Questions tagged [soviet-union]
The Soviet Union or USSR (1922–1991) was a socialist state in Eurasia. After the 1924 death of founding leader Lenin (who led the October Revolution in 1917), Stalin established a planned economy and suppressed political opposition. After World War II, the Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, opposing the USA in the Cold War. 1980s leader Gorbachev attempted reform with perestroika and glasnost but the country collapsed in 1991.
555
questions
2
votes
1
answer
243
views
How were Soviet nuclear weapons controlled?
Gobrachev said that the reason he allowed the Soviet Union to collapse was to prevent a civil war involving nuclear weapons. I think Kazakhastan returned the nukes in its territory, well after the ...
- 175
2
votes
1
answer
170
views
When was Joseph Alsop article 'Another Hitler-Time?' published in the Washington Post?
When was Joseph Alsop article 'Another Hitler-Time?' first published in the Washington Post? The Washington Post archives doesn't seem to contain this article.
This article contains, the supposed, ...
- 1
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Did Gosplan use Sears Roebuck and similar catalogues to "fix prices"?
Does anything corroborate the claim, made by Ray Evans in the March 2002 proceedings of the H.R. Nicholls Society (dedicated to deregulating the Australian labour market), that when the American ...
- 9,217
10
votes
2
answers
920
views
What are the origins of these revolution-era Russia images?
I saw an unrelated image include portions of these images:
I know they are from the 1918-1932 era of the USSR, judging from the art style, but I can not find titles or translations for them. I also ...
MCW♦
- 33.7k
0
votes
1
answer
156
views
Which Soviet resolution rejected "laughter for laughter's sake"?
George Counts (1949):
During the past two and one-half years the Central Committee has issued a series of "ideological resolutions" ... These resolutions not only reject "art for art's ...
- 10.3k
5
votes
1
answer
318
views
Why were so many Soviet films shot in 1938–39 about a future German invasion?
Why were so many Soviet films about an anticipated Nazi German invasion into the USSR shot in 1938–1939, both before the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and after it?
Before the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact Nazi ...
- 10.3k
4
votes
1
answer
387
views
Help identify details from a Soviet military uniform?
My family on my great-grandfather's side came from Romania and I have a picture of one of his brothers in a soviet military uniform.
I know nothing of his involvement in the military and was hoping ...
- 10.3k
19
votes
6
answers
10k
views
Why wasn’t the USSR “rebranded” communist?
I found that the Third International in 1921 sponsored a worldwide transformation of former “socialist” parties (that was concretely related to the rejection of so-called “reformism”, to be somewhat ...
- 9,716
-3
votes
2
answers
79
views
Ranking Eastern Europe Communist regimes by severity of repression [closed]
I was wondering that the severity of repression, censorship, economic stagnation must have varied greatly across the Eastern bloc countries between 1945-1990. It may even have varied over the years in ...
- 119k
7
votes
3
answers
642
views
What happened to schizophrenics in the USSR?
I'm looking for information on people who were unable to work because of schizophrenia or other major mental illness. Does anyone know what happened to them in the USSR?
18
votes
6
answers
5k
views
When and how did the West lose its dependency on the USSR for titanium?
This question was prompted by another one.
A long time ago, before I well-documented my internet research, I looked into the history of titanium, its procurement, refinement, and work-ability. I ...
MCW♦
- 33.7k
3
votes
1
answer
470
views
What's the proxy war that the USSR spent most resources on?
Off the top of my head it might be Afghanistan, but I'm not totally sure despite direct troop participation. They also sent substantial aid to Vietnam, North Korea, and various Arab countries fighting ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
2
answers
325
views
When in 1980s did travel to and from USSR became possible?
Soviet borders were closed for traveling from USSR for most Soviet people until late 1980s. I don't recall, however, the year/month when the borders opened. After 1986 and before 1991, but that's all ...
MCW♦
- 33.7k
1
vote
2
answers
232
views
Is there an example of a Soviet or Russian prison camp where both guards and prisoners perished?
NOTE:
As to previous research, I simply did a google search, "soviet prison camp where both guards and prisoners perished" and I got nothing besides general information about deaths in camps....
- 3,757
18
votes
10
answers
8k
views
Why did people in the USSR participate in elections?
It is well known that the elections in the USSR had only one candidate on the list, giving no real choice to the voter.
While it was possible to vote against a candidate, there was no realistic ...
- 175
5
votes
1
answer
784
views
Did Soviet people know Stalin's birth name?
We all know now that Stalin's birth name was Jughashvili (Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili). Lenin was born Ulyanov, Trotsky was Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Kamenev was Leo Rosenfeld, etc.
Searching ...
- 3,728
1
vote
0
answers
142
views
Did Soviet people decorate their own homes with outdoor Christmas lights?
As far back as the 1960s, it has been common in North America for people to decorate their homes with strands of outdoor lights during the winter holiday season. In the neighbourhood where I live, at ...
- 2,810
0
votes
2
answers
316
views
Did Nazi propaganda about the USSR change after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact?
I'm well-aware that Soviet propaganda completely changed its orientation after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, starting a much more positive portrayal of the Nazis in many aspects up until the German ...
- 2,097
15
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Did the Red Army and German Army clash in Poland in 1939?
I found a youtube lecture by Stephen Kotkin. He is a professor of history, wrote 2 books on Stalin with a 3rd on the way, and has access to certain Russian archives. That's all I know about him, ...
15
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Was the Soviet Union in 1945 seeking to capture German soldiers and civilians, or drive them west?
The latter part of Prit Buttar's Battleground Prussia deals with the desperate attempts by German soldiers and civilians to escape from the ports and peninsulas of East and West Prussia in early 1945. ...
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How did the KPD relate to the German state during the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact?
Between August 1939 and June 1941, Germany and the USSR had the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. During this time, many USSR-oriented communist parties in Europe and North America were (forced to be) rather ...
20
votes
1
answer
6k
views
How did the world react to Trotsky's assassination?
Exiled former Russian leader Leon Trotsky was murdered in Mexico in August 1940 (with an ice pick) by a Soviet agent in the interest of Trotsky's old rival for power, the then Soviet dictator Stalin. ...
4
votes
5
answers
3k
views
What was the German perspective on Stalingrad?
I'm quite interested in Stalingrad and have started reading a bit regarding the battle itself and have seen that weather had played quite a significant factor in halting the German advance. (Reading ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
4
answers
374
views
How accessible was the port of Archangelsk from the east?
During World War II, something like one half of Lend Lease supplies reached Russia via Vladivostok and the Trans Siberian railroad (what I call the eastern route); one quarter to south Russia from the ...
- 1
11
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Why were Soviet losses consistently so high?
The combat losses of Soviet Union were always higher than Nazi Germany, regardless of whether they won or lost. Even in Stalingrad or at the siege of Berlin the losses of Soviet Union were higher. In ...
CommunityBot
- 1
71
votes
9
answers
18k
views
Why did the USSR give Crimea to Ukraine?
In 1954 Soviets transferred Crimea from Russian Soviet Republic to Ukrainian Soviet Republic.
Why is this strange?
The whole act, at least officially, was meant to be "a gift", a token of friendship....
13
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How credible is Antony Beevor's work? [closed]
Some sources claim that Beevor is revisionist and anti-Soviet propagandist. What is the basis for this criticism? How credible is Beevor? What bias/influence should readers of Beevor's work keep in ...
MCW♦
- 33.7k
12
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What is the historical evidence behind the claim that the Soviets perpetrated mass rapes during their occupation of Germany?
Besides accounts from Anthony Beevor's book and research done by Sander & Johr, which some members of the amateur historian community dismiss as biased and revisionist, are there any other source ...
0
votes
1
answer
259
views
In the Soviet Union, what was the average cookware available in the home?
What was the average cookware available in someone's home (apartment) in the Soviet Union? The period I'm most interested in is the post-war up to the Brezhnev Stagnation, so this is roughly 1945 - ...
- 3,757
2
votes
1
answer
210
views
Did the US stop using the U-2 spy plane for USSR after the shoot-down event in 1960?
The shoot-down of Powers is a famous event in the history of modern military.
Did US stop using U-2 afterwards on USSR?
It is known that this event stimulated the US spy satellite program.
- 7,487
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How did the Czech Legion get home?
The Czech Legion was allied with the Russian Tsars just prior to the Russian revolution. After the Bolsheviks took power, they were unable to return via Europe. So they crossed the whole of Eurasia ...
- 7,487
4
votes
2
answers
640
views
Were there any female soldiers in the Soviet army who partook in the mass rapes in Eastern Germany?
Were there female Soviet soldiers that partook in the mass rapes in Eastern Germany?
The only source I found on any reaction of female soldiers on the mass rapes was in a testimony of a veteran:
...
- 479
6
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Is Wikipedia's identification of Lebed an error?
Speaking of the Alexander Yakovlev's conflict with the hardcore communists, the Wikipedia article says:
In the early 1980s, Yakovlev returned to the Soviet Union, and became a prominent supporter of ...
- 10.3k
5
votes
3
answers
363
views
(Why) did the PRC not [ever] recognize the incorporation of the Baltic states into the USSR?
I'm aware that the relationship between the PRC and the USSR was rocky at times, but it seems a little odd the PRC never recognized the three Baltic states as part of the USSR, that is according to ...
- 721
1
vote
2
answers
243
views
Did Comecon [even] fail to standardize container sizes?
This is from a 1983 NYT article:
Other obstacles to the bloc's growth include a wider railway gauge in the Soviet Union than that in most other countries of Eastern Europe, the absence of modern ...
-4
votes
1
answer
373
views
Was communism a weaponized idea deployed against Imperial Russia? [closed]
I remember a lecture by a historian praising Imperial Germany for defeating Imperial Russia by both political (financing and "deploying" Lenin) and military means, a feat that both Napoleon and Hitler ...
- 3,757
37
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Did Stalin believe Israel would go communist?
In Anne Applebaum's recent book Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956, she claims the USSR supported the new state of Israel and states
Stalin believed Israel would quickly join the ...
6
votes
3
answers
439
views
Why were Soviet attitudes towards Israel inconsistent in the late 40's and 50's?
What are the different theories explaining the inconsistent attitude Soviet Russia had towards the nascent State of Israel between the years 1947 and 1953?
Communist Russia's hate of Zionism is well ...
29
votes
7
answers
13k
views
Why did Stalin and the Soviet leadership have Leon Trotsky assassinated?
Leon Trotsky was killed with a mountaineering ice axe in Mexico. The method of murder chosen was interesting. If he was a political fugitive in far off Mexico, why bother dealing with him? What about ...
4
votes
1
answer
343
views
Did the USSR attempt to broker peace negotiations between Japan and USA?
I ran across a remark in the German Wikipedia, in the article about the Tokyo War tribunals. They discuss the points 35 and 36 of the charges (waging war against the USSR) :
Von besonderem Interesse ...
- 5,106
2
votes
1
answer
164
views
Did Western governments object to repression of western communists during Stalinism? [closed]
I am interested in the repression of western communists (traveling to or residing in the USSR) during the Stalin era. How extensive was it? What were the justifications from the Soviet point of view? ...
- 5,873
1
vote
1
answer
371
views
Did Stalin describe Beria as his Himmler?
The Wikipedia article on Lavrentiy Beria states:
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin introduced Beria to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt as “my Himmler”.
However, the only reference given there is an ...
- 20.7k
4
votes
0
answers
202
views
How were Soviet-Afghanistan War casualties distributed between the Soviet Republics? Were they disproportionately non-Russian?
It's frequently asserted that the impact of the Soviet-Afghanistan War disproportionately fell on Soviet Republics outside Russia, as non-Russians were overrepresented in the Red Army. The resultant ...
- 41
2
votes
0
answers
116
views
To what extent did Russian bourgeoisie and capitalism continued to exist through the Soviet rule in the USSR? [closed]
During the Communist rule in Russia, the industry and land were mostly nationalized, and many of the previous landowners or industrialist were either exiled or physically exterminated. However, the ...
- 3,757
2
votes
2
answers
874
views
Was Stalin behind the idea of universal elections in the USSR?
Recently I have read an article on Maxpark.com that claimed that Stalin wanted to introduce competitive, alternative elections in the USSR while the regional secretaries were strongly against the idea ...
- 5,873
3
votes
2
answers
490
views
Given the concern about Soviet oil in World War II, why is so little mention made of captured Soviet coal reserves?
Fall Blau, and a lot of the eastern campaign was centred around capturing Soviet oil reserves, particularly around Maikop, Grozny, and Baku in the Caucasus. But the Germans captured the majority of ...
12
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Did a German plane really land in Moscow in May 1941?
I just read this small Wikipedia page about a 1941 Purge of the Red Army. There is something rather shocking:
In May, a German Junkers Ju 52 landed in Moscow, undetected by the ADF beforehand, ...
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why did the Patrice Lumumba University eject Carlos the Jackal?
According to Michael Ray,
Carlos the Jackal, byname of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, (born October 12, 1949, Caracas, Venezuela), Venezuelan militant who orchestrated some of the highest-profile terrorist ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
3
answers
963
views
To what extent were practitioners of Judaism persecuted during the Soviet Union?
I know that as a result of the policy that atheism was to be the only public religion, the Soviet Union did their best to attack Christianity. However, I am interested in knowing the extent that ...
- 27k
2
votes
0
answers
866
views
How much did the production of the Tsar Bomba cost to the Soviets?
The Tsar Bomba, also known as the "King of Bombs," was the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Developed and tested by the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, this ...