We had fewer posts than usual this week (18 total), but they addressed an array of issues that highlight just how action-packed the supposedly “stagnant” Brezhnev era was.  The invasion of Afghanistan and the 1980 Olympics garnered the most attention, but television, consumer culture, urbanization, Andrei Sakharov, and the environmental challenges facing Lake Baikal all got their due.  The image for this post pays homage to Seventeen Moments In Spring, the wildly popular TV series for which Seventeen Moments in Soviet History is names.  Thanks, Brandon, for offering such a thoughtful analysis of the legacy of World War II in the mass culture of the seventies.

This is the penultimate edition of the weekly digest.  We’ll select a student choice award in the next couple of days.  Stay tuned for the final digest next Wednesday (12/11/13).