I really like this photo and I think your analysis was really interesting. Especially with the legacy of the Soviet Union, I think we tend to look to Russia as a much more unified ethnicity than it really is. It’s interesting how this diversity is so tied up with tea, which is also not normally associated with Russia. You did a great job with this post!
Month: January 2018
Comment on Importance of Early Steam Engines and Railways by scmaclay
You did a great job hitting three major points on how railroads influenced Russia. Economically, they aided Russian industrialization in a primarily agrarian economy. Militarily, railroads allowed for rapid mobilization of forces. Germany strategy in World War I relied heavily on Russia failing to get troops on the front. Politically, they were used to spread the message of revolution to the far corners of Russia. Great post!
Comment on The Yakutian Laika Dog by Caroline Ritchey
I love this photo and I think your analysis was really interesting! The contrast between the serenity of the photo and the tumultuous history of the area is really interesting, and contrasts like this tend to be very common in Russian history before th…
Comment on Christianity and the Church Before the Revolution by cnritchey
I found the picture you chose very interesting as well! I think it’s interesting how ingrained Orthodoxy was in Russian culture, especially when contrasted with the extremely anti-religious Soviet Union. I think a lot of similar contrasts exist with the transition into the Soviet Union, and I like how you looked at what smaller factors may have led to this.
Comment on Episode 1: The Phantom Railways by ejrhodes5
Great title (and video)! The difference between the West and Russia at this time are very interesting, especially considering how quickly Russia rose to superpower status as the USSR. That a country so industrially behind was able to catch up so quickly is fascinating.
Comment on Russia’s Great Divide by ejrhodes5
It’s interesting that the main goal of emancipating the serfs was to avoid revolution. Clearly, it didn’t work. One way to avoid the revolution might have been to decrease the extreme wealth disparity that existed after the emancipation – as you noted in the difference between rural and urban life.
Comment on Christianity and the Church Before the Revolution by ejrhodes5
It’s really interesting that the Orthodox Church played a part in fomenting the Russian Revolution, especially since, as you mentioned, Marxist-Leninist communism was inherently anti-religious. It would be interesting to investigate this aspect of the Revolution further and learn what the Church’s expectations were!
Comment on 1st stop: The Emir of Bukhara by A. Nelson
What a great idea to link to place descriptors on Google maps! Seeing how central Zindan was / is to the city of Bukhara really gives you pause. What do you think of the other posts that explore life in Samarkand and other places along the silk road?
Comment on Russia’s Great Divide by A. Nelson
I agree that the rural-urban divide is key to understanding the changes in Imperial Russia that lead to the revolutions in the 20th century. Check out Rachel’s post with a wonderful image of agrarian life and more reflections on the changes brought about by the emancipation of the serfs here: https://20thcenturyrussiarachelh.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/community-within-a-divided-country/
Comment on The Divine Penitentiary: Solovetskii Monastery’s Solemn History by cgwoodward
Oops can’t figure out how to edit my comment, I think it was someone else who presented this picture in class but regardless such an interesting history to it!
