There is no shortage of infamous characters in Russian history. Recently, one figure has appeared determined to insert his name, Vladimir Putin, to the list. Putin first came to power in 1999 when he was appointed Prime Minister by Boris Yeltsin. Shortly after, Yeltsin resigned as President, appointing Putin as his successor. In a matter […]
“Mr. Gorbachev Tear Down This Wall”
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On June 12th of 1987 Ronald Reagan delivered his now famous speech in front of a large West German crowd near the Berlin wall. Officially, President Reagan was commemorating the 750th anniversary of Berlin. In reality, his speech harshly mocked the increasingly contradictory nature of the Soviet Union during the 1980′s. Soviet policies under Gorbachev had gradually […]
Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires
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On Christmas Eve 1979, four Soviet motor rifle divisions entered Afghanistan via two routes across the northern border, while another airborne division airlifted directly to Bagram airfield, near Kabul. Within a few days there were over 50,000 Soviet soldiers rampaging through Afghanistan. The objective: eliminate and replace the Amin government with one that was more loyal and […]
Khrushchev’s not-so-secret Secret Speech
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When the 20th Party Congress convened in February of 1956, the future of Stalin’s legacy remained unclear. His successor, Khrushchev ended any doubt of how he viewed Stalin’s image when he unleashed a verbal attack upon the former leader during a secret gathering of the delegates. Among Khrushchev’s most ominous critiques of Stalin was […]
Communism vs. Fascism…the Ali vs. Frazier heavyweight bout of WWII.
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Aside from battles such as Verdun and The Somme of the First World War, few occurrences in human history have come close to equaling the brutality and utter disregard for human life as displayed by the Eastern Front during WWII. Germany’s invasion, Operation Barbarossa, began on June 22, 1941, when hundreds of thousands of German […]
Chapaev: revolutionary leader turned cinema icon
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When it comes to Soviet cinema, few films eclipse Chapaev in both popularity and quality for its time. Upon release in 1934, Chapaev became an instant classic. Such widespread appeal across Russian society was due to the sheer patriotism and pride in the revolution elicited from the characters and scenes. To give a brief synopsis without spoiling […]
Communism’s Traumatic Transition: foreshadow of the Soviet Union?
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The predictions of both Marx and Lenin of a violent and oppressive transitional period that a society must endure while changing from an imperial capitalist society towards a fully-realized communist society seem to be an appropriate prediction for what the Soviet Union would become during the 20th Century. Just as the two most famous socialists predicted, […]
A famous vacation spot for criminals in Bukhara
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Although the Soviet Union traditionally claims superiority when it comes to jailing and exiling people in deplorable conditions, this photo places the Emirate of Bukhara as a notable competitor. Perhaps only a mere footnote compared to the notorious purges of Joseph Stalin, the prison at Zindan certainly doesn’t seem any more appealing than a Soviet gulag […]