Author: Lily-Ana Fairweather

Hello Elie,

I wrote about abortion access specifically, but I think your blog illustrates a more complete picture. Access to all the other listed items (like renting apartments, work, and take part in government) are greater reflections on societal movements than something like abortion. I did not know that they also had International Women’s Day, which I found so neat!

It is so interesting to watch as cultures break and rebuild gender roles. As your post demonstrates, it was an ongoing process with no end in sight. Even today, societies around the world are struggling with how to create equity with women!

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Hello Dylan,

I analyzed Russian women’s role in World War II, and your comparison to American media further developed my research on the topic. I think that many people forget that people existed (as purely “people” — not just as numbers or soldiers) during WWII. However, women ultimately grew to prominence as they were the majority of people unengaged in conflict. Despite this, they are often forgotten as people downplay their roles at home, on the fields, or in the factories.

I think that women’s rights certainly came a long way following WWII, but it appears that this was a turning point towards the road to change in many countries.

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Hello Peter,

This blog post was incredibly insightful, and it covered the topic very well. The social shifts in Russia were absolutely life-changing, and it can be difficult to imagine banning it nationally. The idea of a never-ending week (with no true “weekend”) truly sounds miserable. One of my jobs over the summer required me to work every day except Saturdays and Tuesdays. Having that weird schedule compared to everyone else was frustrating, and I cannot imagine the confusion on a national level! Coordinating with family members must have caused significant stress, I would assume.

Additionally, your short anecdotes regarding the closing of churches are so interesting. I think it can be hard to recognize the intricate ways that the topics we discuss in colleges today were the day-to-day life of people nearly 100 years ago.

Thank you for sharing.

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I admit that prior to this class, I had limited knowledge about Russia’s infrastructure. It’s not something we cover in most American classes, but I believe we should look into how a nation can be completely transformed by projects like these. The Russian Empire was absolutely massive, and it enabled groups to access locations previously unthinkable. I think you also illustrate the significance of infrastructure in a community. Then, you remind us of how difficult it can be to design and implement it. Do you know how long it took to finish the project in full?

I also completely missed the influence these railways had in World War II. That paints this image in a new light as we think of how infrastructure can change the course of history.

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Hello,

I am also in the HIST 3644 class at Virginia Tech.

Something that jumped at me while reading this was in your second paragraph. You write that the Cossacks were previously a nomadic culture. I actually looked further into that culture on my blog post. It appears that the Cossacks had more freedoms than the group I studied, and I’m curious why they gave so many exemptions. I understand that those freedoms were in return for their army. Do you think that they would have received these benefits if they had offered other commodities to the government, such as cotton or factory workers? I guess what I’m getting at is whether this group was treated better specifically due to their army.

I think what I enjoyed most about this assignment was reading about the different ways that the Russian Empire treated its various peoples. I wasn’t sure if what happened to the group I studied mirrored what happened in other countries.

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