One of the coolest moments of my life occurred while I was touring Звёздный городо́к, otherwise known as ‘Star City’, the home of the Russian space program. As I stepped off the bus, I noticed a women walking towards the group I was with surrounded by what looked like a few body guards. This lady […]
Comrades’ Corner
The First Cracks in the System
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After forcing out Nikita Khrushchev in 1965, Leonid Brezhnev became First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. Some consider the regime under Brezhnev, as the ‘golden era of USSR’. Brezhnev managed to improve the quality of life, stabilize social … Continue reading →
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 […]
The Mysterious Gift
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In February of 2014, the world was shocked on February 26, just three days after the Sochi Olympics ended, and the days following when reports began to surface that Russian troops were deployed in Crimea. Russia had poured billions of dollars into the 2014 Winter Olympics and other things in order to attempt to portray […]
Sputnik and the Space Race
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On Octorber 4, 1957 the first successful space launch occurred and the world looked on in awe as infinite new possibilities were born. The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan into a low orbit … Continue reading →
Control By Sports
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One problem that is faced by the leaders of a communist or authoritarian state is what to do with the free time of their citizens. Free time is dangerous to to these types of states as it can lead to various forms of opposition since the citizens have time to form groups and realize that … Continue reading »
Krushchev’s Condemnation of Stalin
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After Stalin’s death on March 5th, 1953, a brief period of uncertainty spread across the Soviet Union. His rule was personalized which left his successors to deal with serious questions and issues with the state apparatus (Freeze, 408). When, Nikita … Continue reading →
Motherhood Women’s Greatest Happiness
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One of the most controversial topics that has arisen today is abortion. Some view that pro life is the way to go. Others believe that pro choice is the reasonable route. Even in the 21′st century not all people can agree on one side or the other. Soviet Russia went through the same issue in […]
Prisoners Released
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Through the process of destalinization, prisoners from the war were to be released from their camps. To start this process, the first people to get to leave were those there for up to five years, those convicted of economic and … Continue reading →
A Chink in the Armor: Revolution in Hungary
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When examining the history of the Soviet Union, it is easy forget the U.S.S.R. was technically just a conglomerate of multiple ‘autonomous’ nations, bound together by the Warsaw Pact. While Stalin was largely able to manage this large union … Continue reading →