Even before the death of Lenin, the clear leader of the Communist Party and the Russian people’s idol, the struggle for succession began. The battle was clearly to be between Trotsky and Stalin. Trotsky was the favored candidate in many peoples minds, however only two months before Lenin suffered the first of three strokes in May of […]
Monthly Archives: September 2014
Red Star, Week 4 Posts
Out with the Old: The Death of Aleksandr Blok
by gracehemmingson •
After the Bolsheviks had succeeded in taking control of Russia in a “dictatorship of the proletariat”, they still had a long way to go in achieving socialism. The next step was to change the culture of Russia. Aleksandr Blok … Continue reading →
Red Star, Week 4 Posts
Heavenly Father, We Want Gold
by Kelly Cooper •
As the Bolsheviks rose to power after prevailing in the Russian Civil War, The new ruling class was quick to seek a way to dispose of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Bolsheviks were quite obsessive in “their feverish attempt to … Continue reading →
Comrades' Corner, Week 4 Posts
The Role of Religion
by jenniferh •
The Bolshevik revolution aimed to create a new social ethos that redefined the political, social, and economic systems in Soviet Russia. In order to alter the popular consciousness the regime needed to transform the values and norms of people … Continue reading →
Red Star, Week 4 Posts
Game of Thrones: Lenin’s Succession
by Anna •
“There is nothing higher than the title of member of the party whose founder and leader was Comrade Lenin…He always looked on it as an essential link for strengthening the revolutionary movement in the countries of the West and the … Continue reading →
Week 4 Posts
In Soviet Russia, Dictator Overthrows You!
by jslattery •
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 […]
Comrades' Corner, Week 4 Posts
Bolsheviks: We Believe in Nothing
by zmartin •
Boris Ignatovich: Restorers(1928) “Workers dismantling a Russian Orthodox Church while reading The Godless” Thanks in part to the beliefs of Marx and Lenin, the Bolsheviks soon began their quest to rid the Soviet Union of religion. In their point of view, “religion was the opiate of the masses”(1). In other words, religion was something […]
Uncategorized
Rebuilding the Economy
by phillip5 •
The poster above was published in order to explain two different decrees passed in1921 that affected workers and their payment. These decrees allowed workers to recieve bonuses; sometimes made up of manufactured goods, that they could then trade for agricultural products as well as food. These decrees also encouraged workers to join cooperatives that had […]
Week 4 Posts
Rebuilding the Economy
by phillip5 •
The poster above was published in order to explain two different decrees passed in1921 that affected workers and their payment. These decrees allowed workers to recieve bonuses; sometimes made up of manufactured goods, that they could then trade for agricultural products as well as food. These decrees also encouraged workers to join cooperatives that had […]
Motherblog Central Directives
From World War I to Revolution: 1917
by A Nelson •
What an eventful week for high value contributions to the Motherblog! This edition is chock-full of posts analyzing key developments from Russia’s entry into World War I, to the revolutions of 1917, and the social cataclysm that ensued. While many people focused on military or political issues, there were also some terrific posts on the…