Ever since the First Congress of Soviet Writers convened in 1934 and conformed to the censorship laid down by the Party Central Committee, Soviet artists mostly conformed to the style of socialist realism that was required by law (von Geldern). Over the years, this mandated artistic style had become outmoded and boring. Artists of the […]
Monthly Archives: November 2014
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The Dark Side of the Space Race
by Alex Apollonio •
The men and women who were among the first to travel into space are often seen as pioneers. A less often heard perspective is that they were troops on the front lines of the Cold War. Like conventional soldiers, they … Continue reading →
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The Corn Campaign
by katiewells9 •
The 1960s brought with them a multitude of agricultural and economic changes beginning with the realization that in order to improve anything, the Soviets needed to grow more crops to feed the livestock. Nikita Khrushchev stated in 1954, “There will be no communism if our country has as much metal and cement as you like […]
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Czech Yourself before you Wreck Yourself
by abishop •
The Crisis in Czechoslovakia was yet another pivotal moment between the Soviet Union and another one of the Soviet bloc countries. “Socialism with a human face” was the slogan Alexander Dubcek utilized in promoting the Czechoslovakia Communist Party’s platform in 1968. As … Continue reading →
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The Strugatsky Brothers
by ryandellinger •
The Strugatsky Brothers were an author duo which rose to fame during the 1960′s as science fiction writers. Their books initially were lauding the way of Soviet thought, they later very quietly spoke of the downfalls of Soviet society. For example, Noon: 22nd Century, published in 1962, praised the science that was commonly attributed to […]
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The Soviet Union Around the World
by kathaskew •
In the 1950s and 1960s, relations between Communist and Russia, former allies against western imperialism, began to deteriorate.There were several causes behind this. The biggest factor was conflict over nuclear weapons. China wanted to develop nuclear weapons similar to Russia, … Continue reading →
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The Soviets Didn’t Give a Dam
by zmartin •
Throughout their history, the Soviets have not been a people to care much about the environment. It could be said that this is because they have so much land it doesn’t really matter. Either way, the damming of the Angara River, which began in 1955 perfectly shows the lack of preservation that many Soviets had. … Continue reading »
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Meat, Margarine, and Murder
by GPittard •
The Soviet Union has always been known for their quick draw reflexes to silence anyone within their sovereignty who vocalized dissent to their reign. One of these moments to mention is the Novocherkassk massacre of 1962. This massacre was the Continue reading →
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To Infinity and Then a Rough Trip Home
by Steven Nagy •
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 […]
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Corn flakes for comrades
by piercedc •
Corn seems fairly common place to just about anyone who grew up in the western world, especially the United States. We are used to seeing the familiar crop in brands such as Corn Flakes, movie theater snacks in the shape of pop corn, or off the grill as “corn on the cob”. Simply put, corn […]