The Soviet Union began to develop a metro system to make an impression upon others that they are modernizing. I found it interesting that Nikita Khrushchev was the Moscow Municipal Soviet chairman in charge of overseeing this project. Stalin used the project as a way to showcase the strength and progress of his administration. The …
Month: May 2019
Industrializing Pays Off: Tanks
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It is common knowledge the Germans invaded Russia in 1941 and brought the USSR on the side of the Allies. And the world has glorified and immortalized the Battle of Stalingrad as the Soviet’s greatest victory and the turning point of the Eastern Front in World War II. However, not many seem to know of … Continue reading Industrializing Pays Off: Tanks
Was the Virgin Lands Campaign a Success?
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After the death of Stalin in March 1953, Nikita Khrushchev succeeded as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Georgii Malenkov (Council of Ministers) and Lavrentii Beria (leader of the KGB) joined Khrushchev as formed a collective leadership. This collective leadership quickly derailed, as Khrushchev and … Continue reading Was the Virgin Lands Campaign a Success? →
Down with Religion
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What role did nationality and religion play in the formation of the Soviet State? After the 1917 Revolution, one of the Bolsheviks’ main objective was to reverse the deeply-rooted Russian Orthodox ideals in order to establish gosateizm (state atheism). The new regime confiscated church property, ridiculed religion and its followers, and propagated atheism in the … Continue reading Down with Religion →
Stalemate on Stalin
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After Josef Stalin’s death in the USSR, the question of succession posed a difficulty for the Community Party and what would come next. Typically within a party of the democratic centralist type, new leaders are proposed by the old leaders through slate elections, but in this case, the party was questioned with an emergency- one … Continue reading Stalemate on Stalin →
Back and Forth on Abortions in 1930s Soviet Union
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In 1936, abortion was outlawed by the Soviet government. Though it had been legalized in 1920, by the 1930s, there was a need to combat declining birth rates as well as a need to preserve the “family unit.” The above photo is an example of propaganda directed at women in the Soviet Union. The text … Continue reading Back and Forth on Abortions in 1930s Soviet Union →
A Great and Honorable Duty? For Who?
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The Soviet 1920 law on the legalization of abortions was conflicting in attitude, but provided Soviet woman with guaranteed free medical options for abortion. Following Soviet government studies on the population rate, the Stalin government changed its view of abortion. It was no longer a right for the health of women. Child birth was no … Continue reading A Great and Honorable Duty? For Who? →
Guns or Records? What do athletes want?
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Throughout the Carter administration tensions between the United States and Soviet Union were on the rise. The growing power of the Sandinista Communist faction in Nicaragua in 1977-1978 created as sense of urgency in the United States to perpetuate the policy of containment of communist ideology. The idea of containment became a domestic emergency following … Continue reading Guns or Records? What do athletes want? →
Songs of War, Olympic Rings, and the New Morality – The Last Soviet Decades
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Corruption, female sexuality, and rock-n-roll…This week’s posts engaged the complex dynamics of Soviet society in its final decades. The invasion of Afghanistan, the Moscow Olympics, and the Chernobyl nuclear accident attracted the most attention, but visitors will find wonderful discussions of popular music, Gorbachev’s efforts to limit alcohol consumption, and the intransigent problems of Soviet agriculture as well. Looking forward to the end of the Soviet Union (and the Semester), these posts provide context for the major stressors and changes that affected the Soviet system in its final years. Enjoy!
The Tale of Two Yuri(es): A Story of Corruption and Diamonds
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My spelling of the plural version of the name Yuri is criminal, but it cannot compare to the crimes of the children of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, Galina and Yuri. The reign of Brezhnev has been labeled as the “age of stagnation” for the vast amount of corruption in the top levels of power. This all …
Continue reading “The Tale of Two Yuri(es): A Story of Corruption and Diamonds”
