The posts this week covered many facets of the Great Patriotic War – from the major military moments (Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Kursk), to the struggles of a besieged city, the massacre of Polish army officers in the Katyn forest, and the origins of the Cold War.  Analyses of family policy, gender relations, wartime romances, educational policy, and the appearance of the Soviet car charted the war’s profound impact on Soviet society.  As usual, we will talk about the slider posts in class on Thursday.

There were two fine nominees for the student choice award: Rob’s discussion of the Battle of Kursk and Soviet security interests in the postwar period, and Cara’s engaging analysis of the Katyn forest massacre.  The Politburo voted unanimously to commend both of these posts, featuring one in the slider and the other in the grey feature post area.  It also commended Ben W. for the best title of the week: Cominternminated!  Irregular voting will continue next week.