You brought up some very good points through talking about this photo by Prokudin-Gorskii’s and posed some important questions. I also can not recall anything specific about the Kazahks or the Uzbeks occurring over the Soviet area. Where simply forgotten as an separate people and lumped into the Russian/Soviet society like you suggest with there lose of identity. Furthermore, the question you pose at the end is very interesting. Did the majority of these people in ethnic groups flee elsewhere during the war and then following revolution? How where they treated under the Soviet rule? Hopefully we can further learn these things throughout the class.
Month: January 2018
Comment on Snapshot of The Empire: Life of the Peasantry in Russia by dianaschulberg
I enjoy the photo you picked for how well it captures, as you mentioned, an average day in the life at that particular time in Russia. Even without the specifics of exactly who these people are it gives a sense of their work and the mood of the time. It is particularly interesting to me that the women in the background behind the wooden press are there. They look like they are taking a short break from work themselves. What are they doing? Would they be expected to help with the hay or are they more agricultural workers from some local crops?
Comment on View of Kasli by jkelly24
I really enjoy how you pointed out how powerful the church is in this time. It greatly dominated life. Thinking about how often images of churches or monasteries appear throughout Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii’s work further proves your point about the domination that the church held. Also, the sheer size of the churches compared to their surroundings further shows the massive importance that the church holds.
Comment on When Life Gives You Metal, Make A Lot of Swords by Justin Kane
Prior to coming across your post I never knew how detailed Russian swords were and the time that went into them. When i think of swords i never really think of Russia. So this was very cool to appreciate the time and attention to detail that they would put into there work!
Comment on Snapshot of The Empire: Life of the Peasantry in Russia by Justin Kane
Great post! I really enjoyed reading this one. Something that I noticed immediately when looking at the photo (that you later mentioned) was the diverse group of people working on the railroad. I was happy to see you also caught that and were curious about the back story to that. It seems to me like some soldiers could be commissioned to help with the railroad while others are at battle? It leaves my mind wondering!
Comment on Church of the Resurrection by Justin Kane
I really like the picture and the history behind the church! The architecture is very similar to the picture I chose of the St. Nil Monastery and was also built around the same time which i find very cool!
Comment on Alter of Virgin Mary by Dalton Ragland
I liked your final sentence: “History begins with religion and to understand religion is to understand history.” It’s true that almost every civilization has had a central religion from which many of their values were derived from. However, there are many aspects of history that are secular in nature and, in some cases even anti-religious. The assumption that understanding religion allows one to understand all of history is a overstatement. Though religion may open the door to history, it remains a vast hodgepodge of cultural, political, economic, and imperialistic aspects of which many have been incompletely analyzed.
Comment on When Life Gives You Metal, Make A Lot of Swords by Dalton Ragland
The amount of effort put into the crafting of these swords is astounding. Do you think that, as time continued into the late 20th Century, that the manufacturing shifted more toward guns or did the wants for swords and sabers continue to flourish? Do you think the use of sabers in warfare was to retain the traditional feelings and ties to Imperial Russia, or was it something else?
Comment on Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii Visits Topornia by rachelharriman10
Gorskki, with support from Tsar Nicolas II and the Ministry of Transportation, captured Russian life from all aspects during his campaign. Gorskii captured numerous pictures that displayed a diverse nation: transportation (industrial lifestyle), ethnic diversity, architecture and the working class. Both of our pictures fall under the category of people are work, or the peasantry class of early 20th century Russia. On a national level, in 1905 (the year this photo was taken), Russia is dealing with multiple peasant uprisings in response to reforms that lessened, even more, the peasant voice.
Comment on A Carpenter Tells All by Dalton Ragland
I enjoyed your analysis of the carpenter’s ethnicity and his likely religion. Do you think that the differences in culture and religion throughout various parts of the Russian Empire caused rifts within the Empire itself? Were these differences underlying causes of some of the conflicts throughout the 20th Century?
