The Bolsheviks’ hostility toward religion is well-known and this is a succinct discussion of a really important topic. But that video of St. Nicholas Day 1918 (linked at the end) is really amazing. The footage itself is really interesting, but the You Tube channel even more so. The anti-semitism on the site (evident even in the title of the video) is pretty breathtaking. Wow.
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Comment on It all started with bread by A. Nelson
Agree! Some kind of upheaval was likely inevitable, but women standing for bread set things in motion. And yet we don’t hear about that very often. Why do you think that women’s radicalism isn’t foregrounded more when we study the revolution?
Comment on It was the Best of Times and it was the Worst of Times by A. Nelson
This is such a great topic! I agree with Nhi that mass culture is an important but oft-overlooked aspect of revolutionary change. In this case, you’ve touched on two key themes of the Soviet project that are intertwined here in ways that might seem disconcerting or contradictory, but actually support each other. The first is the debate about “what is art” — aka the “entertainment vs. enlightenment” debate. Popular urban culture might be petit-bourgeois and distract red-blooded workers from the revolutionary tasks at hand, but if this is supposed to be ‘the people’s” revolution, then how could the people’s culture be “bad.”? So that’s a contradiction.
And the second issue is the tension between emancipation (specifically female emancipation) and the messages you identify in the Stenka Razin poster (I’m always tempted to call him “Stinky Rozin”). Anyway, the manly peasant rebel throwing the female entertainment temptress down sort of says it all…..
Comment on I Want You for Red Army by A. Nelson
I think Diana is right about the “universal” appeal of images like the John Bull / Dmitri Moore recruitment posters. Yes, it seems weird that the communist revolutionaries would imitate the capitalists, but propaganda needs to mobilize an audience through an emotional appeal, which is what both of these posters do.
On the Red Guard issue, I think we need to give Trotsky credit here! Check back on the subject essay on 17 moments. The point is less about an all volunteer force than about forging an army (with some kind of structure and order) that could meet the challenges of the counter-revolutionary forces.
Comment on The Conspiracy of General Kornilov by A. Nelson
Good post and great questions! I let others chime in as well, but will note that Kornilov’s main target was the Soviets. He thought the PG was weak and ineffective and hoped to co-opt it. As for the “why did he do it” question, I imagine that he felt that the country was descending into chaos — with desertions from the front, peasants rebelling in the countryside, severe shortages of food and fuel in the cities, increased crime, class tensions, etc., etc. Trying to establish order might have seemed like the best (only) course of action for an aspiring military strongman.
Comment on Revolution and Consequences by A. Nelson
I agree, this post is very clear and cogent. I think the argument Bryan makes is also important –that the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly marks the end of a major chapter in revolutionary change and would have far-reaching consequences.
Comment on The Treaty of Brest Litvosk by A. Nelson
That photo from the Bundesarkhiv of the delegation is really cool. Your post highlights how punitive this peace was for the Bolsheviks, but also (rightly) points out that Lenin’s government really didn’t have much choice. Why do you think this decision was so devastating in terms of the unity of the left? Lots of revolutionaries saw this as a real betrayal. Why?
Comment on Lenin’s Soviet Children by A. Nelson
This seems like such an important vision: to emancipate future generations by focusing on education and enlightenment. Not sure what to make of happy papa Lenin in the image — seems a bit like Norman Rockwell?
Comment on War and Revolution by A. Nelson
I agree, it’s hard to overestimate the effects of years of sustained warfare on a society already under tremendous stresses. I like how you frame the trauma of World War I in terms of the earlier trauma of the Russo-Japanese war. And that image of the field hospital speaks volumes.
Comment on Kazakhs on the Move by A. Nelson
You will also want to cite the source of your image — turns out these people are Kyrgyz.
