‘Long live the friendship between the Soviet Union and Finland!’ Irony, nostalgia, and melodrama in Finnish historical television drama and documentary series

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Pajala
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Drama ◽  
Politics Of Memory ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
East West

In critical studies on historical television programmes, the affective qualities of televisual memory have been discussed mainly in terms of nostalgia. This article argues that conceptualizing the affective modes of relating to the past in more varied ways can help us to better understand the politics of memory on television. As a case study, the article analyses Finnish Broadcasting Company Yleisradio’s historical drama and documentary series that deal with the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union. The article identifies three affective modes in the programmes: irony, nostalgia and melodrama. Each of these modes offers different possibilities for critiquing, understanding and justifying the past. By studying televisual memories of the Soviet Union in a non-socialist country with important political, economic and cultural ties with the socialist bloc, the article moreover questions a clear East–West binary in studies on post-socialist memory.

Moscow and Tokyo: An Uneasy Peace

1985 ◽  
Vol 481 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
HIROSHI KIMURA
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Political ◽  
Soviet Policy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Northern Territories ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines why Soviet-Japanese relations since 1945 have been so poor at the political, economic, and military levels. It first analyzes recent changes in Moscow's foreign policy toward Japan and then looks at the major determinants shaping this policy. Kimura assesses recent Soviet policy and concludes that the Soviet Union has few diplomatic options open to improve the Soviet-Japanese relationship. Soviet diplomacy in the past has been heavy-handed, clumsy, and inflexible, especially as regards the so-called Northern Territories. Soviet attitudes must evidence greater flexibility and a willingness to negotiate before the relationship can be significantly improved.

On the Relationship between Law and Morality

2020 ◽  
pp. 87-92
Author(s):  
T. N. Pidlasko
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Law And Morality ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

The article touches on the topical issue of interaction between law and morality, caused by the fact that society is constantly developing, and this process is endless, therefore, the norms of law and morality are constantly changing in their development. This process is not easy and covers different sides. Any country is unique because it has its own specific features and uniqueness. The Russian Federation is particularly unique, because on the one hand, it is the largest in terms of area, population and territory, on the other hand, it is home to a large variety of ethnic groups. Our government has repeatedly experienced a total conversion, was confronted with a powerful crisis, not only political, but also economic. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia again experienced a crisis that affected the economy, politics, and the spiritual world of Russian society. Up to the present time Russia is trying to overcome this crisis, at the same time faced with new challenges. Political transformations, economic realities, and many other factors certainly have an impact on law and morals, because in the country, society, subjected to huge tests, regularly changes, changing its spirit and mentality. The past legislation is outdated, and the new one is still being formed, passing through a number of mistakes and entering into disagreement with the past foundations.

From the Second World to Global South?

2020 ◽  
pp. 46-66
Author(s):  
Ellen A. Ahlness
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Political Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Second World

Tajikistan has experienced numerous barriers to economic and political development over the past 100 years. Pressured into joining the Soviet Union, which lasted nearly 70 years, Tajikistan sank into a civil war upon achieving its independence. This resulted in numerous deaths, displacement, and infrastructural devastation. Since the conflict, Tajikistan has experienced tremendous economic growth and positive social developments; however, Western media overwhelmingly focuses on isolated incidences of violence and socioeconomic trends that casts Tajikistan in a negative light. This also creates a “horn effect” that frames the Tajik socioeconomic situation as underdeveloped and lacking freedoms. A narrative analysis of stories on Tajikistan from the United States' top 10 news outlets from 1998 to 2018 portrays unrepresentative and paternal pictures of Tajikistan's political, economic, and social developments.

The Mutability of the Canon: Socialist Realism and Chingiz Aitmatov's I dol'she veka dlitsia den'

Slavic Review ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katerina Clark
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Socialist Realist ◽  
The Way

Chingiz Aitmatov's recent novel I dol'she veka dlitsia den’ provides an excellent case study of the way the socialist realist canon can generate new paradigms out of itself. At a time when it is widely assumed in the West that all reputable Soviet authors have gone “beyond” socialist realism, the appearance of this novel is particularly instructive.Aitmatov's book has had greater impact in the Soviet Union than any other novel published there in recent years. It covers subjects that are both highly topical and sensitive politically. Yet it does so by using the conventions of socialist realism to a greater extent than has been seen in the major Soviet writing of the past fifteen years. Indeed, Aitmatov has somehow contrived to weave into the fabric of his text patterns reminiscent of every period in the development of socialist realism.

scholarly journals Le Corbusier versus Sergei Eisenstein. La construcción de un sueño

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Martínez Millana
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Le Corbusier ◽  
Moving Image ◽  
Sergei Eisenstein ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Made In

Resumen: Este artículo plantea la revisión de la relación entre el arquitecto Le Corbusier y el cineasta Sergei Eisenstein. Se lanza como hipótesis la posible influencia del cineasta en Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier versus Eisenstein en el sentido más profundo de ‘avanzar en dirección a’: Le Corbusier hacia la cinematografía, no como contraposición. Se esboza el papel de cada figura y su encuentro en el período de 1928-1936, tiempo en que Le Corbusier se aproximó a la Unión Soviética, un contexto que configura un marco complejo a partir del cual es posible entrever aquello que los vincula y que refuerza la hipótesis planteada. Por otro lado, se realiza un análisis de Poème électronique - filme de 480” que Le Corbusier hace en 1958 con motivo de la Exposición Universal en Bruselas - con la intención de visibilizar que Le Corbusier recurre a la técnica del montaje dialéctico de la que Eisenstein era maestro y por tanto la consustancial influencia. Le Corbusier reconoce el potencial de esta técnica de montaje y se sirve de ella como la estrategia clave en su aproximación al ámbito de la cinematografía. El mecanismo del montaje dialéctico forma parte de su propio pensamiento y lo materializa en su arquitectura y también en el caso de estudio que nos ocupa, en la disciplina de la imagen en movimiento, tan próxima a ésta. Pero hay más, en el Pabellón Philips la técnica del montaje oculto - sobre la que Eisenstein había teorizado en aquél periodo - está presente, pues mediante éste mecanismo construye la puesta en escena del espectáculo total. Como veremos, Poème électronique representa la construcción de un sueño. Abstract: This article reviews the relationship between the architect Le Corbusier and the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. When launched, it was seen to hypothesise the possible influence of the filmmaker in the work of Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier versus Eisenstein, in the deepest sense of the expression, is portrayed as "towards to": Le Corbusier towards the film, not in opposition to it. It outlines the role of each figure and their interactions during the period between 1928 and 1936, the time when Le Corbusier got closer to the Soviet Union. This context forms a complex framework from which it is possible to glimpse what it is that links them, reinforcing the hypothesis-raised. On the other hand, this work presents an analysis of the Poème électronique - 480" film Le Corbusier made in 1958 for the Universal Exhibition in Brussels - in order to exemplify that Le Corbusier uses the technique of dialectical montage, in which Eisenstein was the undisputed master, thereby highlighting an inherent influence. Le Corbusier recognises the potential of this montage technique and uses it as a key strategy in his approach to the field of cinema. The mechanism of dialectical montage is a part of Le Corbusier's own thought and this materialises both in his architecture as well as in the subsequent case study regarding the discipline of the moving image, which is closely aligned to it. There is, however, more to it. In the Philips Pavilion, the hidden montage technique - theorised by Eisenstein in that period - is present, the use of which was the mechanism to construct the stage for the spectacle as a whole. As we will see, Poème électronique represents the construction of a dream.  Palabras clave: Eisenstein; Le Corbusier; Le Poème électronique; montaje dialéctico; montaje oculto; cinematografía. Keywords: Eisenstein; Le Corbusier; Le Poème électronique; dialectical montage; hidden montage; cinematography. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/LC2015.2015.824

scholarly journals The hunger games: famine 1932–1933 in the historical policy of Ukraine and Russia

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Viachaslau I. Menkouski ◽  
Michal Šmigel’ ◽  
Lizaveta Dubinka-Hushcha
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Politics Of Memory ◽  
Hunger Games ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
National Memory ◽  
The Hunger Games ◽  
State Of Affairs

The modern historical policy of Ukraine and the Russia is analysed. The study uses the methodology of historical memory studies, specifically, research of historical consciousness, collective and historical memory. The methodology is based on the analysis of a situation when ideas about the past as national history depend on the mentality and goal setting of a particular social, national or other group. The object of the study is the modern socio-political situation in Ukraine and Russia associated with the understanding and assessment of the famine of 1932–1933 both in the Soviet Union as a whole, and in Ukraine in particular. The authors consider the modern memorial culture of the two nations, highlight issues of regional and national identity and the formation of myths of national memory as central issues in the paper. The transformation of memorial practices and the legal framework of the Russia and Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union is considered. The authors arrive at the conclusion that the discussion between the Russian and Ukrainian sides to this day has turned into constructing a scheme of the «reverse history» based on the projection of the present state of affairs into the past. It is not possible to find any fundamentally new evidence as long as the Russian archives remained classified, and the parties increasingly resort to a nationalist type of argumentation. Punning on the name of the famous Hollywood blockbuster, we can say that the «hunger games» have become a reality in the modern politics of memory of post-Soviet states.

Anglo Nostalgia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Campanella ◽  
Marta Dassù
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Global Order ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Great Danger ◽  
Ageing Populations

Nostalgia has become a major force in global politics. While Donald Trump hopes to ‘make America great again’, Xi Jinping calls for a ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese people’, and a majority of Russians still mourn the Soviet Union. But it is Brexit, with its idealization of a bygone era of full sovereignty, that epitomizes nostalgic nationalism in its purest form. Despite its romantic flavor, nostalgia is a malaise—a combination of paranoia and melancholy that idealizes the past, while denigrating the present. This epidemic of mythicizing national history is shaping politics in risky ways, fueled by ageing populations, shifts in the global order, and technological disruption. When deployed in the political debate, collective nostalgia is used as an emotional weapon, capable of mobilizing a nation towards illusory goals. Drawing on psychology, political science, history and popular culture, Anglo Nostalgia analyses the rapid spread of this global phenomenon, before focusing on Brexit as a case study. With the detachment of informed outsiders, Campanella and Dassù expose nostalgia’s great danger: the oversimplification of reality, leading to unprecedented political miscalculations and rising geopolitical tensions.

scholarly journals Does Latvia Matter in Regional Geopolitics?

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Jeremy W. Lamoreaux ◽  
Nicholas Dyerly
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Near Abroad ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

AbstractAs early as 1994, scholars, analysts and policymakers began to wonder the extent to which the Baltic States mattered in the relationship between Russia and the West. The general consensus for the following 20 years was that the Baltic States matter considerably, especially following their inclusion in both the EU and NATO in 2004. However, in the past few years two trends have emerged which begin to call this accepted knowledge into question. First, the relationship between Russia and the West has turned more hostile following nearly 20 years of detente. The West insists (especially NATO) insists that it is within its right to protect states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union/Russia’s “near abroad”. Russia, on the other hand, insists that NATO incursion into the “shared neighborhood” is a violation of trust and overstepping normal geopolitical bounds.Second, the Baltic States who once presented something of a united front for the West against Russia, no longer appear to have a common approach to foreign policy. While Estonia leans toward Scandinavia, and Lithuania leans toward Poland and Ukraine, Latvia is a bit of an odd man out with nowhere to turn. Furthermore, even other states in the Shared Neighborhood no longer seem to see Latvia as a valuable ally within the West. Considering this state of affairs, this paper considers whether Latvia matters anymore in regional geopolitics, or whether they are losing relevance.

Legacies of Stalin or Putin? Public Opinion and Historical Memory in Ukraine

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110416
Author(s):  
Vitali Shkliarov ◽  
Vera Mironova ◽  
Sam Whitt
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
World War ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Reflection ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Appraisals

Our research considers the relationship between historical memory and political evaluations of the past and present. We first examine how historical reflection on the Soviet Union under Stalin is influenced by memories of familial suffering during World War II and victimization under the widespread Soviet gulag prison system. Based on a 2019 representative survey of Ukraine, we show that respondents who recall family members being injured or killed fighting during World War II and those who recount families being imprisoned in Soviet gulags have increased positive and negative appraisals of the Soviet Union under Stalin respectively. However, we also find that favorable opinions of Stalin are strongly predicted by approval of Vladimir Putin, who has actively promoted rehabilitation of Stalin’s legacy to bolster personalist rule at home and justify revisionist agendas abroad, including in Ukraine. Our results underscore interactions between the present and past in shaping historical memory such that what appears as enduring legacies of the past could also be a function of present political circumstances.

Historical Changes in the Design of Beijing Social Housing

2013 ◽  
Vol 742 ◽  
pp. 122-126
Author(s):  
Xu Jia Li ◽  
Ying Wei Cui
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Urban Background ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Goals And Objectives ◽  
Historical Origins

This paper centers on the changes in the interior configuration of typical social housing in Beijing in the past 63 years. This history is divided into three distinct stages, and comparisons are made between social housing in Beijing and its models for each stage. The models for the three stages were chronologically, the Soviet Union, Hong Kong, and western countries. The rationale for this study is to find the historical origins of the broad contemporary changes in the interior configuration of Beijings social housing. The theoretical framework is based on the three stages of social housing in Beijing; each stage has a unique political, economic, cultural, and urban background, which influences the social housing greatly. The goals and objectives are to make a clear historical line of the social housing, and the intended readers are professional designers and individuals who are interested in social housing history. The study will be in the form of a literature review and a series of case studies, and its scope will be within typical social housing.

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