When one pictures cultural rebels in the United States these days, we often think of artistic hipsters who steer away from mainstream standards in music, art, and media. In the 1960s, one might think of these people as the famed…
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The Big Deal: Children’s Verse
The postwar era in Soviet Russia was a time of optimism in terms of national pride and rebuilding the country. “The Big Deal” was a product of a larger cultural evolution in the mid-1930s whereby social stability was valued over…
Wait for Me: Women and War
Russian women played an extremely important role during WWII. Most women worked in domestic industries such as transport, agriculture, and other civilian roles. They often worked double shifts in order to free up enlisted men to fight and increase military…
The Triumphant ’30s: Timoshenko’s Sportsman’s March
“Sportsman’s March” was the theme song for the popular 1936 Russian film Goalkeeper. The film stars an individualistic young athlete who is determined to achieve personal success. However, the protagonist eventually learns the value of teamwork and unity, so he…
Revolutionizing the Soviet Economy: Iron
The first Five-Year Plan facilitated a dramatic change in the Soviet economy through the collectivization of agricultre in orde to enhance the country’s industrial capabilities. From the period of 1928-1940, the number of Soviet workers in industrial occupations grew from…
Vodka, the Church, and the Cinema
Leon Trotsky’s Vodka, The Church, and The Cinema outlines a the importance of three fundamental aspects of Russian society and culture during the Russian Revolution. First of all, Leon Trotsky was a Marxist revolutionary who was the founder and leader of…
Woman With Pails: Russian Avant-Garde Painting
The Russian avant-garde was a movement during the Soviet Union from the period of 1890-1930. While this movement doesn’t correspond with any particular style, there were many sub-movements under the Russian avant-garde era that took on their own unique…
Russian Realism: Levitan’s Above the Eternal Peace
Peredvizhniki, or The Wanderers, was an artistic movement of Russian Realism that focused on illustrating the realities of humanity through the exposure of daily life in the mid to late 19th century. The above painting is Isaac Il’ich Levitan’s Above the Eternal Peace…