The picture above is an example of some of the posters that workers made quickly before their march on the Communist Party Headquarters in 1962. Workers once again were angered with the low wages they were receiving, especially since food prices were going through the roof at the same time. Many of the posters […]
Monthly Archives: October 2014
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Feelin’ a lil corny
by cpurvis2 •
Similar to the grain problem of the previous decade, Russia also began to see a shortage of corn around the turn of the 1960s. Nikita Khrushchev, also the mastermind behind the Virgin Lands Campaign, decided it was time to run … Continue reading →
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Insane in the Ukraine
by ryandellinger •
Ukrainian national identity struggled to gain support during the early 20th century while Ukraine was controlled by both Polish and Soviet state powers. When Poland was divided between the USSR and Nazi Germany, the underlying identity of those who considered themselves Ukrainians was split once again. The West began to side with the fascist ideas […]
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Crimean Conundrums
by jimmy jewett •
World War II is relevant to the current situation in Ukraine because it solidified Soviet influence in the Crimean Peninsula. After liberating the peninsula from 2 years of Nazi rule, the Soviets deported many remaining non-ethnic Russians, such … Continue reading →
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Hungry in Hungary
by abishop •
In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev totally denounced Stalin (following his death in 1953) at the Soviet Communist Party’s Twentieth Congress in February. This condemnation led to multiple crises in Europe, particularly in Hungary and Poland. In particular, Poland and Hungary had communist parties with … Continue reading →
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Akademgorodok, or ‘Science City’
by kathaskew •
Hidden away in the frozen forests of Siberia and away from the eyes of the bureaucracy resides a city built for the scientist and the researcher. It was believed that Akademgorodok would be the harbinger of scientific breakthroughs that would … Continue reading →
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Cleaning Up the Mess
by Alex Apollonio •
In March of 1953, Joseph Stalin died under suspicious circumstances, ending his quarter-century-long reign over the Soviet Union. With his death, the party machine he established gradually crumbled as various personalities tried to consolidate power. The eventual victor was Nikita … Continue reading →
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The Mysterious Gift
by Steven Nagy •
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 […]
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The Great Russian Melting
by ryandellinger •
“The Thaw,” written by Il’ia Ehrenburg in 1954, is a novel which follows the lives of three different types of Soviet men, including the stark contrast of the life of an industrial manager and an artist. What makes “The Thaw” so special is that Ehrenburg intentionally breaks from the Stalinist belief that communism was the […]
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Dasvidaniya China
by Anna •
Besides domestic political issues, Stalin’s death changed the Soviet Union’s relationship with China as Nikita Khrushchev’s ideological differences and anti-Stalinist reforms drove a wedge between the two communist neighbors. After the formation of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, China developed a very close relationship with Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Mao Zedong and the…