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The Last Defense of Soviet Culture

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In the closing years of the Soviet Union the popular mass culture was under-attack. The years of togetherness and and the one-size fits all culture was coming to a close. But like all habits this one would die hard. With such big changes it is normal for there to be resistance and in this case the boys of Liubertsy were this resistance. The boys of a poor worker suburb of Moscow soon found themselves in a position were it was there job to defend Soviet culture. In this rapidly shifting world were western popular culture was bearing down on Moscow, maybe these young men thought they could beat the change back. However in this case literally. Driven on by Soviet ideals and a hate for foreign “alien” ideals and lifestyles, these workers’ sons formed clans in their small apartment buildings and built up their bodies for cultural warfare.

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Liubers posing for a picture in a homemade basement gym

These cultural warriors strangely built themselves up like a western idol: Sylvester Stallone. Although they adamantly opposed anything western they idolized a western movie star for his strength and fight for whats right. These young mean would build there bodies to not only look a certain way but ultimately for cultural combat. These young men would travel to the heart of Moscow and seek out fringe groups like bikers, metal fans, rockers, and those who idolized the west and beat them up. There battle for Soviet culture took place in the union’s heart and maybe the Liubers thought this was the place to save it but in reality they were likely beating the sons of high government officials.

tumblr_mfh4sg6e6H1rtpshbo1_r1_400Liubers Posing for a photo, man on the right wearing Rambo Shirt and his clan’s plaid pattern.

Although this movement never was successful in driving out western influences, it serves as a reminder that not all wanted communism to end. The Liubers serve as an example to resistance to cultural change in the 80’s. Although their methods were crude and their beliefs confusing at times the Liubers were an embodiment of the civil strife Russia experienced in the last days of the Soviet Union.

Sources:

http://politicalhotwire.com/current-events/91874-oding-steroids.html (image)

http://vk.com/wall-8529489_51878 (image)

The Guys from Liubertsy

Liubers, the Firm

 

 

 

 

KVN Russia_1549066a

The Club of the Merry and Resourceful

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When you think of Comedy and game shows what comes to mind? Fun competitions that are either silly or gross, maybe a guessing game? Here in America we have seen many game shows come and go, some fun and exciting and some just strange or down-right not good. Here in the US we love game shows and we have had many successful ones like Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and The Price is Right. These shows have been on the air for years and each have their own unique qualities. However this phenomenon ins’t just an American thing, its global and the Soviet Union was no different.

Enter KVN, or translated to English: The Club of the Merry and Resourceful. The program was first aired by the First Soviet Channel on November 8, 1961. the show combined odd questions and answers with pre-planed sketches to create a winning mixture in the Soviet Union.

“‘The Club of the Funny and Inventive’ was first broadcast in 1961 and has become a legend of black and white TV. College teams compete by giving funny answers to questions and showing prepared sketches. KVN’s tremendous success among many generations of Soviet people has made it one of the most popular shows of all times.” –Channel One Russia

Until 1973 this show air and it remained extremely popular though its initial 12 year air time. The show basically started popular Soviet game show television. the Show became so popular that the teams that competed on the show gained fans and were even regarded as celebrities. The show practiced what the producers called “intellectual soccer” between two teams representing different colleges and then later cities or groups of workers.  Take a look:

This video is from 1965 and depicts the opening round of the show

In the next video from after the Reboot of the popular show we can see one of the most popular games.

“What? Where? When? pitted a team of young ‘whiz kids’ against the ‘team’ of television viewers, who submitted questions about science, history, or literature that were presented in the form of riddles. Teams were given one minute the show s famous ‘minute for reflection’–to come up with an answer. As we can see in this clip, this format made possible lively debates among the team members that were intended to promote team-work and collaboration in Soviet institutions.” -17 Moments

The show would eventual be cancelled for several reasons. The first was the quickly growing number of people who owned TVs. As this media expanded into the countryside and the Providences it was deemed inappropriate or not acceptable for the communal farmers and simple folk. The others were either political or practical, with the craze around this show it was no wonder that corruption found its way in. Teams would be sponsored by businesses or clubs and soon greed found its way into this show which was supposed to promote merry play and teamwork. Also there was quite a controversy around the Jewish players and personalities. They were deemed inappropriate due to the “Odessan Jewish Style” that the show utilized. The show would later come back to the air waves though and in the opening up of the Gorbachev era KVN reappeared in 1986. The show is still on the air today and still remains popular and rather odd to non-Russian viewers.

If you would like to learn more about KVN in the Soviet Era take a look here

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVN

http://kvn.ru/

http://www.1tv.ru/eng/projects/ssi=228

KVN Cancelled

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01549/KVN-Russia_1549066a.jpg

 

Gagarin

A God Among the Stars: Yuri Gagarin

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“I see no God up here.” These are probably the most famous words Gagarin spoke while in space, words that obviously are quite striking but profound. To understand this first we must understand the man, A simple Russian citizen would would rise to height none had ever achieved. Yuri Gagarin: the first man in space. Gagarin become something much more than a man and more than a Cosmonaut, his trip (the first of its kind) made him a god. The likes of which had not been seen since Stalin but this was no artificial popular movement. Gagarin did something that then was profound, amazing, and some thought was impossible. More →

Band Of The USSR Ministry Of Defence National Anthem Of The Soviet Union 7 RECORD 521079

A New Song of the People

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Russia and the Soviet Union has long struggled with national anthems. The constant regime changes doesn’t exactly help with keeping a patriotic and political song  relevant. Following the fall of the Tsar the Russian national anthem was the Internationale. While this song was influential and powerful during the revolution and the civil war it began to lose its punch by the 1930’s. You can listen to it here:

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stalin

A New Soviet God

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Through the late 1930’s the Soviet union was experiencing a new more quiet change. While propaganda was a standard in the USSR there was a more serious influence that was occurring at the top. During this period Stalin had grown even more paranoid, and while the Purges rooted out his possible rivals and nay sayers Stalin was taking actions that would serve to solidify his power with future generations and laborers of the Union. In a move that many other dictators make Stalin sought to make him self the Premier in the soviet union in more than just his status.  Stalin pushed and succeeded in making himself almost like the god of the soviet union. Portraits hung like a deity, his name in songs and story. Stalin made himself bigger than life, bigger than his true self.

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In this photo of girls exercising in a soviet class room notice the large photo of Stalin.

Beneath reads “Cheers to the great Stalin”

These changes came to be known as the cult of personality. Photos and paintings of Stalin in public buildings, offices, and class rooms were soon everywhere. In school children were taught history doctored by Stalin and his followers to include him more in the revolution. In these changes to history Stalin also whitewashed other leaders roles so that they could not pose any threats. Soon Stalin was considered almost as a god. His photo everywhere his presence felt in everything and even whole cities named for him. As the war creeped closer Stalin tightened his grip and control on the USSR and while he did this many watched star-y eyed.

In this video we can see just how much Stalin had the common man under his trance.

With his cult of personality Stalin almost insured his rule over the USSR for the coming decades. With these historical changes and the wave of glorification he created for himself Stalin would be the USSR’s unquestioned leader until his death In fact when his lies and atrocities were exposed some were so shocked there were heart attacks reported when they were exposed by then Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The Following video is more for a little humor but think about what its saying. And then think that most Soviet people would have never thought their great and glorious Comrade Stalin would ever do such things and certainly not for personal gain or pleasure.

Hail the great Stalin!

sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin

Song of Stalin (1937)

Cult of Personality

https://georgiaphotophiles.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/robert-kapas-1947-10-minutes.jpg

 

Birobidzhan propaganda poster 1930s2

A New Russian Israel

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Russia and the Soviet Union is of course a large state and within its borders falls many different ethnic groups. Following the mass culture push by the party, regional and ethnic cultures still remained. Among these groups there was a special case, that of the Jewish people. The Jews have historically been a prosecuted people however as a whole extremely persistent and resilient. Although Antisemitism is found almost everywhere in the world the Soviet Union was adamantly against any form of discrimination among its populace (officially). The Jewish people did present an issue however, due to there religious beliefs and elements of their culture the Jewish people of the USSR never fully assimilated into Russian culture. The party leaders were aware of this and had a plan. The government decided to create a new state for Soviet Jews, a land in the eastern territory along the boarder with China. This new collective Jewish homeland would be called: Birobidzhan.

Birobidzhan was marketed in mass to the Russian Jews and was offered as the new Jewish promise land. A place were Jews could live together free of persecution and discrimination in a communist, Jewish utopia. Many efforts were made to convince Jews to move their lives east. Propaganda was created in the forms of posters, advertisements, and film. Theses Propaganda pieces utilized not only Russian but the Yiddish language. Yiddish is a regional language used by European Jews. While Hebrew is the historical language of the Jewish people at that time it was a dead language while Yiddish was very much alive. Yiddish would ultimately become the official language of Birobidzhan and is seen on many of the propaganda posters. But out of all of these efforts the greatest in my opinion was that of a film. A story of one Jewish family who left the city’s they called home to move to the wilderness and new Jewish homeland out east.

“Seekers of Happiness” a film made to attract settlers to this new Russian Israel was not only a good propaganda piece but a very successful film in itself. The story follows a Russian family as the leave the city to build a new home in Birobidzhan. along the way we see standard Russian propaganda but along with it a love story. A man in the film named Pinia helps serve not only as comedy but also as a warning to capitalist coming to this new land. Pinia is obsessed with gold in the region and his greedy almost comical “Jewish money grubbing” act not only severs to show how bad capitalist are but also carries some antisemitic undertones. Which is surprising to see in a Jewish film. Ultimately Pinia is exiled from his family due to his greed and his sister marries a non Jewish man who ultimately serves as a propaganda peace as well. The film shows a utopia created by like minded Jews who follow the ideals of socialism and collectivization, but it was successful as a movie itself. The film was viewed in several nations and is still considered a prized film in the Jewish Film Society.

Although the film was successful, Birobidzhan ultimately was not. The project only had around 14,000 migrants and the life was hard. Many who left the city for the plow struggled and life in this new land was difficult. ultimately the great purges that swept through the USSR would greatly effect Birobidzhan.

If you would like to see the film you can find it in its entirety and original Russian here:

Sources:

http://www.rusfilm.pitt.edu/2006/seekers.htm

http://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/seekers.htm

Vladimir Korsh-Sablin: Seekers of Happiness (1936)

Birobidzhan

 

A New Era of Manipulation

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SovietUnionPoster-SayNoToVodka1954

“Vodka, the Church, and the Cinema” This writing by Leon Trotsky provides a glimpse into what Trotsky envisioned the new culture as. As one of the leaders of this new soviet endeavor Trotsky looked towards the future but also the past. He saw how the old fit with the new, and how the old would not work with this new nation of workers. Trotsky was an idealist, and a firm believer in this new communist world. However, in this writing we can see just how disconnected he was. Trotsky not only wished to fundamentally change Russia’s political and social structure but also its cultural structure. In doing this he set out to utilize a new player, cinema.

Trotsky first realized that Russia had devolved into an alcoholic state. This state had been produced by the czars and their monopoly on vodka that not only kept the people drunk and preoccupied but also filled their pockets. Trotsky recognized its use and potential but also realized that this would not fit in his new Culture. This pathological drinking would not create an educated and active proletariat. Trotsky however did understand that this would be a difficult change for the people to make so he needed to find a replacement for this entertainment.

Also on Trotsky’s chopping block was religion. He held that religion was a façade, a thing people just go through the motions of. He described that religion was empty and pointless and only served as a means to find some meaning or for entertainment. Trotsky seriously believed that almost all Russian people believed as he did that religion is a farce. He believed that it was only a means of pacifying the masses and in fact that everyone just went through the motions and now faith actually existed.

To replace these two facets of Russian culture cinema was the answer. Trotsky held cinema as the new way forward for Russian culture. It would serve as a venue for education as well as entertainment for the masses. A lever that the government could control and use for its purposes. Cinema would become the new way of controlling the people, a new method of propaganda and manipulation. This idea is genius and mad at the same time though. We can see Trotsky is a man of great resolve for the formation of a new culture however he is clearly out of touch. I believe that in reading this proposed plan we can see just how disconnected the party leaders would become from the people and why in the end the Soviet government would fall.

https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/women/life/23_07_12.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky

kustodiev_bolshevik

Following in the Footsteps of a Giant

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In the footsteps of a giant the Russian people follow, the not so silent majority rises. The man who brought this scene to canvas was Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, a man who had grown up poor and fell in with the Soviet ideals. As a young man he worked along other painters, one of which being Repin. Through his career he painted many scenes but Soviet Nationalism and cultural pieces stayed his focus. Pieces like this one “The Bolshevik” (1917) a work of art depicting the rise against tsarism characterized his career. The picture itself is supposedly the view Kustodiev had of the uprising from his studio window on the date that the fate of the monarchy was decided. a decision made not buy the nobility or upper classes but by the Russian people.

Being an early supporter of the revolution it is no surprise that Kustodiev uses this opportunity to glorify the part as well as the Russian people. This piece of art captures not only a snapshot of history but also a feeling. A feeling of hope for the future but also a feeling of pride. In a moment Kustodiev captures the sum of the Russian peoples victory. In his rendering of this he does not only depict what he sees. He depicts the invisible giant that leads this revolution or does he depict the man but represents his importance in his characterization as a giant? But this may not be a man at all, I am of the opinion that this giant is the Bolshevik giant. A giant representing the party that has grown large with the public’s discontent, powerful with the discord, and now it leads the mob. A mob under a red banner, a banner that leads all people from all situations to a new future. A future that will finally be shaped by the people and not the spoiled rulers.

In looking at this piece of art a few items are prevalent. First in the crowd many classes of people are shown. Soldiers, peasants, even upper class people in automobiles. The crowd seems to be marching forward with a jubilant demeanor. Perhaps the artist wanted the audience to see this a glorious, almost happy revolution and not as one that claimed many lives. The artist also depicts the crowd passing through a well built prosperous section of city, might this be a sign of good things to come? One thing is certain however, the artist believes that this revolution is just and the correct course for his nation.

Sources:

http://www.rusartist.org/boris-mikhailovich-kustodiev-1878-1927/#.VeyOehFViko

Culture and Revolution Images

 

Vasily_Perov_-_Monastic_Refectory_-_Google_Art_Project

A Meal at The Monistary

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Vasily Perov was one of the original founding members of the Wanderers movement in pre-soviet Russia. His works centered around a new genre of art in Russia: Critical Realism. In his piece  Monastic Refectory we can see just how skeptic he was of Russian social structure and customs. Although he paints a lovely scene it is quite easy to see its true purpose.

In the painting Perov depicts a meal taking place in a Refectory. At this meal we can see three different levels of Russian society all in the same room however there means and situation greatly differ. As peasants beg on the floor the priests are drinking and gorging themselves at the table taking little notice to the starving masses on the floor. Perov also depicts the priests as fat and jovial. In the corner we can see one priest beckoning for another bottle only in what I assume to be a statement by Perov on the priests excess of alcohol.

On a close look there is also one more statement the artist leaves for us. In the top left corner we can see people obviously of the upper class. One priest is inviting them to the table however once you see their faces it is obvious they are not interested. I would even say they are disgusted to see what is going on. Is this a statement by Perov towards the fact that the upper class looked down upon the clergy? We may never fully know all his meaning in this piece but we do know it is an amazing work of art.

Sources:

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/vasily-perov.htm

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/asset-viewer/monastic-refectory/lwHCsh4u2Kf5vQ