Justin, this was a really unique and interesting post! I agree that you never associate something with such a luxurious connotation with the Soviet Union, but the Soviet champagne surely contradicts that! I also really liked your analogy at the end; popular culture also played a huge role in the Soviet Union and it’s really interesting to see the different ways this manifests.
Month: March 2018
Comment on Exploration of the Poles by cnritchey
As Catherine mentioned, it’s interesting to see the parallels between polar exploration and the space race. I find it a little difficult to believe that the only reason they wanted to get to the north pole was for scientific reasons– do you think there were ulterior motives on the part of the Soviet Union?
Comment on Unsurprisingly, Stalinism Isn’t Everything It Was Cracked up to Be by cnritchey
I really liked this post and the image you included! It’s crazy to see the contrast with that image and earlier images of women that felt much more revolutionary and liberated. As Catherine mentioned, it must have been difficult to get a taste of more freedoms and then have an entirely new set of ideas pushed upon them. Why do you think the Soviet ideal for roles of women changed so quickly?
Comment on Maksim Gorky by cnritchey
Zane, this was a really interesting post! I think it’s interesting how Gorky was able to stay with Stalin as long as he did, considering his critiques of the party. But I also think this shows the importance of the arts and cultural activities in the Soviet Union, especially in using these things to create propaganda for the state. Great work!
Comment on Open Up, Communism is Knocking on Your Door by cnritchey
I love the images you included in this post and your style of writing made this post very interesting. I like how you mentioned that it didn’t really matter if someone was “technically” a kulak– if they opposed the policy, they were deported. I also find it interesting how this group was strategically chosen as a scapegoat, and I find the propaganda poster you included really interesting. Great work!
Comment on Legislating Gender by cnritchey
Grace, I thought your post was really interesting and you brought up a lot of great points. Although women were allowed to fulfill less traditionally “female” roles in society, such as going to school and working more technical jobs, they were still expected to continue their old roles too– so basically they just had double the expectations. It’s interesting to see how quickly views on women and what their rights are have changed up to this point in the Soviet Union.
Comment on The Use of Propaganda in Films by Caroline Ritchey
Katelyn, I really liked your focus on cultural/artistic aspects of the Soviet Union. These films show how Soviet control aimed to permeate all aspects of life– even movies and other forms of art and culture were oozing with propaganda. This theme continues in many different forms throughout the lifetime of the Soviet Union and I think you’ll find it very interesting!
Comment on Kirov and Killing by cnritchey
Taylor, I enjoyed your post and I think the background you gave to the purges is really important. I like how you talked about Stalin’s investigation; whether Stalin ordered the assassination or not, it really was the perfect event to begin the purges with more of an “excuse” or reasoning behind it.
Comment on The Not So Great Terror by cnritchey
I really liked your post! I think it’s important to recognize not just the raw cruelty of the purges, but also how they affected the army and the government in general. Removing the majority of the people in the government or army ranks also removes a lot of the experience, which as you mentioned becomes quite evident later on.
Comment on Soviet Shock Workers and Stakhavonites by cnritchey
I really liked the context you gave in this post and I think it’s a really interesting topic. In order to keep productivity high, the Soviets had to be very creative. I also found it interesting how you mentioned the Stakhavonites helped in innovation as well.
