Rock Goes Red It did not take long for rock and roll culture to begin to permeate the Iron Curtain. The 1960′s spawned the era of rock with the advent of some of the most influential bands, such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, producing some of the most famous music in modern history. […]
Week 11 Posts
We’re Here to Help: The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
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The Cold War heated up many times for both the West and the Eastern Bloc. Sporadic proxy wars and expansive conflicts led to many casualties for the USSR and the United States, but there never was a great war between the two. Instead, lives were expended and blood was shed to protect the values both […]
The Soviet Vietnam
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During the mid 70′s when the United States was still licking its wounds from the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union was still fat and happy about their success. Still trying to increase their hold on the modern world, the Soviets, under Brezhnev turned their eyes to Central Asia. In 1973, the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Mohammad […]
Save Lake Baikal
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Lake Baikal, once a beauty of nature, met its match with the expanse of industrial growth in Russia and the state’s disregard for environmental degradation. Lake Baikal holds 80% of Russia’s fresh water supply and is 1/5 of the world’s freshwater. It … Continue reading →
Olympic Games become Political
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Mischa, the 1980 Olympics Mascot The 1980 Olympics is marked down in history, not necessarily for the sporting events and the athletes that participated, but for the political conundrum that sprang forth before the games even started. The 1980 Olympic Games … Continue reading →
The Farmers’ Flight
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The period of economic stagnation experienced by the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev began with poor agricultural performance. Though Russia was recently industrialized, the suffering breadbasket took a toll on the economy as whole and caused massive demographic shifts. Brezhnev’s 1978 speech, “On the Further Development of Agriculture”, was full of savory statistics and improbable…
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 […]
The Black Market and Institutionalized Corruption
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A friend of mine at Virginia Tech was born in Moldova in 1992 and the remnants of an underground economy still existed. He was telling me about how if you gave the men who worked in the passport office good … Continue reading →
Back in the USSR: The Russian Rock Revolution
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While the state-run record label Melodiya controlled much of what was popular on the Russian airwaves, many young (rather rebellious) Russians began to fall in love with Western rock n’ roll. Influenced by bands like The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple … Continue reading →