Cover of “The Thaw” Image URL: http://img5.douban.com/lpic/s4033446.jpg
“The Thaw,” written by Il’ia Ehrenburg in 1954, is a novel which follows the lives of three different types of Soviet men, including the stark contrast of the life of an industrial manager and an artist. What makes “The Thaw” so special is that Ehrenburg intentionally breaks from the Stalinist belief that communism was the best form of government for a country and that Communists were the best, most important members of society (“The Thaw”).
Life was getting better, for alcohol was now becoming more available after Stalin’s death (Vrobyev). The Thaw turned out to be one of the most important things that happened to Russia in the post-Stalin era. Prisoners were released from the Gulag work camps, festivals were held, works by foreign authors were allowed into the country, international trade opened up again, and the Soviet Union began competing in international competitions under Nikita Kruschev’s rule (“Kruschev Thaw”).
As we all know, the new openness to international competition the Soviets were enjoying inevitably led them to the Olympics, leading to one of the most iconic and well known moments in all of sports, when the United States faced off against the Soviet Union in ice hockey. See the final minute here.
However, it was not all good during the post-Stalin reforms. Kruschev had to deal with two revolts and attempts to remove
Kruschev and Kennedy, 1961. Image URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchev_Thaw#mediaviewer/File:John_Kennedy,_Nikita_Khrushchev_1961.jpg
him from power. Despite all this, Kruschev managed to open the Soviet Union’s borders and made it much more globally involved. There was an American magazine distributed in the USSR, and a Soviet magazine was distributed in the United States. He lessened media censorship, allowing works by foreign and banned authors back into the country. Music experienced its own little renaissance and resurgence. Perhaps most importantly, Kruschev’s efforts to restore the Soviet Union to a nation of pride and unity, instead of one ruled with an iron fist, provided a slight cessation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, and delayed the Cold War. Kruschev even went and visited Camp David (the President’s “vacation home”) in 1959 (“Kruschev’s Thaw”).
After Stalin’s death, life got significantly better under Kruschev’s rule, thanks in no small part to his numerous reforms and attempts to ease tensions with the United States. Kruschev can arguably be considered the most American-friendly leader the Soviet Union/Russia has ever had.
Subject Essay “The Thaw” by James von Geldern, pulled from 17 Moments in Russian History. Source URL: http://soviethistory.macalester.edu/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1954thaw&Year=1954
Youtube Video “Final Minute of the ‘Miracle on Ice.'” Published 5 February 2010. Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88
For a long time, the Russians viewed Germans and the Slavic minorities in their country as an issue, especially during World War II. However, this enmity towards the Germans always existed, Stalin just used the war as an excuse to “cleanse” Russia of the perceived filth, claiming that the Germans had infiltrated Russia with spies. In fact, the only thing that the Russian Germans and the Nazi Germans shared was a language and heritage. In just three months at the ned of 1941, Stalin forced almost 800,00 Germans into “areas of internal exile called special settlements.” Many of these settlements hardly provided the Germans with enough to live even at the most squalid levels. In 1942, the Germans were forced into labor battalions and made to work with Gulag prisoners. Tens of thousands died as a direct result of this forced labor. Even after the end of the war, the displaced population was not allowed to return to their homes (Pohl 1-4)
This is very similar to how the Germans treated the Jews, gays, gypsies, and political prisoners. They also forcibly removed them from their homes, forced them into labor camps, starved and mistreated them, and sometimes killed them outright.
For example, this:
Exiled Poles on their way to Persia. Image pulled from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poles_in_the_Soviet_Union#mediaviewer/File:Evacuation_of_Polish_Civilians_From_the_Soviet_Union_To_Persia,_1942_E19024.jpg
Is eerily similar to this:
Poles being evacuated from their homes following the German invasion in 1939. Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_evacuation_and_expulsion
I find it interesting that despite all the hatred that existed between the Germans and the Russians, that they both employed similar means of dealing with the xenophobia that ran rampant in the years leading up to, during, and after World War II.
Information Pulled from:
Pohl, J. Otto. The Deportation and Destruction of the German Minority in the USSR. 2001. 1-4. Print.
The interior of the church today. Image taken from http://www.moscow-russia-insiders-guide.com/cathedral-of-christ-the-savior-in-moscow.html
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was built over the span of 40 years, and opened in the 19th century. This church is the archetype of what all churches hope to be: it was the largest Orthodox Church ever built, and was a prime example of opulence. The inner sanctum was circumscribed by two galleries, the uppermost of which was for the church choir. The walls were covered with about 1,000 square meters of marble plaques depicting major accomplishments of the Patriotic War of 1812. The dome itself was the first in history to be gold-plated via the use of electroplating. Most impressive, however, was the twenty tons of gold recovered from the church after its demolition.
Despite all its glory, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was not saved from the wrath of the Soviets. It was targeted for demolition during the Soviets’ anti-religious campaign, for that site was to be used to construct a massive building, the Palace
The church during its demolition. Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Christ_the_Saviour
of the Soviets. Eventually, in 1931, the building was filled with dynamite and destroyed. Some of the marble from the building was saved and used in the Moscow Metro, and some of the marble reliefs were saved and preserved and are on display today.
However, the construction of the palace halted when funds ran out and the nearby Moscow River flooded the construction site. The palace was eventually abandoned, and the construction site remained flooded. Eventually, however, Nikita Khrushchev turned the site into the world’s largest open air swimming pool (which was heated to boot!). The link below will show you people swimming in the pool, and also give you an idea of the size of it. Also note the snow on the ground, and the people walking around in heavy winter coats (All of the above except photos taken from “Cathedral of Christ the Saviour”).
The pool was eventually deconstructed, and an (almost) exact replica of the original cathedral was built in its place, and the completed cathedral was opened on 19 August 2000 (“Cathedral of Christ the Saviour”).
The destruction of the original cathedral is a sad example of how ruthless the Soviets were during their anti-religious campaign, destroying something of such beauty in the name of societal unity and revolution. However, the fact that the palace-in-construction was eventually turned into a communal swimming pool (even though that was not the original plan) is indicative of the strong bond the average man felt with his comrades. For a Palace of Soviets could be used only by the select few elite of society, but instead a heated public pool was put in its place. This was indicative of the shift in Russian thinking away from focus on the individual and towards others; away from benefiting the one and towards that of the collective.
Sources:
“Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Featured image taken from http://02varvara.wordpress.com/2009/02/18/18-february-2009-a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-the-revival-shall-not-be-televised-the-revival-shall-be-live/putin-in-church-at-the-presentation/
Oct 27 2014
The Great Russian Melting
Image URL: http://img5.douban.com/lpic/s4033446.jpg
“The Thaw,” written by Il’ia Ehrenburg in 1954, is a novel which follows the lives of three different types of Soviet men, including the stark contrast of the life of an industrial manager and an artist. What makes “The Thaw” so special is that Ehrenburg intentionally breaks from the Stalinist belief that communism was the best form of government for a country and that Communists were the best, most important members of society (“The Thaw”).
Life was getting better, for alcohol was now becoming more available after Stalin’s death (Vrobyev). The Thaw turned out to be one of the most important things that happened to Russia in the post-Stalin era. Prisoners were released from the Gulag work camps, festivals were held, works by foreign authors were allowed into the country, international trade opened up again, and the Soviet Union began competing in international competitions under Nikita Kruschev’s rule (“Kruschev Thaw”).
As we all know, the new openness to international competition the Soviets were enjoying inevitably led them to the Olympics, leading to one of the most iconic and well known moments in all of sports, when the United States faced off against the Soviet Union in ice hockey. See the final minute here.
However, it was not all good during the post-Stalin reforms. Kruschev had to deal with two revolts and attempts to remove
him from power. Despite all this, Kruschev managed to open the Soviet Union’s borders and made it much more globally involved. There was an American magazine distributed in the USSR, and a Soviet magazine was distributed in the United States. He lessened media censorship, allowing works by foreign and banned authors back into the country. Music experienced its own little renaissance and resurgence. Perhaps most importantly, Kruschev’s efforts to restore the Soviet Union to a nation of pride and unity, instead of one ruled with an iron fist, provided a slight cessation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, and delayed the Cold War. Kruschev even went and visited Camp David (the President’s “vacation home”) in 1959 (“Kruschev’s Thaw”).
After Stalin’s death, life got significantly better under Kruschev’s rule, thanks in no small part to his numerous reforms and attempts to ease tensions with the United States. Kruschev can arguably be considered the most American-friendly leader the Soviet Union/Russia has ever had.
Works Cited:
“Khrushchev Thaw.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Subject Essay “The Thaw” by James von Geldern, pulled from 17 Moments in Russian History. Source URL: http://soviethistory.macalester.edu/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1954thaw&Year=1954
Youtube Video “Final Minute of the ‘Miracle on Ice.'” Published 5 February 2010. Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYscemhnf88
By ryandellinger • Uncategorized 4