Nick I thought your post was very interesting to read and had a lot of great information in it! I thought your first paragraph was a great introduction setting up how integral alcohol had been in Russian culture, I think this supported by the movie we …
Author: Grace Callanan
Comment on Episode 6: Return of the Jet Age by Grace Callanan
Ethan, I thought your post was cool since it felt somewhat like a human interest piece that hints to a broader political landscape. It really shows how so many things can be influenced by politics and government, like PanAm failing, while Aeroflot survived. I thought your post was really neat, and made me wonder more about if there were tensions between American flights to Russia/what considerations had to be made since it was during the Cold War.
Comment on Just Another Proxy War by Grace Callanan
Claire, I loved your sarcasm in the first paragraph about the “minor” things that the new leader did that led to revolt. I also thought your post was informative because I think a lot of people have a basic knowledge of the war in Afghanistan and the Soviet’s involvement, but not really the backstory/what started it. So I felt like I learned more about this conflict from reading your post. I thought the picture you found was a great image, and would have been interested if you had found any primary sources.
Comment on Comrades of the Traveling Pants by Grace Callanan
Ethan, I thought both your post and title were very entertaining! I thought the discussion of the black market in a communist regime was very interesting to learn about, and how to access to some of these goods, like jeans, could be indicative of someone’s status. I guess what I would like to learn more about after reading your post, is if people ever got in trouble when they were obviously utilizing the black market, for example if someone has American jeans, could they get in trouble for them?
Comment on Showdown at Damanskii! by Grace Callanan
Ethan I really enjoyed your post because it was a topic I hadn’t much about previously. Mostly when I think of the Post Stalin area I think of the social shifts in Russia and the Cold War. What I didn’t realize was that while Russia was “fighting” the Cold War with America, they were also feeling pressures from their communist neighbor China. I liked that your post detailed a part of history that probably does not get as much coverage in Western history since it is two countries on the Asian continent.
Comment on “Make Love Not War” by Grace Callanan
I thought your post included a lot of great details about the social changes in Russia after Stalin’s death! I thought it was really interesting because often it’s easy to think of Russia (especially in the 1900’s) as being very different from Western culture. But as you mentioned, their society was embracing things like Christian Dior and other western fashions, and Western music.
Comment on From Stalin with Love: The Victor’s Plight by Grace Callanan
Ethan I thought your post was extremely detailed and well-researched! I hadn’t heard or really even thought about all the problems Soviet Russia would have after the war in terms of rebuilding. I was shocked to hear how much of the Red Army was cut, I can’t even imagine having that many men suddenly out of work and trying to support them in other ways through economic initiatives. I also think your post depicts how influential Stalin was in this part of history and makes me wonder what happened to the Red Army after his death.
Comment on An Unorthodox Approach by Grace Callanan
Ethan, I thought your post was interesting and very knowledgable. I think looking at religion in Russia during the 20th century since there is such a connection between state and the church. I like how you mentioned that the rebirth of the church was a risk to Stalin but that it paid off, I think it would have been easy for religion to condemn Stalin (although he would have shut them down quickly then). But that religion was actually able to help boost morale and therefore Stalin’s influence is very interesting.
Comment on The Party Don’t Start Until Russia Walks In by Grace Callanan
I found the Russian champagne article on the Soviet History page interesting as well. Champagne is not something I would ever associate with Russia, so it was interesting to learn about its development there. I loved the detail you included about how some grocery stores would have champagne on tap, now that’s a crazy image. I wonder if Russian citizens used champagne as a celebratory drink/a higher class drink, or if they still drank it more regularly since they could get it so easily.
Comment on The Party Don’t Start Until Russia Walks In by Grace Callanan
I found the Russian champagne article on the Soviet History page interesting as well. Champagne is not something I would ever associate with Russia, so it was interesting to learn about its development there. I loved the detail you included about how some grocery stores would have champagne on tap, now that’s a crazy image. I wonder if Russian citizens used champagne as a celebratory drink/a higher class drink, or if they still drank it more regularly since they could get it so easily.
