March 6, 1953, the Soviet Union announced that Comrade Stalin had died the day before. The address that was given to the Central Committee and to all working people of the Soviet Union highlighted the greatness of Stalin. It was a great piece of work politically; it showcased all the great things that the party […]
Week 10 Posts
In The Absence of Stalin
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As Stalin lay dying in Moscow due to internal hemorrhaging in March of 1953, the world was changing. The Presidium of the USSR was planning it’s next step. Since Lenin had died, Stalin had run the show and anyone who had gotten in his was had been removed or run over. What would they do […]
The Novocherkassk Massacre, 1962
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Vladimir_Putin_1_February_2008-7.jpg In 1962 workers, from the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Works (NEVZ), marched on the Communist Headquarters in Novocherkassk in protest of Khrushchev’s passing of legislation that would double the prices for meat and dairy products. The march on the headquarters turned into a labor strike consisting of thousands of laborers that were displeased with the […]
Evolution of the Dacha
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Dachas played a an important role in the Russia’s cultural movement forward. All throughout the Soviet Union’s reign, thousands of people flocked to the major cities to find work and a new life, cramming into small apartment buildings as they did so. Living conditions were far from good, especially for those who shared communal …read more
A Transitional Time For Women
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After Stalin’s death in 1953, the strict, forced way of life waned and old thought crept back into Soviet culture. One transition of thought was the shift of Soviet understanding of gender roles, particular of women. There was a transition … Continue reading →
Out with the Old in with the New
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Stalin’s power was absolute, he had for just under three decades made his position effectively unquestionable, especially after having won WWII, considering how backwards Russia was in the previous world war, was an awe inspiring feat. Stalin had allowed no clear successor to emerge as he had become paranoid about his inferiors plotting a […]
Warning: Doesn’t Play Well with Others
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Hungarian demonstrators show their love for Josef Stalin. For the majority of the 20th century the Soviet government did its very best to have the Western world believe that all was quiet on the Eastern front and that all of … Continue reading →
The Hydrogen Bomb
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On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and three days later they dropped a second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Though these weapons effectively ended World War II, little did they know that the atomic arms race was just beginning. Than just four years later on […]
Space: The Final Frontier
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The Cold War was a long struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Not only being an ideological battle, it was also a battle of technological achievement. One large part of this technological battle was the Space Race. … Continue reading →
The Thaw 1954
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In 1954 the “biggest literary event” took place when Ilia Ehrenburg published The Thaw. This novel highlighted the “working lives of three very different Soviet types.” Thanks to his novel, liberalization began, “and extended to many spheres of cultural and intellectual life (pg. 413).” His novel encouraged the change needed in the cultural spectrum of […]