Soviet History S18 Comments

It is really interesting to compare recruitment and other such posters to ones we had in the US. The resemblance is remarkable and it makes one wonder if it really is copying of a system that works or if there is some form of psychological appeal that involves the design of these posters. On the one hand it could just be a coincidence but with some many effective posters that have the same general theme it also could be some form of emotional and mental appeal that goes into these posters and how they have the ability to approach the common man for a larger goal.

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I thought this post was really interesting, and I like how you focused on the tensions between Communist ideology and the necessities at this time for growing and maintaining a state. The Soviets relied very heavily on their army, so it’s interesting to look at the beginning of it. Really interesting focus, I think you’ll be interested to continue looking at the military aspect of the Soviet Union throughout this class!

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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?

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Awesome post! I really like how you discussed the unrest in Russia after the Russo-Japanese War and how people felt insecure with such a “great power” losing face in the public sphere. It’s interesting to look at how citizens felt about Russia losing to a state that they perceived as much smaller in size and ability. You did a great job of looking at this and explaining the other many reasons that Russia experienced so many riots following World War I.

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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.

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So I also focused on cultural changes for my blog post but what I love so much about this post is the details you went into. I really enjoy the specific examples you listed and how you took some of the films scene by scene. It is intensely interesting …

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