Monthly Archives: October 2011

“Russian state-controlled media must stop whitewashing Stalin’s image” – Russian human rights activists and historians claim

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Mr Kydd

This article from Wednesday’s Washington Post reflects the reality that Joseph Stalin remains a very controversial figure in modern day Russia. It is noteworthy that he was voted the third greatest Russian of all time on a television programme in 2008. … Continue reading →

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Soviet Propaganda – snapshots of the totalitarian state ?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Mr Kydd

When we were coming to the end of Agriculture, we had our first proper look at Stalin. The scale and scope of Collectivisation certainly left an impact on many of you. We moved on to discuss the idea of a totalitarian … Continue reading →

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Top up notes and Essay Writing Ideas

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Mr Kydd

Please note that I have just put a possible plan for the uniformly bleak agriculture essay in the Essay planning section of the site. I have also posted some top up notes on Collectivisation and the Five Year Plans in … Continue reading →

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Taking Politics Out of the Trotsky Debate

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Mr Kydd

Few figures in Russian History are as controversial as Leon Trotsky. There are many reasons for this – some are to do with race, and some to do with politics. Have a look at at this review in the Jewish Daily … Continue reading →

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“If you go looking for political meaning you can always find it. If you don’t, you don’t.” – Ilya Kabakov

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Mr Kydd

Ilya Kabakov is a Russian artist who has traditionally been seen as an anti-Soviet dissident. This article from the Daily Beast explains how “after Stalin died in 1953, the frozen Soviet Union saw Khrushchev’s Thaw. Artists and intellectuals found themselves suddenly … Continue reading →

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Am I in proportion Year Thirteen ?

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Mr Kydd

We are now coming close to completing our work on agriculture. You should now be able to cast an informed eye over my attempt to plot the relative levels of suffering for the peasants. Have I got it right ? Please post … Continue reading →

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The starter sentence we drew up this period…

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Mr Podesta

The continuing need to modernise first the Army, and then to keep autocracy, created a need to reform other lateral aspects of Russian life, overall these reforms were exploitative.

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An essay plan and the fall of the Tsars

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Mr Podesta

An interesting video on the pressures on the regime in the immediate run up to the revolution: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/the-abdication-of-tsar-nicholas-ii-in-1917/5672.html With my group we’ve started to plan the essay. Below is our first thought – we’ll modify this on monday and post … Continue reading →

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Khrushchev – the reforming Communist who failed ?

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Mr Kydd

As this picture suggests, Khrushchev was a very different figure from Stalin. He is most remembered for the Cuban Missile Crisis which ultimately brought  him down. In the context of our domestic course he is usually portrayed as a failed … Continue reading →

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