collection on Radio Free Europe’s website. These materials offer fascinating views of everyday life and a rare perspective on Stalin’s funeral.
A Job the Soviets Couldn’t Finnish
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Despite the hostilities between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the 1930s due to ideological differences and rising power, Hitler offered Stalin an offer he simply could not refuse. On August 23, 1939 the two parties agreed on the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact that ensured mutual neutrality and secretly partitioned areas of Eastern Europe including […]
Territory & WWII
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By signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918 the Soviet Russia gave up its territorial claims to the Baltic region, Ukraine, and other parts of Eastern Europe to formally end its participation in World War I. As previously stated in my second blog post, this allowed for the Bolshevik leadership to focus on … Continue reading Territory & WWII
Literally the Only Time the US and the USSR Didn’t Hate Each Other
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Seemingly from the inception of the Soviet Union all the way to present day, the Soviet Union and every version of it that followed has been at odds with the United States. Communism and capitalism are functionally antithetical, and since the USSR and the United States respectively embody each system, it makes sense that there would …
Continue reading “Literally the Only Time the US and the USSR Didn’t Hate Each Other”
An Unorthodox Solution
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To the average Russian, it must have seemed in the summer of 1941 that their was no salvation from the Nazi tide to the West. Within the first month of Germany’s “Operation Barbarossa”, which takes overtones
