Imagine you are a Soviet citizen who works in a locomotive building plant day in and day out, just to make ends meet. You work hard to provide for your family and to provide food on the table so that your children are able to eat. For the last ten years, the economy has been… Continue reading Shoot to Kill →
Tag: Homefront
The Unconquered People of the Soviet Union
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(Soviet Poster Calling the People of the Occupied Territories to Arms) The German advance was lightning quick in the early days of Operation Barbarossa. The Soviets troops, completely unprepared, were unable to hold on to territory and fell back toward the Russian border, leaving tens of thousands of soldiers behind in the panic. They took … Continue reading →
Andrei Zhdanov’s Cultural Purification
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Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Zhdanov joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolshevik) in 1915. He quickly rose up through the party ranks in Leningrad and was Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet from 20 July 1938–20 June 1947. The following Video discusses Zhdanov’s party career. War Time Cultural relaxation The external pressure of WWII brought about an … Continue reading Andrei Zhdanov’s Cultural Purification
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
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Russian family life has had a turbulent past with differing levels of control by the government and this was no different during wartime. Traditional gender roles were challenged by wartime needs, passion was at an all time high because of the unknown nature of a war, and the aftermath left many children born out of… Continue reading Hit Me With Your Best Shot →
Women and Children First (Unless you’re a Soviet)
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The Eastern front of the Soviet nation was quickly pushed back by advancing German forces. The Soviet military was able to fend off the first wave of attacks and held their ground long enough for key cities along the front to evacuate. The government understood that they could not hold the front and therefore in … Continue reading Women and Children First (Unless you’re a Soviet)
She Defends the Motherland
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During Russia’s Great Patriotic War, films about the war effort dominated Russia’s film industry. With the majority of film production safely moved to Kazakhstan, the studios began to release war films to rally the Soviet people, and many of these focused on the partisan war effort. The role of women in the partisan war effort was […]
The Stress of War Upon the 1917 Revolutions
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(Pictured above are Russian soldiers training without rifles, showing a lack of production and resources within the country during World War I) Though it was not the only cause of the 1917 Revolutions, World War I played a large role in expediting the revolutions in the years prior to them. By 1917, Russia had taken … Continue reading The Stress of War Upon the 1917 Revolutions
Hangry Russians: The Importance of Food Instability
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Effect of War Limited military training = disorganized, undisciplined army Mobilization of industry = hindrance on production “inflation and food shortages = dissatisfaction” (Freeze, 273) Unstable government = anxious lower/middle classes “Increasingly, the state lost the capacity of requisition of food, fuel, and manpower, reflecting the decline in its moral authority” (Freeze, 272). The … Continue reading Hangry Russians: The Importance of Food Instability
