When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it had no concept of what a free market was (with the exception of the illegal black markets). However, when the Iron Curtain came crashing down, American companies were quick to enter the new market that contained millions of new potential customers. Gorbachev, who is often credited with […]
Juggernauts on the Ice
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Compared to the Western nations of Canada and the United States, the Soviet Union was a late bloomer when it came to hockey. While the North Americans started playing hockey as we know it in the late 19th century, the Soviets didn’t really start playing ice hockey until the 1930′s, and the sport wasn’t nationalized […]
A New Frontier for Good ….. or Evil?
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On October 4th, 1957 the Soviet Union showed the world why they, too were a superpower. On that day, they launched the first man-made satellite into Earth’s orbit. Sputnik 1, which simply means “satellite” in Russian, was launched for all the world to see. Also, for those who wanted to listen to Sputnik, they could […]
If it Looks, Walks, and Sounds like a Nazi, it’s Probably a Nazi
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During World War 2, Ukraine found themselves in a peculiar spot. On one hand, the Ukrainians had experienced a genocide from the Soviet government in the form of a manufactured famine known as the Holodomor (from the Ukrainian Голодомор, meaning “Extermination by hunger”) which killed approximately 4 million people. Because of this genocide, it’s easy […]
The Breaking of the Fascists’ Back
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The Eastern front in WW2 (or as the Russians referred to it, the Great Patriotic War) was known to be notoriously bloody. After the battle of Stalingrad, the Nazis were in full retreat. Hitler, in his infinite wisdom (there’s some sarcasm there) decided to mount an offensive attack to recover his losses in what the […]
In Soviet Russia, Dictator Overthrows You!
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When looking at a single event in history that has a huge impact on worldwide events right up to our present and even into the future, one has to wonder what may have happened if things turned out a little differently. Stalin became the most powerful man in the world’s largest country, and did it over […]
When the Tsar is away, the Monk will play
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At the outbreak of the Great War, Russia had the world’s largest army at almost one and a half million soldiers. With reserves activated and fully mobilized, this number expanded to five million. At first, the Russians made large, quick gains by striking first into East Prussia (modern day Kaliningrad Oblast) and Galicia. By the end […]
The not so Quiet Riot
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Around the late 19th to early 20th century, Russia was in a bad state of affairs. By this point in time, Russia had established the pattern of being on the wrong side of history when it came to military engagements. While the Tsars of Russia were hesitant to change, Alexander II was by Russian standards quite […]
How the W̶e̶s̶t̶ Steppes were won.
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Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky was well known in the late Imperial, and even early Soviet, period of Russia for his work in photography. He spent ten years of his life chronographing Russia in color photographs. Prokudin-Gorsky often photographed different people of Russian. … Continue reading →
Здравствуйте мир!
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Hello world! I am comrade Slattery, your tour guide for the beautiful, yet sometimes tragic, history of Russia. I am a student myself, so this will be a learning experience for the both of us. Why Russia? A better question is “why not?” In the words of Sir Winston Churchill : “Russia is a riddle, […]