Bree, one of my favorite subjects of research and posts this semester was women in Soviet Russia and I really appreciated reading this post to wrap up the 20th century in Russia for women. It seems like women in Soviet Russia often faced conflicting ideals/thoughts on feminism. Previously it had been having to be a worker, but also a domestic and supportive wife and mother. Here in your post you discuss how in some ways women were supposed to support prostitution /understand it because women were taking ownership of their bodies or if they had to for money. But Russian women also sometimes felt revealing their bodies was a degradation of themselves and the state and that there were men who felt this way too. I think this article was a great representation of modern ideals clashing with traditional Russian values and how that impacted Soviet women.
Author: Grace on 20th Century Russia
Comment on The Elephant(s foot) In The Room by Grace on 20th Century Russia
I also wrote about Chernobyl this week and really enjoyed reading your post! I did not know that the US had hidden the 3 Mile Island incident from the public and thought that was a great connection that you made. When writing my post I had the question “I wonder if a lack of social media made it easier to hide it from the public?” which I think applies to your post as well. Even without social media Russians knew something had happened, just not to what extent and what it meant, but I think a lack of social media definetly applies to the US example.
Comment on Betrayal at the Kremlin! by Grace on 20th Century Russia
Not to repeat all the comments above…but I really enjoyed your humorous narrative in this post. I think your post did a great job of highlighting ways that Khrushchev denounced Stalin and his ways. You mention that Khrushchev was a member of Stalin’s inner circle before his death, that makes me wonder if he was a true follower under Stalin or if he was slyly doing things that might have undermined Stalin
Comment on Blog 5 – The Famine of 1946 by Grace on 20th Century Russia
Nhi I thought you chose a really interesting topic to write on this week. One of the facts you quoted was that Russia only had 38% of the working age men that they had before the war, that is crazy to think about! I try to picture what would happen to our society if something like that occurred to our population, it is crazy to think that they continued on. I thought your post had a lot of really good information in it, but I do wonder if there were differences in famine experience for those in urban or rural areas. Like did rural citizens have it better off since they were producing the agriculture, or were urban citizens better off since the government was aware of those citizens first-hand?
Comment on Not a BUDAful place to be by Grace on 20th Century Russia
Claire, I was impressed with how much detail and background you had in your piece. I also thought your personal connection to and experience in Budapest was really cool! I really enjoyed your post because I think often it is easy to get sucked into the details of the war without really considering what happened after the war to places other than the main countries involved. You mention how children were supposed to turn in family members who were not committed to the Communist agenda, which sounds extremely difficult, it makes me wonder how often it really took place.
Comment on Sixth International Youth Festival by Grace on 20th Century Russia
Hey Rachel! From the research I did I think I have some answers so here’s my best shot: So it had been held the previous five years, however this was the first year it was held in Russia so it was a very big year! Yes the festival was made to attract a young audience, this was part of the purpose the Soviet Government (the organizers of the event). They had hoped to boost morale and support in the young people, while also promoting their worldview/lifestyle to the international community!
Comment on All is Fair in Love and War by Grace on 20th Century Russia
Bree, I also read this article on the 17 moments site and found it very interesting. I thought your post was a great discussion of the topic, I think it is easy to get caught up in the logistics of war, but that it is also important to learn about what was going on in society at the time. I think it is interesting that in some ways men and women were in these very traditional roles of courtship and romance, but in other ways the gender norms were disappearing as women did work they had never done before.
Comment on Episode 5: The Motherland Strikes Back by Grace on 20th Century Russia
Ethan I was very impressed with your post, but especially with the links and images you included in your post! I also had not heard of these oil fields before or their significance so it was interesting to learn more about them and the significance they would play.
Comment on In Russia, Champagne Drinks You by Grace on 20th Century Russia
I thought this post was very interesting to read. I agree that champagne has a connotation of wealth and status, so it is interesting how Russians tried to use these ideals to sell their own Russian champagne. I also think its interesting how a product like this was being pushed, when many citizens were still going hungry. The juxtaposition of starvation and ‘luxury’ alcohol and what that says about the Russian society at the time.
Comment on Episode 4: A New Purge by Grace on 20th Century Russia
I thought your post was really interesting to read, and was an interesting perspective. Rather than just focusing on the purges or the NKVD in total, you chose the man who was primarily responsible for the decisions that caused so many deaths. I thought your closing remark was also important, how actions by only a few men could haunt Russia for decades and create a stereotype that would haunt them.
