Terror in Soviet Architecture: The Murder of Mikhail Okhitovich

Slavic Review ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh D. Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
Common People ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Soviet Union

Throughout the 1920s and into the years of Stalinism, progressive architects in the Soviet Union sought to construct new forms of housing and settlement that would offer the best of modern technology and whose design would include provisioning of services that would allow all citizens, especially women, to partake in creative work. Schools, dining facilities, laundries, parks, cinemas, clubs and housing in a choice of styles formed the core of these architectural dreams. In the tradition of the Populists, modernist architects initially saw themselves as teachers but some came to appreciate the necessity of listening and began to learn from worker assessments of housing and urban design. This communication formed the basis for bridging, at least in housing, the cultural gap between revolutionary elites and common people. Inherent in the modernist movement in architecture, as reflected most eloquently in the work of the Association of Contemporary Architects (OSA), was a greater democratization of political and social life.

Comintern Aesthetics in the Andes: The Indigenous Revolutionary

2021 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-473
Author(s):  
Anna Björk Einarsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
World System ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Cesar Vallejo ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Andes ◽  
The Soviet Union

The fight against imperialism and racism was central to the Comintern's political and cultural program of the interwar period. Although the more immediate interests of the Soviet state would come to overshadow such causes, the cultural and political connections forged during this time influenced later forms of organizing. Throughout the interwar period (1918-39), the Soviet Union served as the core location of a newly formed world-system of socialist and communist radicalism. The origin of Latin American Marxism in the work of the Peruvian theorist and political organizer José Carlos Mariátegui, as well as the politically committed literature associated with the interwar communist left in the Andean region of Latin America, shows how literature and theory devoted to the indigenous revolutionary contributed to interwar Marxist debates. The interwar influence of Mariátegui and César Vallejo makes clear the importance of resisting attempts to drive a wedge between the two authors and the broader communist movement at the time.

The Pulse in the Machine: Automating Tibetan Diagnostic Palpation in Postsocialist Russia

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 407-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Chudakova
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Tibetan Medicine ◽  
The Core ◽  
System A ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Forms Of Knowledge

AbstractThis article analyzes efforts by Soviet and present-day scientists in Russia to “rationalize” and ultimately automate the diagnostic techniques of Tibetan medicine. It tracks the institutional and conceptual histories of designing a pulse diagnostic system, a project that began in the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. It has recently been re-enlivened in Buryatia, an ethnic minority region in Southeastern Siberia, in efforts to mobilize indigenous medical practices in response to local and national public health concerns. I focus on the translational ideologies that informed efforts to develop the pulsometer as a medical imaging technology, and analyze obstacles to these efforts found at the core of the device. Scientists working on the pulsometer have systematically tried to discern whether their measurements indicate sustained bodily pathologies, or instead reflect only technological white noise, and they still recruit and rely on the embodied expertise of practitioners of Tibetan medicine to validate their findings. In so doing they reaffirm claims that Tibetan medicine in Buryatia is inextricable from the forms of knowledge and practice that their projects work to standardize. I show how the apparent failures at perfect mechanization have made the pulsometer a surprisingly productive site for creating new kinds of expert communities and forms of knowledge making.

The Evolution of Centripetal Fraternalism: The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

1985 ◽  
Vol 481 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-103
Author(s):  
MARCIN SAR
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Economic Independence ◽  
The West ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Soviet Union

The author comments on the dynamics of Moscow's effort to reconcile its pursuit of control over Eastern Europe with its interest in a viable Eastern Europe, one that is stable and capable of self-sustaining development. Although Moscow has always exercised control in military matters, it allowed some Eastern Europeans economic independence in the 1970s. Changing circumstances in the 1980s, however, have caused the Kremlin to rethink its relationships with its Eastern European “satallies”— half satellites, half allies. Moscow faces dilemmas in areas such as energy, agriculture, the Eastern European states' relations with the West, economic reforms occurring in Eastern Europe, and integration within COMECON. How Moscow resolves these dilemmas lies at the core of its future relationships with Eastern Europe. Other important factors include the lessons learned from Poland, East Germany's evolving relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany, and China's growing economic and political initiatives vis-à-vis Eastern Europe.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW IN GEORGIA

2019 ◽  
pp. 28-42
Author(s):  
Ketevan Tskhadadze
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Important Place ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
Administrative Body ◽  
Administrative Code ◽  
Administrative Justice

Purpose. In 1999 the adoption of the General Administrative Code and Administrative Procedure Code in Georgia gave basis for creation of the new administrative law, since before the entry into force of the above-mentioned codes, Georgia had no tradition of the administrative law and, hence, no practice of the administrative justice. In Georgia being part of the Soviet Union, and in the Soviet Union overall, the administrative law did not exist with the understanding that is regulated by the modern administrative law. The communist doctrine of the administrative law radically differs from the modern administrative law because in those times the administrative legislation was mainly defining the citizens’ obligations before the administration, rather than ensuring citizens’ rights and protection of their interests. Methods. Therefore, the article discusses development stages of the administrative law, the path gone through by the administrative law starting from the formulation until present time, also the Soviet heritage and its influence on the development of the administrative law is discussed, along with the influence of the European reception and establishment within the Georgian legislation, the core factors are analyzed, which caused the necessity of the creation of new administrative law. Results. The significant part in the article is devoted to the discussion of the subject of administrative law and system of administrative law on the example of the Georgian administrative law. The core elements of the implementation of public administration are discussed, the notion of the administrative body, forms of activity of the administrative body and basic principles that are characteristic to the Georgian administrative law. Conclusions. In this regard, the important place is given to particularities of the administrative proceeding and judicial process in Georgia, namely, so called “prejudicial” rule of appealing within the administrative body, suspensive effect of the administrative appeal, principles of disposition and inquisition in the administrative process, as well as the institute of the amicus curiae is discussed, as a particularity of the Georgian administrative justice.

scholarly journals Emblematic journeys: Gianni Rodari in the USSR

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Education ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Folk Tradition ◽  
Real Responsibility

The article focuses on the success of the works of the Italian children’s writer Gianni Rodari in the Soviet Union. One of the reasons for Gianni Rodari’s success in his native Italy lies in his previous popularity in the Soviet Union, thanks to early translations of his works by Samuil Marshak and his numerous visits to the USSR beginning in the 1950s. A committed communist, Rodari wanted to get a better understanding of the country that he admired so much. However, his political attitude was not narrow-minded; he investigated the Soviet education system and style of upbringing and communicated with his readers – Soviet children. In Cipollino, the author created a universally acknowledged ideal of a good and honorable hero who fights for freedom, plays in earnest, laughs at difficulties and strives to grow up into a responsible citizen. There are two main factors that contributed to the success of Rodari’s works with Soviet readers: first, their material contains an in-depth interpretation of the concept of utopia. Rodari understood utopia not as an abstraction but as a real responsibility of humanity for its better future. Second, in his creative work, the author pays great attention to folk art, which is a theme running through his rhymes, fairy tales, and stories. Folk tradition was a fundamental element both in Italian children’s literature and the Soviet children’s literature promoted by Marshak and other prominent writers for children in the first half of 20th century. These two vectors are perfectly combined in Cipollino, a favourite character with Soviet children, whose adventures are still being translated and staged in theatres outside Italy. The interaction of these vectors explains why the Italian writer is still widely read and loved, his poems are included in school syllabi, and his words are acquiring a new meaning in the 21st century. The article also reveals the reasons for the lasting popularity of Gianni Rodari’s translated works in intersemiotic cultural space of film and cartoons, ballet etc in Russia, Ukraine and other post-Soviet states.

Vladimir g. wenger: scientist and his time (to the 115th birth anniversary)

2014 ◽  
pp. 132-142
Author(s):  
T. Kuznetsova
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
Soviet System ◽  
Active Participant ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Agrarian Studies ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

The article is devoted to the creative work of the Soviet economist-agrarian Vladimir Grigorievich Wenger, doctor of economic sciences, the employee of Institute of Economics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He was not only a contemporary, but also an active participant of all the most important events of this time, having the ability to analyze and critically comprehend. Along with deep agrarian studies of collective farmers, agricultural production and rural development in the Soviet Union; that have lost their relevance at the present time, Wenger’s works contribute to the understanding of the Soviet system as a social phenomenon.

scholarly journals Actually-Existing Success: Economics, Aesthetics, and the Specificity of (Still-)Socialist Urbanism

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 907-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Murawski
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Economic Stratification ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Critical Overview

AbstractA quarter century following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the people's democracies, many of the dwellings, utilities, and public spaces built by these regimes continue to be cherished by their inhabitants and users. This has only increased as post-socialist urban landscapes undergo an ever-intensifying process of neoliberal “re-privatization,” de-planning, and spatial as well as economic stratification. Scholars, however, continue to produce accounts emphasizing how socialist cities and buildings, as well as the audacious social goals built into them, failed. This article provides a critical overview of recent literature on built socialism and identifies a tension between two parallel ethnographic and historical narratives. One argues that built socialism failed, because it was too obsessed with the economy and industry and neglected every other aspect of social life. The other pins the blame for failure on built socialism's alleged fixation with aesthetic or discursive realms and its corresponding neglect of the economy. The article closes by suggesting pathways for comparative scholarship that consider built socialism in terms of not only collapse and disintegration, but also success and endurance; not simply ofeithereconomyoraesthetics, but also of their reciprocal inter-determination and co-dependence. We must look beyond the lens of imported theories and consider “vernacular” or “emic” concepts rooted in the specificities and singularities of the socialist city itself.

Yesterday Today

2018 ◽  
pp. 203-206
Author(s):  
Anthony Rimmington
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Biological Warfare ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
The Core ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Military ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Full Operation

Knowledge of Stalin’s historical biological warfare network is crucial to making sense of the vast offensive biological warfare program launched by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It is also a crucial aid to a full understanding of Russia’s current biological defense program. Nearly the entirety of the core infrastructure that was created during Stalin’s leadership remains in place today. The Shikhany proving ground, in existence since the 1920s, remains at the heart of Russia’s network and the three BW facilities created by Stalin at Kirov, Ekaterinburg and Sergiev Posad remain in full operation. As well as having originally created much of Russia’s existing physical military biological infrastructure, Stalin’s BW program is also likely to have resulted in the development by the military of technology for the manufacture of a range of new bioweapons. This technology presumably underwent further development during the offensive program launched in the 1970s by the Soviet Union and was eventually inherited by Russia.

The Double Edge of the Information Sword

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Aki-Mauri Huhtinen
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Core Values ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Free World ◽  
The West ◽  
Global Village ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Double Edge

In 1990, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its clandestine propaganda machine, the West became increasingly confident that globalization supported by an information technology network, the Internet, would increase openness, liberalism, and democracy; the core values of the ‘free world'. Western leaders knew then, just as they know now, a quarter of a century later that the power of the Internet would grow as the technology that controls its use develops. And developed it has. However, no development is all good and the Internet is no exception. It seems that the technology that has enabled us to create a “global village” where people are able to communicate in a way that is open, free and that bypasses the encumbrances of class and ethnicity has also brought with it a very dark underworld, an uncontrolled rhizome or meshwork, where propaganda, trolling and hate speeches are rife.

scholarly journals The Holodomor of 1932–33: How and Why?

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Stanislav Kulʹchytsʹkyi
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Joseph Stalin ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
The Way

The study of the Ukrainian Holodomor has reached a point where it is sufficiently voluminous that it is worthwhile to establish the core concepts and events vital to its thorough scholarly understanding.  This paper seeks to put forth one such possible outline.  It supports the position that the Holodomor is genocide; it rebuts arguments against this position; and it examines the way in which it differs from the Holocaust to which it is often compared.  By revealing the ideological and economic conditions of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, and the motivations of Stalin’s leadership and his desire to eliminate the threat of Ukrainian nationalism to the Soviet state, this paper shows how the Holodomor was made possible, and why it took the course it did, and that it was deliberate, and different from the All-Union famine that preceded it.  It briefly surveys the main sources upon which research on the topic relies and the major works pertinent to the development of scholarship on the Holodomor.  Once the necessary components for understanding the Holodomor are determined, a coherent and truthful narrative about it can be established and the false narratives that deny the deliberate nature of the famine can be revealed.

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