In the late 1950’s, after the death of Joseph Stalin, the USSR was in disarray, despite crackdowns and tightening of communist social standards, many saw Stalin’s death as an opportunity for rebellion and change. Among these were the Stilyagi, the Russian equivalent of America’s hippie movement. The Stilyagi dressed outlandishly, idolized the west and listened […]
Read moreIn the post World War Two era the USSR found itself in a strong position, with most of Eastern Europe under its control, and a great armed threat to its existence annihilated, the Soviets were safe within their lands again, but they needed to consolidate their gains, and to do so they needed to harness […]
Read moreOn the fifth of July, 1943, the Wehrmacht commenced its last major offensive along the eastern front, and also kicked off the largest battle in human history. Nearly a million Germans, supported by thousands of tanks and aircraft, launched a furious attack against the Red Army, which had amassed 2.5 million men around Kursk, and […]
Read moreIn 1937 when Boris Laskin wrote “Three Tank Drivers” the Nazi war machine was ramping up its modernization and mobilization efforts and tensions were building in the East as the Japanese prepared for an excursion in to Soviet territory. On the home front the second five year plan was coming to an end, an era […]
Read moreOn the night of August 31st 1935, a 30 year old coal minder named Aleksei Stakhanov cut 102 tons of coal in under six hours, more than 14 times the standard coal quota for his mine. In a single evening of fervent work, the new soviet workers movement, Stakhanovism, was born, and a hero of […]
Read moreIn the early 1920’s, the newly solidified government of Russia began seeking to consolidate its gains and secure its future as the sole ruling group in Moscow. One of the primary objectives they set before themselves was the destruction of the Eastern Orthodox church, thus began years of anti religious campaigns, church closings and occasional, […]
Read moreIn 1923 Leon Trotsky wrote an article for Pravda in which he explored the relationship of the church to the revolution, espoused the virtues of Cinema as a tool for re educating the masses, and went about describing how cinema could be used as a weapon by the Bolsheviks to destroy alcoholism and religion within the budding […]
Read moreRussian Futurism was a style of art originating in Russian in the early 20th century, initially, it was poetry and literature, a group of young artists seeking to change the status quo as artists so often do. The first futurist painting, “The City Rises” by Umberto Boccioni, shows the hustle and bustle of modern urban life […]
Read moreIn 1865 Nikolai Leskov published a novel entitled “the Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District”, in this story Leskov chronicles the drama of a discontented merchants wife and her enthralling, if short sighted, lover. In the long run of course, the truth comes out, and the main character Katerina is caught in the act after killing […]
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