Imagine a world where the bare necessities like water, shampoo, or even jeans were beyond your grasp. What lengths would you go to obtain these simple consumer goods that we have come to take for granted? In the image above, Russian poet Smirnovskii sums it up …
Category: Greatest Hits
Russian Rock’n’Roll, an Avoidance of Mind Control?
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Rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union is far different than that of what we in America picture as rock’n’roll. Listening to the above song you may be able to tell a few minor differences but once you learn of the title, My address is the Soviet Union, and read the lyrics (posted below) you can tell that this … Continue reading Russian Rock’n’Roll, an Avoidance of Mind Control?
The Sino-Soviet Split
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Mao Zedong and Stalin (BBC News http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35427926) On February 24th, 1956 Nikita Khrushchev gave his “Secret Speech” “On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences” to the assembled delegates of the Communist Party’s Twentieth Congress. In it, Khrushchev harshly criticized Stalin both politically and personally for the violent nature of his government, the cult that surrounded … Continue reading The Sino-Soviet Split →
Betrayal at the Kremlin!
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Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev on the tribune of Lenin’s Mausoleum, Moscow, Soviet Union, c1935-c1937. Look at these two men! Don’t they look like they could be best friends? Don’t you think they would share a bottle of good ol’ Russian vodka together? Khrushchev was a member of Stalin’s inner circle. Within 6 months of…
A Dog Called Laika
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With the successful launch of the Sputnik satellite, the Soviets gained a foothold in their ongoing Space Race with the United States. As they did not have the capability to create a single rocket to launch the satellite into space, the Soviet scientist in charge of the project designed a cluster of rockets which, when …
The Girl with the Tokarev SVT-40 semi-automatic rifle.
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From a western perspective, female roles during wartime are kept nearly exclusively to the home front. Women are placed in temporary industry jobs in order to advance the war effort, which is where iconic personas such as Rosie the Riveter emerge. However, this concept of females roles vary on the eastern front. During World War … Continue reading The Girl with the Tokarev SVT-40 semi-automatic rifle. →
Maksim Gorky
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The 1930s in the USSR was a period of great change on the cultural front, a period in which revolutionary values were replaced with Stalinist ideology and policies. A crucial part of this “Great Retreat”, as it is now called, was the re-unification of literature with Party values; thus making a move away from the … Continue reading Maksim Gorky →
In Russia, Champagne Drinks You
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Of all of France’s claims to fame found throughout history, one of the most iconic is that sweet, bubbly champagne found at almost any celebration. Hailing from the region of France named Champagne, this type of wine is traditionally a sparkling white that uses grapes grown in the region and is normally put through a … Continue reading In Russia, Champagne Drinks You →
The Roles of Women & Revolution
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“Women in the U.S.S.R. are accorded equal rights with men in all spheres of economic, government, cultural, political and other public activity.” –Constitution of the U.S.S.R., Article 122 (Stalin Society of North America) With this declaration in the Constitution of the U.S.S.R in 1924 the Bolsheviks stated that women would be … Continue reading The Roles of Women & Revolution
Women: Powerful or just Domestic?
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This image, entitled “The Delegate” from the visual essay, “Models & Counter-models of Gender” within the subject of Revolutionary Manliness reminded me of Liuda in the silent film, “Bed and Sofa.” This image depicting women in the communist 1920’s is grouped with four others, each different from the next. Below are two starkly contrasting photographs, …
