Austin, I was very intrigued by this when you used the picture in class, I agree with you this picture gives a lot of perspective on what life was like for the peasantry in the early years of the 20th century in Russia. I would agree that this picture also raises a lot of questions. Like was there wide spread starvation among the peasantry, or were more people well fed like this girl appears to be? Did early one dress in so ornate and bright clothes or is this girl just posing for the camera with her best outfit.
Month: January 2018
Comment on Snapshot of The Empire: Life of the Peasantry in Russia by A. Nelson
What a great idea to think about comparisons between putting up Hay in the Northwest of the US and in Imperial Russia! I think this photograph is staged — the women for example, were certainly working, but had stopped and were waiting while the photograph was being taken. In this period, I doubt the hay was transported very far — most of it would have been stored nearby for use as fodder during the winter. The bales were easier to move and store than the kind of haystacks you wrote out — which would have been used directly from the field.
Comment on Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii Visits Topornia by bassford79
What I like about this picture is that it looks like it could be taken from anywhere. Besides the clothes the young girl is wearing, there is really nothing else to distinguish it from anywhere else in the world. I bet you could find a place that looks identical to that in America today.
Comment on The Yakutian Laika Dog by eclaybrook
I truly appreciate that made a post about dogs, but its also interesting how something as calm and peaceful as this photo is could be the future sight of a national execution ground. The connection between the two gave a really good contrast at what yo…
Comment on The Melon Vendor by scmaclay
I am fascinated by the pictures that show life outside of Russian, European standard. They show a side of Russia Empire that is traditionally excluded from its depictions. There is that juxtaposition of traditional and modern that you mention. However, I wonder about attempts to extend industrialization to Samarkand during the period this photo was taken. Were there any? Was it successful?
Comment on Episode 1: The Phantom Railways by bassford79
How quickly the Soviet Union industrialized is nothing short of amazing. They went from having serfs bound to the land they worked on to a fully industrialized nation capable of beating back the Wehrmacht and giving the US a run for its money during the Cold War.
Comment on Episode 1: The Phantom Railways by edinerjim
This was a very creative article, and it was very entertaining and informative. Your commentary on just how undeveloped Russia was compared to it western neighbors, brings some questions to mind. For instance, I wonder if Russia’s development that had any direct effect on Russia and why its attempt at Marx style socialism lead to such horrific events. Or even you could ask just how power could Russia had been if it had modernized earlier and was more developed by the time the soviets took over, or would that new development have stopped the revolution.
Comment on Episode 1: The Phantom Railways by A. Nelson
Star Wars and Boney M!?!?!??! You’ve made my week! Impressive. Really impressive.
Comment on When Life Gives You Metal, Make A Lot of Swords by bassford79
I feel bad for the poor saps who were given swords in WWII and had to go fight the Wehrmacht in places like Stalingrad, I can’t imagine that ended very well. On a more positive note, the swords are really beautiful and it shows how skilled this town was at making swords.
Comment on The Divine Penitentiary: Solovetskii Monastery’s Solemn History by scmaclay
What a great post! While I have read a little about the history of Solovetskii Monastery during the Soviet era, I knew nothing about its past or the propaganda films it was involved in. I would suggest looking at Justin’s post about the Nilova Monastery and compare its fate to Solovetskii. This was educational and very well researched, great job.
