Reagan Campaign ad - Oct 31, 1984

Former US President Ronald Reagan speaks easily about his quest for peace, while at the same time initating massive spending increases on military equipment and intervention world wide. Part of this boost helps explain why the Soviet economy was forced, if not compelled, to devote so much of its resources to cold war preparations and defense. It also stresses the need to look behind pleasant words and smiles and judge more by foreign policy actions and intentions than simple facades.

TASHKENT UZBEKISTAN IN 1982

All too often, I find that the media and texts dealing with the Soviet Union and former Soviet Union focus exclusively on a few topics, such as poverty, human rights, or military conflict. This leaves people with a very biased view of what society may actually look like. The former USSR covers a wide range of cultures, languages, ethnicities and environments.

I have collected a few video clips to broaden the range of coverage of daily life.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, SOVIET UNION,1982

I found this clip showing scenes from the city in 1982

The Soviet Breakup: Its less about you and more about me

Dissolution, by Edward Walker, is a concise, well written book that challenges much of the popular myths associated with the collapse of the USSR. One of the primary one's quickly dismissed in this book is that oppressed ethno-linguistic minorities demanded freedom and left the Union. Instead of demand side forces to split up the union, which were not as widespread as typically believed, this book outlines supply side factors. In particular, the term sovereignty was vague enough that when used to argue for more power and control, it paved the way for 15 republics to suddenly find themselves as newly independent nation states recognized by the international community - and only 15 - despite the number of ethnicities in the USSR numbering more than 120 and there having been 53 members.

20 Years Later: The Guardian's Take on Two Decades of Post Soviet Union

Testing the Link to the article

REALLY SOCIALIST REALISM??

The exterior of apartment complexes can often appear bland and basic. Large concrete apartment blocks of near identical appearing rectangular boxes; sur eit might suggest an egalitarian principle, but also much more. I heard more than rumours that the original Stalinkas were designed and constructed with Hiroshima in mind; that if the US really does attack the Soviet Union using nuclear weapons, this type of construction will give the USSR a clear advantage in a recover scenario compared to wooden housing typical of North America. Not to mention many other benefits of solid construction, such as maintenance, fire proofing and such.

Inside the buildings are different story. there is often something very cozy about the apartment inside the block.

I often found in Paris that the decor was so elaborate on nearly every building that after a while I stopped noticing the beauty of such labour intensive designs - even the fact that they run in between the buildings or throughout where people are almost never going to see, appreciate and benefit from the craft. Here, this design really stands out.