It Was the End of the World as We Knew It (And Did We Feel Fine?)

"It Was the End of the World as We Knew It (And Did We Feel Fine?)" by Landry Henderson

The Pandemic Semester – Open Letter to History 3644

What a difference six weeks make. When we switched to remote learning in mid-March, there were fewer than 200,000 confirmed cases of the novel corona virus in the world. Seven…

Introduction to the Site

Perestroika. Glasnost’. Acceleration. Democracy (1985). From 17 Moments in Soviet History This is the course website for History 3644, 20th-Century Russia, taught at Virginia Tech in the spring semester of…

A Look At The March Referendum: What Did it Mean for the Soviet State?

by De'Vonte A Tinsley • May 5, 2020

Openness and restructuring When Mikhail Gorbachev embarked on his crusade of reforms and unleashed the forces of “Glasnost” and “Perestroika” he had confidence in the nationality policy of the Soviet State, and therefore felt comfortable opening up Soviet society to a wide range of economic change and political discord. However, Gorbachev soon found himself inContinue reading “A Look At The March Referendum: What Did it Mean for the Soviet State?”

by mnerickson • April 27, 2020

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Soviet Union was the largest arms exporter in the world. According to Robbin Laird’s article “Soviet Arms Trade with the Noncommunist Third World”, in 1980 the USSR was responsible for 34% of the world’s arms exports. A CIA report from 1980 places the value of those salesContinue reading “With Their Tanks, and Their Bombs, and Their Bombs, and Their Guns: Soviet Arms Exports”

by landryhenderson2 • April 26, 2020

Before You Start Freaking Out . . . Big disclaimer: this post WILL be a tad bit off-topic. I had a hard time picking something I really resonated with among the possible topics in the Seventeen Moments, BUT this article about the “detente” period in the late 60s and 70s got the ball rolling forContinue reading “It Was the End of the World as We Knew It (And Did We Feel Fine?)”

by jakej99 • April 26, 2020

I was pretty excited to see the Soviet–Afghan War in the event timeline for this week. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has always interested me and this made the perfect excuse to do some more research about it. What I found especially interesting was the similarities that this war had with the Vietnam war. IContinue reading “Afghanistan, the Vietnam of the Soviet Union”

by jroach35 • April 26, 2020

In January of 1968, Alexander Dubcek took the position of First Secretary from Antonin Novotny, a man who struggled working with the youth and intellectuals who were beginning to take on a western influence in their lives. While Dubcek promised to stay in the Warsaw Pact, some of his policies were influenced by western ideals.Continue reading “Socialism With a Face: Prague Spring 1968”

by benhop1 • April 26, 2020

At first, the Soviet Union during the 1970’s appears to be a unexpected source of great science fiction literature. While the romanticized themes of cybernetics and automation certainly made their way into Soviet pop culture, the Soviet Union missed the

by michaelboeh • April 19, 2020

When examing the Soviet Union during the Nikita Khrushchev era, many people think about the start of the Space Race between the USSR and the USA. The competition dominated the 1960s as both nations wanted to be the first, and, perhaps most powerful, nation in space. Growing up in America, I was always taught and …

Continue reading “Who Actually Won the Space Race?”

by kaytshaffer • April 19, 2020

“It was morning—the beginning of another day which, just like hundreds of days before it and thousands of days to come, would be filled with the bitterness and boredom of endless, terribly petty and soul-destroying work, all the things which filled the life of a housewife, the life of millions and millions of women.” (Fadeev)Continue reading “What’s a Woman to Think? That She Doesn’t Have Time for Anything.”

by Kendall Foster • April 19, 2020

In the wake of The Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union needed a leader that would rebuild the state from the remnants that were left when the war ended. Khrushchev was the one who stepped up and seemingly forced himself to step into the role Stalin once occupied. However, he was not keen on taking […]

by Tom Patton • April 19, 2020

Stalin, in the early 1950s, press the USSR heavy industries along with the Soviet Military, to develop a rocket program that ultimately would lead to the Russian ICBM or Semyorka, also called the R-7. The first successful flight occurred on 21 August 1957. The “chief designer”, whose identity remained a state secret until 1966, was […]

by mnerickson • April 13, 2020

Over the last week, we’ve been talking about the inexorible Soviet war machine that, once awakened, slowly ground the Nazis into the dirt. It did this through shear inexaustible weight of men, materiel, and machines. For this week’s blog post, I want to focus on the “war machine” part of that war machine, in particularContinue reading “Let’s Talk About Tanks Baby: T-34 and Soviet Armor in the Second World War”

by natalieg99 • April 12, 2020

Seventeen Moments in Soviet History notes that “the full-scale mobilization of men to the front [during World War II] placed women in leading roles in kolkhozes and factories, in families and communities.” Gregory L. Freeze, in his book, Russia: A History, adds that by the end of the summer of 1941 “women comprised 70 per …

Continue reading “Wait For Me…”

by rtemple2022 • April 12, 2020

On July 5, 1943, the German Army launched Operation Citadel. It was an attempt to encircle and crush a bulge of Soviet troops concentrated in and around the city of Kursk. This bulge stretched for 150 miles from north to south, and jutted 100 miles west into German lines(https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Kursk). The Germans attempted to drive behindContinue reading “The Battle of Kursk: Fields of Destruction”

by laurenhurt • April 12, 2020

Привет! To all who celebrate, Happy Easter, and I hope that everyone is staying safe and well! This week I want to talk about how the Soviets managed to prevail during World War II, specifically focusing on the willpower and patriotism of the Soviet people. The Soviet people were game changers during World …

Continue reading “A Tribute to the Soviet People”

by alyssadavid99 • April 12, 2020

One of the most peculiar things, that I believe, occurred as a result of World War II, was the alliance between the Soviet Union, the United States , and the United Kingdom. This was an alliance that was, from the get go, purely strategic and was, on several occasions, riddled with suspicions of and tensions …

Continue reading “Just Because They’re Allies, Doesn’t Mean They’re Friends: The Unusual Alliance between the USSR, US, and UK.”

by jvillvt • April 12, 2020

The spread of the plague has led to the cancellation of many long-awaited summer events, including the highly anticipated 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the famous 2020 Coachella Music Festival. Luckily, the Estonian Song and Dance Festival evaded these unforeseen circumstances this summer by holding their most recent festival last year, the festival has been taking … Continue reading CoachEstonian Music Festival →

by Tom Patton • April 5, 2020

The Soviet government, under Josef Stalin, determined that it was time to schedule a census of the USSR for January 1937. We need to look at the results of those censuses from the perspectives of contemporary time and again in today’s time. The purpose for taking the census in 1937 was to show the population […]

by andrewgrant99 • April 5, 2020

1930’s in the Soviet Union: The Historical Background the Canal was built inThe Soviets during the 30’s underwent many drastic changes, increased industrialization and great progress was achieved, but at a great cost of human lives. One of the great achievements of this era, was the construction of the Great Fergana Canal, it became a …

Continue reading “Soviet Industrialization and the Building of the Great Fergana Canal (1939) by Andrew Grant”

by jvillvt • April 5, 2020

This past January, the Academy-Award winner for best adapted screenplay was Jojo Rabbit, directed by Taika Watiti, based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens. Along with best adapted screenplay, the film was nominated for best picture, best supporting actress (on behalf of Scarlett Johansson), and best film editing. The Oscar win was also … Continue reading Jojo Russki →

by landryhenderson2 • April 5, 2020

High Maintenance Taste DISCLAIMER: I’m using a lot of information from the Seventeen Moments in Soviet History site under the topic “Upheaval in the Opera”. I’ll include a hyperlink here for future reference! Now, where to begin? I guess we’ll start with Stalin’s taste in art. Let’s just say he’s a little more . .Continue reading “Shock Value of Success: Rebel to the Grain”

by natalieg99 • March 29, 2020

The New Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented in 1921 by Vladimir Lenin as an attempt by the Bolsheviks to recover and revive the Russian economy after years of War Communism. War Communism was the economic policy during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921 and its main focus was to enable the Red Army …

Continue reading “The Scissors Crisis”

by M. Saville • March 28, 2020

With the formation of the Soviet State, religion was involved a lot. The Soviets wanted to have complete authority over the people and wanted people to look to them, not religion, as saviors. The Soviet state took property and valuables from the churches, killed followers of religions, and promoted atheism in the state. Clearly, …

Continue reading “Religion in the Soviet State”

by usmc1776 • February 2, 2020

At the turn of the 20th century the Russian empire was undergoing an economic transformation. One of prominent industries was the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Construction on the nearly 5,800 mile long railway began in 1891. Tsar Alexander III believed the railroad system was a cornerstone in imperial ambitions and wanted to connect European Russia …

Continue reading “Imperial Russia’s Westward Expansion”

A Look At The March Referendum: What Did it Mean for the Soviet State?

by De'Vonte A Tinsley • May 5, 2020

by andrewp18 • May 4, 2020

Having been forcefully occupied and integrated by the Soviet Union as per the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 1939, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were not incredibly loyal to the Soviet Union. From 1940 onward, Moscow underwent Sovietization policies … Continue reading →

by Claire Craig • May 3, 2020

In 1895, when Gorbachev launched his anti-alcohol campaign, his goal was to create a better society by limiting the consumption of alcohol. He took extreme measures to reduce alcohol consumption, such as limiting shops that sold alcohol, destroying vineyards, and reducing the production of alcohol significantly. Certainly Gorbachev’s campaign had several positive effects. The stateContinue reading “The Sobering of Society: The Effect of the Anti-Alcohol Movement on the Family”

by Siria Aparicio • May 3, 2020

In many countries, alcohol is used during celebrations among family, get together with friends, and other hospitality purposes but when used in moderation. Alcohol generated an enormous revenue from indirect taxes for the Soviet Union and in 1979 the state received twenty-five billion rubles in taxes from alcohol beverage. (Anti-Alcohol Campaign) Even though alcohol is …

Continue reading “The Dry Law”

by Мэтт Манилли • May 3, 2020

The Chernobyl Meltdown is one of the most well known nuclear disasters around the world. This particular disaster occurred in 1986 where a lack of knowledge and a poorly put together experiment caused Reactor 4 to quickly become unstable and blow the containment lids sky high further allowing the secretion of radiation into the atmosphere […]

by kellan17 • May 3, 2020

In U.S history I was told that the falling of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the symbolic end of the Soviet Union. This appears to be the common consensus among politicians of the time as well as historians. President Ronald Reagan is even championed for helping bring down this great wall as well asContinue reading “Chernobyl: The Not So Symbolic End Of The Peoples Union.”

by jakej99 • May 3, 2020

In 1985, newly elected General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev, started the anti-alcohol campaign. This quick and intense campaign attempted to solve a problem that had been effecting Russia for hundreds of years: alcoholism. Today I want to give a little background of the problem, how it effected the Soviet Union both sociallyContinue reading “Why Did They Ban the Booze?”

by Isaiah Still • May 3, 2020

The Soviet Union by 1991 was in complete disarray and decline. General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, taking over in 1985, had done much to try and reform the Soviet Union in order for it to keep pace with the West. However, the declining economy and the opposition by hard-line members of the Communist Party of Soviet […]

by michaelboeh • May 2, 2020

During the early morning on April 26, 1986, one of the most significant and influential moments of the last 40 years occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. During a test, the plant’s no. 4 reactor completely exploded, allowing radiation to escape and spread across northern Ukraine along with the rest of Europe. Following the …

Continue reading “Chernobyl: Who Was At Fault?”

by paulod1599 • April 30, 2020

It should not come as a surprise that alcohol is intrinsically connected to Russia culture. From the perspective of the government, alcohol is providing a hefty financial benefit. In 1979, Russia pulled in over 25.4 billion rubles for taxes related to alcohol purchases which totaled up more than income tax revenue from the entire population.Continue reading “Summer Darty planned? Russian Anti-Alcohol Campaign will make you think twice”

by thutton • April 29, 2020

On Friday afternoon, April 26, 1986, life in Pripyat Ukraine was wonderful. The newly founded city was flourishing with men, women, and children, all enjoying the modernism of the new nuclear city. It is estimated that at the time, there were roughly 50,000 people living and working in Pripyat, essentially all in support of the …

Continue reading “Chernobyl: Not The Only Soviet Meltdown of the Late 20th Century”

Introduction to the Site

The Pandemic Semester – Open Letter to History 3644

A Look At The March Referendum: What Did it Mean for the Soviet State?

Baltic Independence

The Sobering of Society: The Effect of the Anti-Alcohol Movement on the Family

The Dry Law