Monthly Archives: April 2011
A Provincial Talisman
The heartland of the Russian nation, as seen through the Gagarin cult, was not in Moscow but in Gagarin’s hometown of Gzhatsk. Renamed “Gagarin” after the cosmonaut’s death in 1968, the town is a typical Russian provincial backwater. In the … Continue reading
Chernobyl at 25
The recent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi brought the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown back into an often forgetful public consciousness. Although we will no doubt soon forget these events again, especially amidst the insane amount of coverage focused on royal … Continue reading
YouTube of the Week – Khrushchev’s Visit to Iowa
So, this week’s YouTube of the Week is perhaps of more interest to researchers than it is to students. This is just part one of a series of videos uploaded by the Iowa State University Library’s Special Collections. They include … Continue reading
Important New Gagarin Book in Russian
There is a new biography of Gagarin out in Russian. I’m trying to get a hold of it (by Lev Danilkin, a prominent literary critic in Russia, titled Iurii Gagarin). I’ve read excerpts posted on line at the Molodaya Gvardiya … Continue reading
Catherine on Memory and Forgetting
Hi, all–I’m the newest blogger here. In principle, I’m supposed to add in more Imperial-era coverage. And, well, in practice, that is what I’m doing. I thought I’d start with something I’ve recently come across in passing that keeps making … Continue reading
YouTube of the Week – Putin Rules
So, my YouTube of the Week feature would be better if it was actually a weekly feature. Unfortunately, a bit of illness has kept me offline for much of the last few weeks. So, when the YouTube of the Week … Continue reading
The Flight that Launched a Thousand Rumors
As I noted in my first post (“Creating Cover Stories: A National Pastime”), an intense feeling of vulnerability and insecurity had compelled the Soviets, along with Russia’s authoritarian traditions, to surround Yuri Gagarin’s flight in secrecy. But they paid for … Continue reading
