Russian Rock’n’Roll, Avoiding Mind Control?

Rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union is far different than that of what we in America picture as rock’n’roll. This might not be the case when you take a look at the photo of Valery Saifudinov above, a pironeer of Soviet rock’n’roll, singing his last concerte before emigrating to the United States in 1974. Once you […]

Another Explosion in the Cold War

The first testing of a Hydrogen Bomb was conducted in 1952 by the United States of America in Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific, during Operation Ivy. Not to be outdone the Soviet Union then tested their own version of the Hydrogen bomb on August 12, 1953. This back and forth of weapon and […]

The Katyn Forest Massacre

The Katyn Forest Massacre was one of many great atrocities carried out during World War II. Shortly after Poland had be divided between the Soviets and the Nazi’s, in 1939, the mass executions of over 4,000 Polish officers was carried out in 1940. This massacre was carried out in the Katyn Forest, hence the name, […]

Russian to Prove Something

One common theme that can be seen throughout Russian and Soviet history is the over arching feeling that they have something to prove to the western world. Whether that be that they are just as modern and advanced if not more so, or that they are also a power to be reckoned with in the […]

The Treaty of Brest Litvosk

The Brest Litvosk Treaty was signed in the modern day city of Brest, which is located just across the Polish border with Belarus. At the time of signing though the city, then named the Brest Litvosk, was located deeply behind the German lines during World War I. While the official armistice (signing pictured above, photographed by […]

Fisherman on the Iset’ River

This is one of the many photos taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii for Tsar Nicholas the II. This one, in particular, was taken in the Ural Mountains, near the settlement of Kamensk-Uralskii, in 1909. This time, 1909, was at the beginning of the bulk of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photography for the Tsar, which had commissioned him to travel and photograph […]