I think it’s great how these purges end up biting Stalin in the butt during World War II. Most high ranking officials that could be a political threat are also competent in their job and are needed for the general success of the country.
Author: smaloney
Comment on Art imitates reality. (We hope) by smaloney
Propaganda posters and art like this can be incredibly useful, it can be hard to imagine what an actual socialistic utopia would look like. Having visuals like these show the masses what the end goal should be for all their hard work and effort.
Comment on Russian to Prove Something by smaloney
I feel like one of the reasons Russia has taken so long to become as modern as other European powers is just because of how absolutely massive Russia is. It would be a logistical nightmare trying to keep the whole country on the same technological level, like when they were trying to connect most major cities with railroads before WWI.
Comment on Open Up, Communism is Knocking on Your Door by smaloney
Do you think that Kulaks were targeted because they resisted collectivization, or because they probably sided with the Whites instead of with the Bolsheviks?
Comment on Young Communists and Young Thug by smaloney
I wonder if there was ever a problem the Bolsheviks faced with teaching an ideology of “permanent revolution”, were they ever worried that the people might think of using revolution against the established Bolsheviks? Also I was not expecting to see Young Thug in this post.
Comment on Women: Powerful or just Domestic? by smaloney
It’s interesting that communism emphasizes the equality of all people under a communist state, but the common people weren’t really sure how to implement that. To be a good communist you had to be somewhat masculine, but to be a good woman you still had to be traditionally feminine. These ideals were in direct contrast and a woman was going to be ridiculed for being one and not the other.
Comment on Off With Their Heads! by smaloney
Looking back at the Russian Civil War it’s easy to see why the Bolsheviks won the war, a unified message and party, the advantage of having control of the available Russian infrastructure and all that. But the Whites had numbers on their side and the huge benefit of foreign aid from many different countries that wanted communism to fail.
Comment on The Emancipation of Soviet Citizens from Religion by smaloney
It’s really great how often the Bolsheviks resort to propaganda as a solution to any problem. Don’t like religion having political power or dictating how people live their lives? Make a propaganda poster. Want other proletariats to start revolting against capitalistic governments? Make a propaganda poster. It’s just the perfect solution to any problem.
Comment on It all started with bread by smaloney
If you’re gonna revolt against something bread is a pretty great motivator. If your country is fighting a losing war, and also can’t feed it’s own people then maybe it’s time to try something new.
Comment on The Treaty of Brest Litvosk by smaloney
What’s great about the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk is that it’s surprisingly fair when compared to the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans get to keep the territory that the took from Russia during the war, prisoners of war are returned to their country, all that standard treaty practice. There’s required disarmament for Russia, but they already had plans to disarm the Imperial Army to form the Red Army.
