MetaFilter posts tagged with ussr

Night witches

shetterly — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:18:57 -0800

Night witches. "Russia's three all-female air regiments flew more than 30,000 missions along the Eastern Front in WWII. At home they were known as Stalin's Falcons, but terrified German troops called them the Night Witches." Also: Adventures in Feministory: The Night Witches, more on The Night Witches and Soviet Women Pilots in the Great Patriotic War, plus some youtube footage: soviet airwomen in WW2 "Night witches".

1989: The Lost Year

cog_nate — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:02:51 -0800

1989: The Lost Year. "Twenty years after the Berlin Wall came down, the end of the Cold War still inspires euphoria and triumphalism in the West. But even as we lift toasts once again to the victory of 1989, we should re-examine that momentous year. Documents, memoirs, and other evidence that have come to light suggest that for relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was also a time of missed opportunity." The first article in a series by Foreign Policy. Also, check out the National Security Archive's Electronic Briefing Books section to access "critical declassified records on issues including U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, and more."

Comrade Draper, we have a new account from Acme Caviar.

grumblebee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:23:47 -0800

Mad Men: Soviet Style. Beautiful advertising posters from the USSR.

1989, revolution in Eastern Europe

Kattullus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:49:20 -0800

The BBC World Service has put together a special report on the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe (they also have a simpler portal). There is a wealth of material, including TV reports on key events from the BBC archives, interviews, a map timeline, a report on Catholicism's role in the 1989 revolutions, a first-hand report of what it was like to gather news in East Germany during that time and much more.

"a real-life James Bond. His boozy amours, his tough postures, his intelligence expertise..."

The Whelk — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:55:35 -0800

In 1948, when John was five, Guy Burgess came to stay for a holiday. John's mother resented Burgess and his close relationship with her husband, and began staging accidents to claim attention; she once reported being mugged in her car, and on another occasion set fire to the living room, suffering serious burns. She was later sent to a Swiss clinic for treatment. Philby was posted to the United States the following year. The strange life of John Philby, the son of "the most hated man in England", Kim Philby, a member of the notorious Cambridge Five spying ring. (via)

Everyday life in the USSR

Rumple — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:50:06 -0800

Real USSR is a blog containing commentaries on everyday life in the former Soviet Union. The liberal use of family and other amateur photos provides unusual insight into the daily experience of Soviet life. Topics range from 1940s homemade double-exposure photography to queueing to USSR - the birthplace of feminism. via

WTF? Trippy music video from the USSR.

grumblebee — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:53:56 -0800

I'm not a fan of front-page posts that don't describe their link, but I seriously have no idea what this is. It's Russian. It's from the '60s. Now that I've watched it, I feel my life is complete, yet I somehow simultaneously want my eight minutes back (you've been warned). SLYT.

Proletarians of All Lands, Unite!

madamjujujive — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:01:23 -0800

Peasant! Free your pregnant wife from work, don't allow her to pick up heavy items since this will harm her and the child. An excellent collection of vintage soviet propaganda, public health, and infographics posters from 20s to 30s, many with full translations.

The Singing Revolution

Effigy2000 — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:16:36 -0800

Some revolutions are about hate. Others are about revenge. But there was at least one that was about hope and music. The Singing Revolution is the story of how hope and music saved a nation. After World War II the Baltic States had been fully incorporated into the USSR after military occupation and annexation in 1940. Many years later in 1985, hoping to stimulate the failing Soviet economy and encourage productivity, particularly in the areas of consumer goods, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced "glasnost", which rescinded the limitations on political freedoms. This gave rise to huge problems in the Baltic States, which had been occupied unlawfully in the build-up to war in the 1940s. From 1987, a cycle of mass demonstrations featuring spontaneous singing eventually collected 300,000 Estonians in Tallinn to sing national songs and hymns that were strictly forbidden during the years of the Soviet occupation.

"We sang all night and everybody went home early in the morning. It was emotionally so strong that the next day there were even more people. The day after, there were even more people. People took out their hidden flags. They had these flags hidden for 50 years and now they took these out and started to wave them.”
Artur Talvik, participant.

These gatherings helped unite the Estonian people, ignited a renewed wave of passion for their national identity and furthered the country's desire for freedom. In September of 1988, 300,000 Estonians gathered at the Lauluvaljak to continue their protest and to hear Trivimi Velliste, an historian who later served as the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, make the first public demand for independence. The Singing Revolution, as it later became known, lasted over four years, with various protests, rock concerts and acts of defiance. In 1991, as Soviet tanks attempted to stop the progress towards independence, the Estonian Supreme Soviet together with the Congress of Estonia proclaimed the restoration of the independent state of Estonia and repudiated Soviet legislation. People acted as human shields to protect radio and TV stations from the Soviet tanks. Through these actions Estonia regained its independence without any bloodshed.

hatchink fiendish plan to catch moose and squirrel

shothotbot — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:14:05 -0800

Interested in Soviet era spying by the KGB in the United States? Bummed that you cant get into the KGB archives? Well it turns out that someone copied all the good stuff already, and you can take a peek. Alexander Vassiliev was a KGB officer who turned to journalism in 1990. From 1993-96 he had access to the KGB archives for the 1930s to early 1950s to write notes for a book project on Soviet spying in the Stalin era. His original notebooks - including extensive verbatim transcriptions - were left behind in Moscow when he moved to London but smuggled out via an elaborate plan. There are eight notebooks, on the Cold War International History site there are scans, transliterations and translations of each notebook, free for nothing. Vassilev assisted in the transcriptions and transliterations. The whole story is in Alexander Vassiliev’s Notebooks: Provenance and Documentation of Soviet Intelligence Activities in the United States (pdf). "Since the KGB’s archives remain closed, Vassiliev’s notebooks are as close as we are likely to get to the actual documents for many years, likely decades"

uuc of spades

Rumple — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:56:41 -0800

Soviet-era Mayan-themed playing cards.

Another Russian animation post?!

defenestration — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:49:54 -0800

Animatsiya in English is weblog (warning: livejournal) with a narrow focus: tracking the production of Russian animated feature films. Russian animation has a long history with output both abstract and obstructed; from the early influence of the Russian avant-garde and the work of small groups of enthusiasts, through Stalin-era Socialist realism and a style known as Éclair that was marked by the use of extensive rotoscoping, to the 1960's and beyond when surreal and politically charged (and unfortunately, in this case, anti-Semitic) as well as unconventionally structured, emotionally fueled films found release. Fortunately, when Pilot Studio—the Soviet Union's first private animation studio—decided to relegate parts of that history to the dumpsters out back, the people were ready to sift through the mess. The links to YouTube are meant as examples– not definitive works. I am no expert and YouTube and the rest of the video-based interwebs don't have some of what I'd pick, unfortunately! If the video is broken up into parts, you will see the rest under Related Videos. It seems that propaganda pervades much of Russian animation, through its many phases. The topic of Russian animation is not new to MeFi. YouTube user yukkimishima has uploaded many Russian animated films that span from the beginning to present day.

Well there goes Reykjavik

blahblah — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:29:06 -0800

More subprime collateral damage. Iceland's now getting a $5B bailout from Russia. What does Russia want in return? Access to shipping lanes? The old US base? via

Has the US peaked and is in decline?

yoyo_nyc — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:24:02 -0800

Some books you might want to read about the US and recent political developments in the world. In 1987 Paul Kennedy published The rise and fall of great powers. He predicted the decline and collapse of the USSR and analyzed patterns that came with the rise and fall of great powers in the last 500 years. A superpower basically gets builds on economic strength, over-stretches its power, exhausts itself by over-stretching and finally falls, at least by the theory of Kennedy. Kennedy points out that nearly every power has reacted to decline with increased military spending, which leads to a feed-back effect. Money and resources that are needed for economic growth are consumed by an ever increasing military budget. In 2006 nearly 50% of the worlds military spending was done by the US. Recently we have seen problems in Georgia and other former USSR states (Orange revolution in Ukraine). Brzezinski laid out his most significant contribution to post–Cold War geostrategy in his 1997 book The Grand Chessboard. He defined regions of Eurasia and in which ways the United States ought to design its policy toward each region in order to maintain its global primacy. Brzezinski recommends in this book that the US should support and encourage separatist movements in and around Russia and China. Currently the US has military bases not only in Eastern Europe but also in Uzbekistan and Kirghistan. The US also wants Ukraine and Georgia to join the NATO. Seven years ago, in 2001, the French scientist Emmanuel Todd wrote "After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order", a book that was widely received as left wing US-bashing. Recently this book has been re-reviewed more positively and Todds description of the US housing bubble, industrial decline, trade deficit and "military theatricalism" might be more than just US-bashing. Todd predicted in 1976, at the age of 26, the decline of the USSR in "The Final Fall: An Essay on the Decomposition of the Soviet Sphere" what could be seen as a kind of track record. Emanuel Todd claims that the US has peaked and that the future economic center will be Eurasia. With Europe and Asia connected by Russia, the central piece of geostrategic interests Here, Todd and Brzezinski agree that Russia holds the key to many geostrategic scenarios. For Todd it is Russia that will economically connect Eurasia, for Brzezinski this is a threat and hence separatist movements should be supported. Amazingly Todd sees fewer problems with Muslim extremists due to increasing literacy rates especially among the females but not everybody agrees with him.

Soviet Jazz

StrikeTheViol — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:54:48 -0800

When people think of Soviet culture in the Stalin era, jazz usually isn't the first music to come to mind. But it was there, and some of it was pretty good, whether adapting Western standards, partying with a Russian twist, or just being adventurous. If that's a little too old-school for you, try some Soviet funk.

Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия

fearfulsymmetry — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:50:06 -0800

Comrades! Glory once again in the display of ~~Soviet~~ Russian military might at the revitalized ~~May Day~~ Victory Day Parade!

Lemon Ades You?

interrobang — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:56:49 -0800

Soviet Lemonade Labels

Mars in Pictures

Chinese Jet Pilot — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:03:35 -0800

The evolution of Mars imaging from orbit: Mariner 4 (1964), Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 (both 1969), Mariner 9 (1971) (all NASA), Mars 5 (1973) (USSR), Viking 1 (1975), Viking 2 (1976), Mars Global Surveyor (1996), Mars Odyssey (2001) (NASA), Mars Express (2003) (ESA), up to this spy-quality shot of an active avalanche taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005).

The Notes of a Japanese prisoner in the USSR

tellurian — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:54:12 -0800

Kiuchi Nobuo - a Japanese airman in World War II, was captured and sent to a prison camp in the Ukraine. He tells his story with drawings.

Did Vladimir Putin really turn around Russia's economy?

gregb1007 — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:34:30 -0800

Did Vladimir Putin really turn around Russia's economy? Washington Post's Fred Hyatt attempts to refute the conventional wisdom that Putin was responsible for Russia's turnaround from the economic instability of the "disastrous" 90s by offering a thorough counter argument to prove that Putin's effect on the economy was just the reverse. Hyatt believes that Russia's astonishing economic recovery should not be credited to Putin, but in fact to the fiscal solvency brought about by the reforms that were carried out in the late 90s by Yeltsin's prime minister Yevgeny Primakov.*1. Furthermore, he argues that Putin's crackdown on the free press and on independent businesses has had a disastrous impact on the economy by discouraging foreign investment. The result was stalled economic growth whose rate has dropped far behind that of the other former Soviet republics despite enormous growth in oil revenues. *2 *Primakov served as Yeltsin's prime minister in 1998-1999. *Russia's rate of growth used to be the 2nd best out of all former 15 Soviet republics when Putin took power in 2000, but dropped to 13th best by 2005. It can be argued that the Russian economy grew under Putin, but the rate of growth was highest just when he came to power and that his rule had the effect of dampening it.

Тхундербирдс являются дороге!

Artw — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 08:28:50 -0800

Russian cold war bombers - The Tu 95 Bear and Tu 160 Blackjack, based in central Russia, which resumed long range patrols in August.

Trotsky's Appeal

Firas — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:21:37 -0800

"Trotsky lived on after Stalin, and to some extent is still alive today, not because young people want the world he wanted: a phantasm that not even he could define. What they want is to be him."

Shooting Range

TrialByMedia — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:25:30 -0800

Out of work? The Shooting Range is hiring. No, not the Firing Range. The Shooting Range.

Space: 1989

dersins — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:20:46 -0800

Some photo galleries (and youtube video) of Buran, the USSR's space shuttle program (previously) from the 1980's, long since abandoned. Bonus: A comparison between Buran and the US space shuttle. Double Bonus: More on Buran from russianspaceweb.com, which is awesome. Combo breaker: An official page with NASA's take on Buran, (and their photos), frozen in time a decade ago.

A Soviet Poster A Day

jonson — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:53:19 -0800

A Soviet Poster A Day delivers what it promises, one propaganda rich helping of Soviet art every day to help you on your daily doings.