“Alexander, our older brother. Set out for a great adventure…..our mother should have just named you Laika…”
You’ve made my day by including Arcade Fire, Stilyagi, hipsters and Soviet jazz all in the same post!!!!
I wrote about musical homages to Laika and discuss the Arcade Fire song (briefly) here: http://www.nss.org/resources/library/spacepolicy/Remembering_the_Space_Age.pdf (my essay starts on p. 237)
What do you make of the 2008 movie? I find it so fascinating — the Stilyagi were the rebels of their era, and also the cool, daring to be different, kids. I’m intrigued by their rehabilitation (and the way they are glamorized in the 21st century. They definitely serve as exhibit A for how rich and interesting life was in the Soviet 50s.
Month: April 2018
Comment on A new direction in the Soviet Union by A. Nelson
Great to read your post! I agree with Cameron that this is gives us a good overview of the period. Now work for a more personal response to primary materials on a topic that interests you.
Comment on Prisoners of War and “de-Stalinization” by A. Nelson
The GULAG is such an important topic. Your post works really well in combination with the one you wrote last week. Check back on the way the post-Stalin amnesties unfolded though. The initial pardons were relatively small — the big release of prisoners comes when “The Thaw” is more fully underway.
Also thanks for alerting me to “Simple History”! For a two minute summary, this isn’t bad. I want to check out some of the other videos as well.
Comment on Prisoners of War and “de-Stalinization” by A. Nelson
Good point. Of course returning POWs (soldiers), also ended up in the GULAG (because the regime suspected them of collaborating with the Germans — otherwise, how would they have survived Nazi brutality?)
Comment on The Beginnings of the Cold War by A. Nelson
The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and the formation of West Germany are definitely key developments in the early Cold War. I think Stalin was definitely right about the intention to establish capitalism and liberal democracy in West Germany. Why do you think this caused so much concern for the Soviets?
Comment on Another Explosion in the Cold War by A. Nelson
Check out Brett’s post on the role of nuclear weapons in the Cold War. Rachel has posed a really good question about the ethics of nuclear war as well: https://bmester.wordpress.com/2018/04/01/i-triple-doggie-dare-you-to-nuke-me/#comment-27
Comment on I Triple Doggie Dare You To Nuke Me by A. Nelson
Rachel raises an important issue on the ethics of using nuclear weapons. How do we justify the development and proliferation of these weapons when the cost of victory is mutual destruction? Also, I love the lead-in to this post — very engaging. Thanks!
Comment on The Worst Thing About Prison was… the Dementors by mauramcd
Justin, I actually found a lot of contradicting information about the re-integration of prisoners into society, either people receiving compensation and support for finding jobs, or facing numerous obstacles when returning home. I believe the disparate experiences were based on how the prisoners were classified/how long they spent in the camps.
Comment on A Dog Called Laika by ejrhodes5
Great post! I thought about writing on this topic, but decided on a different one. It’s really sad that quite a few dogs died in the Soviet space program. You’d think there would be some form of public outcry against this, but I’m guessing most citizens were afraid of speaking out (or had bigger troubles to deal with).
Comment on Blog 5 – The Famine of 1946 by A. Nelson
What a heartbreaking topic! Check back on “The End of Rationing” essay, though. I’m not sure the claims you make here about the connections between famine and rationing are supported by that text. Also, to what extent do you think the postwar famine was “artificially created”? That is, how much of the famine was the regime’s fault? That’s amazing that the story was picked up in the Western press. What kind of response do you think American readers had to those images?
