It really is intriguing how the Soviets would choose to stifle stifle religion (specifically the Eastern Orthodox church) when they came to power. I wonder if it was really a crusade against religion or more of a decision to deal with issues like the famine by taking the church’s wealth. It’s also kind of confusing to me that the choice to blame the church for the starvation even worked at all.

The death of Aleksandr Blok definitely had a profound effect on Russian culture, particularly in St. Petersburg. The Seventeen Moments in Soviet History site described him as believing “that his duty as an intellectual was to give expression to the inchoate feelings of the people.” I think there’s a lot to be said about a person who accepts the responsibility of becoming the written voice of a generation and that seems to be just what Blok was.

It is sad to see that a ruler of a nation would find it acceptable to kill off his own race, especially in such vast numbers. Lenin’s attempt to hold on to power through purging out all his enemies might have secured his power, but struck fear into millions. It was a precursor to the events that would take place under Stalin, where countless lives would be taken for no reason at all.

I really liked the image chosen and agree that it clearly defines one of the great struggles of communism. China had to do much of the same thing during their economic reforms in an attempt to stave off the starvation of millions. It’s crazy to think that while the aid was needed and even welcomed, it was never formally recognized

I liked this post a lot, both for the pictures you chose, which not only helped to illustrate the point you were making about the famine and U.S. aid but were also visually appealing, and for the topic itself. It is very interesting that the Soviet administration/ Lenin accepted capitalist aid and took a page out of the capitalist book by allowing a market for food between peasants, but then refused to acknowledge this. It is a sure sign of the instability of power the regime was feeling that they were unable to admit accepting help from the “enemy” for fear of showing weakness (and not without cause; if the people became any more disenchanted with the Bolsheviks’ translucent promises than they already were there could easily have been an uprising based on past course of events).

This was a really interesting post topic! I hadn’t really considered the implications of illiteracy on the use of propaganda, so it was cool to read about how the Bolsheviks were able to use cinema as a tool for spreading their message.

I really enjoyed your post! I especially like the quote from freeze about the Bolsheviks being culturally revolutionary as well. It is amazing to see the Soviet Union’s dedication to perfecting the arts, not just cinema but the ballet, gymnastics, music, and literature. It’s also important to note that Soviet art was not only used as propaganda for within the Union but also as propaganda to the western nations.

Thank you for explaining this event clearly and pointing out why the troops on the island revolted. I agree that revolt and uprising seems to be a tradition in Russia, one that carries on still today. I also find it interesting that Lenin foresaw the potential damage this could do to his regime and blocked the media.

I also found it interesting that a party with a communist agenda implemented capitalist like policies in order to help out the peasants. Maybe if they realized that capitalism actually works to a better degree than communism, Lenin and the Bolsheviks could have kept their power longer. I also found it ironic that their industry complex couldn’t keep up with the agriculture yet in decade or the circumstances would be switched. Great post.

I agree with the similarities between the Soviets and the Nazis, two authoritarian governments. Both Stalin and Hitler needed support and they found it in youth. Basically if you give kids stuff they’ll support you and inclusion into a group that they were told was very important got them that support. Kids are also very loyal and were therefore an important part of keeping order. Nazi Youth were told to rat out unpatriotic adults in Germany, and a similar tactic was probably used in the Soviet Union. While many of the Nazi Youth were not able to become adults in Nazi Germany, those who did fought in World War II as loyal soldiers, Komsomol kids became the backbone of the Soviet Union.