Podcasts about Socialist realism

Stalin's Final Films: Cinema, Socialist Realism, and Soviet Postwar Reality, 1945-1953 (Cornell UP, 2024) explores a neglected period in the history of Soviet cinema, breathing new life into a body of films long considered moribund as the pinnacle of Stalinism. While film censorship reached its apogee in this period and fewer films were made, film attendance also peaked as Soviet audiences voted with their seats and distinguished a clearly popular postwar cinema. Claire Knight examines the tensions between official ideology and audience engagement, and between education and entertainment, inherent in these popular films, as well as the financial considerations that shaped and constrained them. She explores how the Soviet regime used films to address the major challenges faced by the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (World War II), showing how war dramas, spy thrillers, Stalin epics, and rural comedies alike were mobilized to consolidate an official narrative of the war, reestablish Stalinist orthodoxy, and dramatize the rebuilding of socialist society. Yet, Knight also highlights how these same films were used by filmmakers more experimentally, exploring a diverse range of responses to the ideological crisis that lay at the heart of Soviet postwar culture, as a victorious people were denied the fruits of their sacrificial labor. After the war, new heroes were demanded by both the regime and Soviet audiences, and filmmakers sought to provide them, with at times surprising results. Stalin's Final Films mines Soviet cinema as an invaluable resource for understanding the unique character of postwar Stalinism and the cinema of the most repressive era in Soviet history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

Stalin's Final Films: Cinema, Socialist Realism, and Soviet Postwar Reality, 1945-1953 (Cornell UP, 2024) explores a neglected period in the history of Soviet cinema, breathing new life into a body of films long considered moribund as the pinnacle of Stalinism. While film censorship reached its apogee in this period and fewer films were made, film attendance also peaked as Soviet audiences voted with their seats and distinguished a clearly popular postwar cinema. Claire Knight examines the tensions between official ideology and audience engagement, and between education and entertainment, inherent in these popular films, as well as the financial considerations that shaped and constrained them. She explores how the Soviet regime used films to address the major challenges faced by the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (World War II), showing how war dramas, spy thrillers, Stalin epics, and rural comedies alike were mobilized to consolidate an official narrative of the war, reestablish Stalinist orthodoxy, and dramatize the rebuilding of socialist society. Yet, Knight also highlights how these same films were used by filmmakers more experimentally, exploring a diverse range of responses to the ideological crisis that lay at the heart of Soviet postwar culture, as a victorious people were denied the fruits of their sacrificial labor. After the war, new heroes were demanded by both the regime and Soviet audiences, and filmmakers sought to provide them, with at times surprising results. Stalin's Final Films mines Soviet cinema as an invaluable resource for understanding the unique character of postwar Stalinism and the cinema of the most repressive era in Soviet history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

Stalin's Final Films: Cinema, Socialist Realism, and Soviet Postwar Reality, 1945-1953 (Cornell UP, 2024) explores a neglected period in the history of Soviet cinema, breathing new life into a body of films long considered moribund as the pinnacle of Stalinism. While film censorship reached its apogee in this period and fewer films were made, film attendance also peaked as Soviet audiences voted with their seats and distinguished a clearly popular postwar cinema. Claire Knight examines the tensions between official ideology and audience engagement, and between education and entertainment, inherent in these popular films, as well as the financial considerations that shaped and constrained them. She explores how the Soviet regime used films to address the major challenges faced by the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (World War II), showing how war dramas, spy thrillers, Stalin epics, and rural comedies alike were mobilized to consolidate an official narrative of the war, reestablish Stalinist orthodoxy, and dramatize the rebuilding of socialist society. Yet, Knight also highlights how these same films were used by filmmakers more experimentally, exploring a diverse range of responses to the ideological crisis that lay at the heart of Soviet postwar culture, as a victorious people were denied the fruits of their sacrificial labor. After the war, new heroes were demanded by both the regime and Soviet audiences, and filmmakers sought to provide them, with at times surprising results. Stalin's Final Films mines Soviet cinema as an invaluable resource for understanding the unique character of postwar Stalinism and the cinema of the most repressive era in Soviet history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Stalin's Final Films: Cinema, Socialist Realism, and Soviet Postwar Reality, 1945-1953 (Cornell UP, 2024) explores a neglected period in the history of Soviet cinema, breathing new life into a body of films long considered moribund as the pinnacle of Stalinism. While film censorship reached its apogee in this period and fewer films were made, film attendance also peaked as Soviet audiences voted with their seats and distinguished a clearly popular postwar cinema. Claire Knight examines the tensions between official ideology and audience engagement, and between education and entertainment, inherent in these popular films, as well as the financial considerations that shaped and constrained them. She explores how the Soviet regime used films to address the major challenges faced by the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (World War II), showing how war dramas, spy thrillers, Stalin epics, and rural comedies alike were mobilized to consolidate an official narrative of the war, reestablish Stalinist orthodoxy, and dramatize the rebuilding of socialist society. Yet, Knight also highlights how these same films were used by filmmakers more experimentally, exploring a diverse range of responses to the ideological crisis that lay at the heart of Soviet postwar culture, as a victorious people were denied the fruits of their sacrificial labor. After the war, new heroes were demanded by both the regime and Soviet audiences, and filmmakers sought to provide them, with at times surprising results. Stalin's Final Films mines Soviet cinema as an invaluable resource for understanding the unique character of postwar Stalinism and the cinema of the most repressive era in Soviet history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Stalin's Final Films: Cinema, Socialist Realism, and Soviet Postwar Reality, 1945-1953 (Cornell UP, 2024) explores a neglected period in the history of Soviet cinema, breathing new life into a body of films long considered moribund as the pinnacle of Stalinism. While film censorship reached its apogee in this period and fewer films were made, film attendance also peaked as Soviet audiences voted with their seats and distinguished a clearly popular postwar cinema. Claire Knight examines the tensions between official ideology and audience engagement, and between education and entertainment, inherent in these popular films, as well as the financial considerations that shaped and constrained them. She explores how the Soviet regime used films to address the major challenges faced by the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (World War II), showing how war dramas, spy thrillers, Stalin epics, and rural comedies alike were mobilized to consolidate an official narrative of the war, reestablish Stalinist orthodoxy, and dramatize the rebuilding of socialist society. Yet, Knight also highlights how these same films were used by filmmakers more experimentally, exploring a diverse range of responses to the ideological crisis that lay at the heart of Soviet postwar culture, as a victorious people were denied the fruits of their sacrificial labor. After the war, new heroes were demanded by both the regime and Soviet audiences, and filmmakers sought to provide them, with at times surprising results. Stalin's Final Films mines Soviet cinema as an invaluable resource for understanding the unique character of postwar Stalinism and the cinema of the most repressive era in Soviet history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Stalin's Final Films: Cinema, Socialist Realism, and Soviet Postwar Reality, 1945-1953 (Cornell UP, 2024) explores a neglected period in the history of Soviet cinema, breathing new life into a body of films long considered moribund as the pinnacle of Stalinism. While film censorship reached its apogee in this period and fewer films were made, film attendance also peaked as Soviet audiences voted with their seats and distinguished a clearly popular postwar cinema. Claire Knight examines the tensions between official ideology and audience engagement, and between education and entertainment, inherent in these popular films, as well as the financial considerations that shaped and constrained them. She explores how the Soviet regime used films to address the major challenges faced by the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (World War II), showing how war dramas, spy thrillers, Stalin epics, and rural comedies alike were mobilized to consolidate an official narrative of the war, reestablish Stalinist orthodoxy, and dramatize the rebuilding of socialist society. Yet, Knight also highlights how these same films were used by filmmakers more experimentally, exploring a diverse range of responses to the ideological crisis that lay at the heart of Soviet postwar culture, as a victorious people were denied the fruits of their sacrificial labor. After the war, new heroes were demanded by both the regime and Soviet audiences, and filmmakers sought to provide them, with at times surprising results. Stalin's Final Films mines Soviet cinema as an invaluable resource for understanding the unique character of postwar Stalinism and the cinema of the most repressive era in Soviet history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

Dislodging the avant-garde from its central position in the narrative of Soviet art, Collective Body: Aleksandr Deineka at the Limit of Socialist Realism (U Chicago Press, 2024) presents painter Aleksandr Deineka's haptic and corporeal version of Socialist Realist figuration as an alternate experimental aesthetic that, at its best, activates and organizes affective forces for collective ends.  Christina Kiaer traces Deineka's path from his avant-garde origins as the inventor of the proletarian body in illustrations for mass magazines after the revolution through his success as a state-sponsored painter of monumental, lyrical canvases during the Terror and beyond. In so doing, she demonstrates that Socialist Realism is best understood not as a totalitarian style but as a fiercely collective art system that organized art outside the market and formed part of the legacy of the revolutionary modernisms of the 1920s. Collective Body accounts for the way the art of the October Revolution continues to capture viewers' imaginations by evoking the elation of collectivity, making viewers not just comprehend but truly feel socialism, and retaining the potential to inform our own art-into-life experiments within contemporary political art. Deineka figures in this study not as a singular master, in the spirit of a traditional monograph, but as a limit case of the system he inhabited and helped to create. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Dislodging the avant-garde from its central position in the narrative of Soviet art, Collective Body: Aleksandr Deineka at the Limit of Socialist Realism (U Chicago Press, 2024) presents painter Aleksandr Deineka's haptic and corporeal version of Socialist Realist figuration as an alternate experimental aesthetic that, at its best, activates and organizes affective forces for collective ends.  Christina Kiaer traces Deineka's path from his avant-garde origins as the inventor of the proletarian body in illustrations for mass magazines after the revolution through his success as a state-sponsored painter of monumental, lyrical canvases during the Terror and beyond. In so doing, she demonstrates that Socialist Realism is best understood not as a totalitarian style but as a fiercely collective art system that organized art outside the market and formed part of the legacy of the revolutionary modernisms of the 1920s. Collective Body accounts for the way the art of the October Revolution continues to capture viewers' imaginations by evoking the elation of collectivity, making viewers not just comprehend but truly feel socialism, and retaining the potential to inform our own art-into-life experiments within contemporary political art. Deineka figures in this study not as a singular master, in the spirit of a traditional monograph, but as a limit case of the system he inhabited and helped to create. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Dislodging the avant-garde from its central position in the narrative of Soviet art, Collective Body: Aleksandr Deineka at the Limit of Socialist Realism (U Chicago Press, 2024) presents painter Aleksandr Deineka's haptic and corporeal version of Socialist Realist figuration as an alternate experimental aesthetic that, at its best, activates and organizes affective forces for collective ends.  Christina Kiaer traces Deineka's path from his avant-garde origins as the inventor of the proletarian body in illustrations for mass magazines after the revolution through his success as a state-sponsored painter of monumental, lyrical canvases during the Terror and beyond. In so doing, she demonstrates that Socialist Realism is best understood not as a totalitarian style but as a fiercely collective art system that organized art outside the market and formed part of the legacy of the revolutionary modernisms of the 1920s. Collective Body accounts for the way the art of the October Revolution continues to capture viewers' imaginations by evoking the elation of collectivity, making viewers not just comprehend but truly feel socialism, and retaining the potential to inform our own art-into-life experiments within contemporary political art. Deineka figures in this study not as a singular master, in the spirit of a traditional monograph, but as a limit case of the system he inhabited and helped to create. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Dislodging the avant-garde from its central position in the narrative of Soviet art, Collective Body: Aleksandr Deineka at the Limit of Socialist Realism (U Chicago Press, 2024) presents painter Aleksandr Deineka's haptic and corporeal version of Socialist Realist figuration as an alternate experimental aesthetic that, at its best, activates and organizes affective forces for collective ends.  Christina Kiaer traces Deineka's path from his avant-garde origins as the inventor of the proletarian body in illustrations for mass magazines after the revolution through his success as a state-sponsored painter of monumental, lyrical canvases during the Terror and beyond. In so doing, she demonstrates that Socialist Realism is best understood not as a totalitarian style but as a fiercely collective art system that organized art outside the market and formed part of the legacy of the revolutionary modernisms of the 1920s. Collective Body accounts for the way the art of the October Revolution continues to capture viewers' imaginations by evoking the elation of collectivity, making viewers not just comprehend but truly feel socialism, and retaining the potential to inform our own art-into-life experiments within contemporary political art. Deineka figures in this study not as a singular master, in the spirit of a traditional monograph, but as a limit case of the system he inhabited and helped to create. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Dislodging the avant-garde from its central position in the narrative of Soviet art, Collective Body: Aleksandr Deineka at the Limit of Socialist Realism (U Chicago Press, 2024) presents painter Aleksandr Deineka's haptic and corporeal version of Socialist Realist figuration as an alternate experimental aesthetic that, at its best, activates and organizes affective forces for collective ends.  Christina Kiaer traces Deineka's path from his avant-garde origins as the inventor of the proletarian body in illustrations for mass magazines after the revolution through his success as a state-sponsored painter of monumental, lyrical canvases during the Terror and beyond. In so doing, she demonstrates that Socialist Realism is best understood not as a totalitarian style but as a fiercely collective art system that organized art outside the market and formed part of the legacy of the revolutionary modernisms of the 1920s. Collective Body accounts for the way the art of the October Revolution continues to capture viewers' imaginations by evoking the elation of collectivity, making viewers not just comprehend but truly feel socialism, and retaining the potential to inform our own art-into-life experiments within contemporary political art. Deineka figures in this study not as a singular master, in the spirit of a traditional monograph, but as a limit case of the system he inhabited and helped to create. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

This week, Scott was joined by his Lawfare colleagues Tyler McBrien and Anna Hickey and special guest Georgetown University professor and CSIS Senior Fellow (as well as Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor) Dan Byman to talk over the week's big national security news, including:“Some Vacancies in Management.” Israeli forces unintentionally hit their number one target last week when an Israeli military patrol in Gaza stumbled across and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is widely believed to be the main architect behind the October 7 massacre. It's the latest in a series of military operations that have left the leadership ranks of both Hamas and Hezbollah decimated. But what are these changes at the top likely to mean for these organizations? Is this an opportunity for peace? Or an opening to greater escalation?“Forgotten, or Not Forgotten Enough.” Sudan has spent the past several months spiraling toward a political and humanitarian crisis of historical proportions, driven in substantial part by the agendas of outside powers. But the situation has received relatively little attention from the global media or broader international community. What do we need to know about the Sudan crisis? And how does (or should) U.S. policy enter into the equation?“Person-ey Non Grat-ey.” Relations between Canada and India have hit a new low, as Canadian officials have accused Indian officials of leading a campaign to intimidate and interfere with Sikh nationals resident in Canada, as part of a broader international campaign. While Canada has gone so far as to expel involved Indian diplomats, its traditional allies—including the United States—have remained far less confrontational with India, despite concerns over similar types of behavior. What explains this difference in approach? And what tack should the United States take moving forward?For object lessons, Tyler celebrated the NY Liberty's victory and urged basketball fans to get on the WNBA bandwagon. Scott urged D.C. residents to visit the beautiful Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for a real taste of the swamp. Dan tripled down on the podcast's endorsement of the spy thriller Slow Horses. And Anna recommended folks check out Bolts Magazine's annual election cheat sheet as they prepare for the big event in just two weeks.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/c/trumptrials.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Scott was joined by his Lawfare colleagues Tyler McBrien and Anna Hickey and special guest Georgetown University professor and CSIS Senior Fellow (as well as Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor) Dan Byman to talk over the week's big national security news, including:“Some Vacancies in Management.” Israeli forces unintentionally hit their number one target last week when an Israeli military patrol in Gaza stumbled across and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is widely believed to be the main architect behind the October 7 massacre. It's the latest in a series of military operations that have left the leadership ranks of both Hamas and Hezbollah decimated. But what are these changes at the top likely to mean for these organizations? Is this an opportunity for peace? Or an opening to greater escalation?“Forgotten, or Not Forgotten Enough.” Sudan has spent the past several months spiraling toward a political and humanitarian crisis of historical proportions, driven in substantial part by the agendas of outside powers. But the situation has received relatively little attention from the global media or broader international community. What do we need to know about the Sudan crisis? And how does (or should) U.S. policy enter into the equation?“Person-ey Non Grat-ey.” Relations between Canada and India have hit a new low, as Canadian officials have accused Indian officials of leading a campaign to intimidate and interfere with Sikh nationals resident in Canada, as part of a broader international campaign. While Canada has gone so far as to expel involved Indian diplomats, its traditional allies—including the United States—have remained far less confrontational with India, despite concerns over similar types of behavior. What explains this difference in approach? And what tack should the United States take moving forward?For object lessons, Tyler celebrated the NY Liberty's victory and urged basketball fans to get on the WNBA bandwagon. Scott urged D.C. residents to visit the beautiful Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for a real taste of the swamp. Dan tripled down on the podcast's endorsement of the spy thriller Slow Horses. And Anna recommended folks check out Bolts Magazine's annual election cheat sheet as they prepare for the big event in just two weeks.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/c/trumptrials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruehl Muller joins Breht to discuss his upcoming book, put out by Iskra Books, titled "Building a People's Art: Selected Works of Trường Chinh and Tố Hữu". Together, they discuss Vietnamese Socialist Realism, Maoist China, Cultural Revolution, dialectics, the death drive, fascism in Germany and Israel, New Democracy, and much more! Find this book, stay up to date on all releases, get into contact with Ruehl, and so much here at www.iskrabooks.org Outro Song: "Opening Salvo" by Blue Scholars --------------------------------   Rev Left is and always will be 100% listener funded, you can support the show and get access to hundreds of bonus episode in our back catologue on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio   Follow Rev Left on Insta

Listen to the Sun. June 2, 2024 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This episode features our PANW report with dispatches on the official outcome of the South African elections; Russian air defense has downed two MIG-29 Ukranian warplanes; Russia has warned NATO of possible retaliation for use of its weapons; and Mexico is voting for a new president. We are continuing our annual commemoration of Black Music Month with reviews of the contributions of Egyptian composer Sayed Darwish. Later we look into the history of African American traditional music. Finally, we reexamine the role of women through the works of Evelyn Preer, Blanche Calloway, Mammie Smith, Bessie Smith and Lil Green.  

Listen to the Tues. May 28, 2024 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The episode features our PANW report with dispatches on the targeting of Eilat by the Iraqi Resistance; Hezbollah has increased its attacks on the northern Occupied Territories in Palestine; Atlantic Magazine has been widely criticized over an essay on justifying the killing of children during an imperialist war; and the IOF massacre in Rafah has been roundly condemned internationally. During the second and third hours we listen to a rare archival audio file of a lecture by John G. Jackson on African Civilization.

Beyonce, whom I know little about, decided to take an iconic country song and remake it. I go through Dolly Parton's song Jolene to highlight the nuances you may have missed in the story and to show what is missing from Beyonce's version. The original song contains an element that the Party hates. Why the need to remake Country music and into what? From that place, I look at art under the eye of totalitarian regimes. You may be surprised at what connections can be drawn from Mao and Stalin's views on art to the remaking of Country music by Beyonce.What does God's Word say? Psalm 98:4-9 4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,    burst into jubilant song with music;5 make music to the Lord with the harp,    with the harp and the sound of singing,6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,    the world, and all who live in it.8 Let the rivers clap their hands,    let the mountains sing together for joy;9 let them sing before the Lord,    for he comes to judge the earth.He will judge the world in righteousness    and the peoples with equity.Episode 1,534 Links:Dolly Pardon's JoleneBeyonce' Does Jolene Art and China's Revolution; 05 September 2008 - 11 January 2009Socialist Realism: Stalin's Control of Art in the Soviet Union; Art in the Soviet Union was tightly controlled. The state-sanctioned artistic style became known as Socialist Realism. Read on to discover more about this style.4Patriots https://4Patriots.com/Todd Stay connected when the power goes out and get free shipping on orders over $97.    Alan's Soaps https://alanssoaps.com/TODD Use coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.  Bioptimizers https://bioptimizers.com/todd Use promo code TODD for 10% of your order and get up to 2 travel size bottles of Magnesium Breakthrough free.      Bonefrog   https://bonefrogcoffee.com/todd Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.  Bulwark Capital  Bulwark Capital Management (bulwarkcapitalmgmt.com) Call 866-779-RISK or visit online to get their FREE Common Cents Investing Guide. GreenHaven Interactive Digital Marketing https://greenhaveninteractive.com Your Worldclass Website Will Get Found on Google!  Liver Health https://GetLiverHelp.com/Todd Order today and get your FREE bottle of Nano Powered Omega3 and free bonus gift. Native Path Krill https://nativepathkrill.com/todd For a limited time get Native Path Antarctic Krill Oil for as little as $23 per bottle.  

Michael Pearce is a writer, painter, teacher and curator, as well as the founder of The Representational Art Conference (TRAC). His book "Kitsch, Propaganda and the American Avant-Garde" uncovers one thing Lenin, Hitler and Roosevelt had in common: A keen eye for art as state propaganda. Avoiding the old-fashioned vs modern dichotomy, Pearce shows the cultural historical roots of employing both figurative and abstract painting to further political correctness. Pearce traces it back to 19th century socialist thinking, and goes in-depth on the ideas of philosophers like Proudhon and Saint-Simon, as well as the protests of Emile Zola. First and foremost, however, he shows how the the American government and a few wealthy families made Avant-garde art into the preferred art form of the 20th century, casting it as the antidote to the sentimentality of kitsch.

Listen to the Sun. Aug. 20, 2023 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This episode features our regular PANW report with dispatches on widespread opposition to a western-backed military intervention in the West African state of Niger; Tanzania and China are strengthening their cultural exchanges; the African Union youth structures are discussing continental lingua francas; and Mozambique is investing in greater power supplies. In the second hour we look in detail at recent developments in Niger where the people are resisting western-backed intervention in the uranium-rich state. South Africa is preparing for the upcoming BRICS Summit later in the week. Finally, we continue our month-long focus on Black August with a review of the legacy of anti-slavery fighter John Brown.

War-time trauma and direct realism are the keys to a new retrospective of Polish painter Andrzej Wróblewski on at the National Museum in Lublin. Andrzej Wróblewski is regarded as one of the most outstanding 20th century Polish painters. He died at the age of 29 in 1957 in a mountaineering incident in the Tatras, but his legacy has prompted numerous artists to continue exploring Wróblewski's themes. The exhibition presents a cross-section of Wróblewski's work: from early abstract paintings, through the “Chauffeurs” and “Executions” cycles, to his late works, often done on paper, which are “delicate studies of everyday life, inscribed in the settling and existential mood of the thaw period”. Host John Beauchamp speaks to curator Marcin Lachowski from the National Museum in Lublin.

I got to chat with Dr. Edi Obiakpani-Reid about Sinobabble, her podcast series on 20th century Chinese history. In this series she offers an informed and engaging survey of China from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the death of Mao Zedong. In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed her experiences as a graduate student in Hong Kong from 2017 to 2020, how to respectfully present the horrific absurdities of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and the global history of Socialist Realism among many other things. After undergraduate work in Chinese Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Obiakpani-Reid earned a MA in Sinology at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In 2020, she completed her PhD in Chinese and History at the City University of Hong Kong with a thesis entitled “A New Socialist Man with Chinese Characteristics: New Peasant in the era of 1953-1962”. In 2018 she started Sinobabble. There are some 52 chronological episodes on 20th century Chinese history, as well as topical one-offs on more contemporary Sino-topics and academic journal articles about China studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

I got to chat with Dr. Edi Obiakpani-Reid about Sinobabble, her podcast series on 20th century Chinese history. In this series she offers an informed and engaging survey of China from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the death of Mao Zedong. In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed her experiences as a graduate student in Hong Kong from 2017 to 2020, how to respectfully present the horrific absurdities of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and the global history of Socialist Realism among many other things. After undergraduate work in Chinese Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Obiakpani-Reid earned a MA in Sinology at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In 2020, she completed her PhD in Chinese and History at the City University of Hong Kong with a thesis entitled “A New Socialist Man with Chinese Characteristics: New Peasant in the era of 1953-1962”. In 2018 she started Sinobabble. There are some 52 chronological episodes on 20th century Chinese history, as well as topical one-offs on more contemporary Sino-topics and academic journal articles about China studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

I got to chat with Dr. Edi Obiakpani-Reid about Sinobabble, her podcast series on 20th century Chinese history. In this series she offers an informed and engaging survey of China from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the death of Mao Zedong. In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed her experiences as a graduate student in Hong Kong from 2017 to 2020, how to respectfully present the horrific absurdities of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and the global history of Socialist Realism among many other things. After undergraduate work in Chinese Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Obiakpani-Reid earned a MA in Sinology at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In 2020, she completed her PhD in Chinese and History at the City University of Hong Kong with a thesis entitled “A New Socialist Man with Chinese Characteristics: New Peasant in the era of 1953-1962”. In 2018 she started Sinobabble. There are some 52 chronological episodes on 20th century Chinese history, as well as topical one-offs on more contemporary Sino-topics and academic journal articles about China studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

I got to chat with Dr. Edi Obiakpani-Reid about Sinobabble, her podcast series on 20th century Chinese history. In this series she offers an informed and engaging survey of China from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the death of Mao Zedong. In our wide-ranging conversation, we discussed her experiences as a graduate student in Hong Kong from 2017 to 2020, how to respectfully present the horrific absurdities of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and the global history of Socialist Realism among many other things. After undergraduate work in Chinese Studies at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Obiakpani-Reid earned a MA in Sinology at the School of Oriental and African Studies. In 2020, she completed her PhD in Chinese and History at the City University of Hong Kong with a thesis entitled “A New Socialist Man with Chinese Characteristics: New Peasant in the era of 1953-1962”. In 2018 she started Sinobabble. There are some 52 chronological episodes on 20th century Chinese history, as well as topical one-offs on more contemporary Sino-topics and academic journal articles about China studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/digital-humanities

The tribulations of WWII (the “Great Patriotic War”) prompted a temporary liberalisation within Soviet culture. Images of horror and grief, formerly unacceptable, found their way into the wartime music of Soviet composers. The debate over Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony showed how the boundaries of Socialist Realism could be stretched, but also where the limits lay. The lecture will also discuss some works on Jewish themes (by Shostakovich, Weinberg and Gnessin) and their complex connection to the War and to the Holocaust.A lecture by Marina Frolova-WalkerThe transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/soviet-war-musicGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.ukTwitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollegeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollegeInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

This lecture will investigate the genesis of the Socialist Realism doctrine, which was imposed in 1934. The 'proletarian music' trend of the 1920s had offered some solutions to the task of creating 'music for the people', but because it had alienated the most accomplished professional musicians it was now abandoned. A new art music was called for, with potential mass appeal through the use of folk materials and the rejection of modernism.A lecture by Marina Frolova-WalkerThe transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/socialist-realistGresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Shownotes: This week, Matt and Cameron kick off a two-part series on Fyodor Gladkov's Cement, one of the most famous examples of literary Socialist Realism. (Or...is it?) Stay tuned to hear one man's brave journey to...make a factory work again amidst famine and devastation. No - wait, that's not a good sell — stay tuned to hear Matt and Cameron argue that Cement is much more interesting that a simple plot summary makes it seem. Major themes: Committees, Simple-hearted, working-class political commissars, Gender roles 12:47 - “Gladkov's Cement: The Making of a Soviet Classic” by Robert Busch 16:01 - Spain in our Hearts by Adam Hochschild. Probably one of my favorite books, written by one of my favorite authors. You should also check out The Mirror at Midnight and King Leopold's Ghost if you're interested in South African and Congolese history respectively. 27:57 - *11th hour 44:57 - “The Hardening of Cement: Russian Women and Modernization” by Pavla Vesela The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Follow us on Instagram, check out our website, if you're so inclined, check out our Patreon!

In the final installment of our series of German reunification, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) discuss the ways East Germany continues to be (mis)remembered in popular and political culture. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). To read up on some of the finer details discussed in this episode, check out these links: - A Second Life for Socialist Realism by Magdalena Moskalewicz  - Judging the Past in Unified Germany by A. James McAdams Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

In the final installment of our series of German reunification, Michelle (@shhellgames) and Ted (@ted_knudsen) discuss the ways East Germany continues to be (mis)remembered in popular and political culture. Produced by Isaac Würmann (@wuermann). To read up on some of the finer details discussed in this episode, check out these links: - A Second Life for Socialist Realism by Magdalena Moskalewicz  - Judging the Past in Unified Germany by A. James McAdams Music by Lee Rosevere. Art by Franziska Schneider.

The “Socialist Realism” art movement was created in the early days of the Soviet Union to encourage/order Russian artists to create propaganda that inspired people to be better citizens. It resulted in a wealth of saccharine and kitsch art that failed to portray the realities of Russian life. However, Aleksandr Deineka and Alexander Rodchenko found a way around the guidelines and managed to create some incredible pieces. Kunst Please is a micro-dose of modern art history. An exploration into the more unexpected side of modern and contemporary art, featuring stories of the famous and the infamous, the weird and the wonderful, the unheard, the cult, the criminally overlooked and the criminally insane. Created and produced by Jonathan Heath. Follow the gallery space on Instagram @kunstplease Check out show-notes and assorted ephemera at kunstpleasepod.medium.com/

I am happy to share with you the newest conversation, I had with Michal Kristof - architect and one of the two founders (together with Ondřej Chybik) of the Czech - Slovak architecture practice CHYBIK + KRISTOF. It was a perfect moment to talk as they are celebrating their own - 10th anniversary. Since we both come from Easter/Central Europe and the former Soviet block countries we will talk about the complicated socialism realism heritage both in architecture and culture. How should we approach the old, often monumental (sometimes even too much) and brutalist buildings? Should we transform them? Should we tear them down? Should we accept them? It is a very hard question to answer. Is it even possible to do it? We talked about: Complicated heritage What is Michal's attitude towards these projects? Why is our heritage so complicated? How should we approach it while developing our cities? Michal recommended the books about the great architect Luigi Snozzi, you can read about him here: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Snozzi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Snozzi New vs old How can we introduce new qualities but also show some respect to the heritage? Does Michal think that a new architecture market opens in former East/Central European countries? You can follow Michal's and CHYBIK + KRISTOF: on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ond%C5%99ej-chyb%C3%ADk-01b5a1107/?originalSubdomain=cz https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalkristof/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/chybik.kristof.associated.architects on the C+K webiste https://www.chybik-kristof.com/ and their facebook https://www.facebook.com/Chybik.Kristof and instagram https://www.instagram.com/chybikkristof

This People's School for Marxist-Leninist Studies class features a guest lecturer from the Arts and Culture Commission of the PCUSA. If you can get through the subpar audio quality (we apologize) in this episode, you're sure to learn something new! Interested in attending a class? Email info@psmls.org for more information No Literature Used In This Class Recommended Reading: Man & Socialism in Cuba by Che Guevara (1965) http://209.151.22.101/Cuba-Che/Guevar...​ Jews Without Money by Michael Gold (2004) No link available Recommended Viewing: Man with a Movie Camera by Dziga Vertov (1929) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGYZ5...​ Recommended Listening: Risen from Ruins by Hanns Eisler (1949) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1CyP...​ PSMLS Website: http://peoplesschool.org/contact/​ Party of Communists USA Website: https://partyofcommunistsusa.org/about/​ Timecode Key: (Q) = Question (A) = Answer / Response **S.R. = Socialist Realism** 0:00​ Introduction 0:41​ Opening Lecture 2:57​ S.R. = synthesis of other art forms? (Q&A) 4:22​ 10 Days reference 4:58​ S.R. vs. Cultural Revolution 5:45​ Dialectical progression 6:22​ 3 trends in Soviet Art 10:12​ Ultraleft connections to S.R.? (Q&A) 10:51​ Progressive elements of S.R.? (Q&A) 12:30​ Why is S.R. important? (Q&A) 13:30​ Brutalism & Independence? (Q's&A's) 16:30​ Musical examples 16:58​ 4 Guiding principles 20:37​ Old vs. new Art contradictions? (Q&A) 22:50​ Was modern art banned? (Q&A) 23:00​ Art as a hobby? (Q&A) 23:50​ Art under Khrushchev 24:33​ Art after Khrushchev 24:57​ Not just Russia 25:39​ Lecture conclusion 28:11​ Our contributions 29:26​ L.A. Communist mural 29:45​ Art and morality 30:48​ Art and the masses 31:32​ How to apply today? (Q&A) 32:26​ U.S.S.R. & art 32:55​ Art and the national question (Q&A) 33:31​ Che Guevara quote 34:13​ Soviet sound 34:27​ Growth of culture 35:19​ The Soviet man? (Q&A) 36:16​ Diego Rivera 36:30​ Hanns Eisler 37:18​ Conclusion

We braved covid to bring you another Chelsea dispatch! Nobody stopped us, turns out podcasts are essential work. Consider this the third in a on-going series about the arts and gentrifcation. Last year we processed the opening of Hudson Yards, two years ago we visited the museum of markets before touring Warhol at The Whitney. … Continue reading "Episode 109 – Vida Americana, Zombie Chelsea"

We braved covid to bring you another Chelsea dispatch! Nobody stopped us, turns out podcasts are essential work. Consider this the third in a on-going series about the arts and gentrifcation. Last year we processed the opening of Hudson Yards, two years ago we visited the museum of markets before touring Warhol at The Whitney. … Continue reading "Episode 109 – Vida Americana, Zombie Chelsea"

This episode focuses on China's post-1949 literary world up until around 1960. We discuss how writers were organised by the party-state, what kind of works they produced, and what was considered acceptable and unacceptable. How good were Chinese writers at producing socialist realist works? Turns out the answer changed on a daily basis.

This week, the CEP comes to power! With your hosts as the ruling troika, we have the power to decide what will be OUR glorious motherland's Car of the People. It has to be reliable, versatile, and inexpensive. What will we inflict on... errrr... choose for you?! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

The department of defense, the CIA, and the FBI have all had a hand in influencing art, culture, and academia. We discuss the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Marvel movies, Rockefeller, modernism, futurist fascism, and Mexican muralism. Are you bummed about MFAs and institutional partnerships with banks? Us too buddy.  If you like us please consider donating … Continue reading "Episode 10 – Post Cold War Art and the CIA"

Find out about the creation of Stalin's controversial Palace of Science and Culture in Warsaw. Following World War II, much of Poland lay in ruins and unfortunately found itself on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain.  Warsaw was no exception. By the end of the war, the city was virtually destroyed and for a short time many considered moving the capital elsewhere in Poland. Once the reconstruction efforts had begun, the Soviet Union, eager to spread their influence to the newly-formed communist nation, presented the Polish people with an architectural gift. That gift, the Palace of Culture and Science, was a 42-story Stalinist skyscraper that would be constructed right in the heart of Warsaw. In the first episode of our two-part series on Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science, our hosts discuss post-war reconstruction efforts in Warsaw and the strange origins of this Stalinist colossus. What were the immediate challenges of rebuilding a city that was almost entirely razed during the war?  Would the reconstructed city look like it did before the war? Or would older architectural designs be jettisoned in favor 'socialist realism'?  Lastly, why would this palace, a manifestation of Stalinist excess, be built in a city that still lay mostly in ruins? Like our show? Sign up for our newsletter! Time stamps [03:44] What did Warsaw look like after the Second World War? [05:06] Why did some government officials want to move the Polish capital? [07:02] What was the conflict between modernists and conservatives during the post-war reconstruction efforts? [09:28] What was the chosen solution for rebuilding Warsaw? [11:53] Why did they decide to build a skyscraper in the middle of a ruined city? [14:48] What problems did the palace present for the devastated city? [15:22] What were the plans for construction and how were they carried out?  [19:07] What happened to the palace after it was built? [19:55] Palace: Part II preview Further reading The Controversial Story of Stalin’s Palace in Warsaw / on Culture.pl Celebrating 60 Years of the Palace of Culture and Science / on Culture.pl Palace of Culture and Science / official website How Warsaw Came Close to Never Being Rebuilt / on Culture.pl Socialist Realism in Poland / on Wikipedia Marek Żuławski's diary: 'In The Shadow of the Mechanised Apocalypse: Warsaw 1946' / on TranslatingMarek.com The Warsaw That Wasn’t: Using VR to Explore a City Denied by WWII / on Culture.pl Thanks Beata Chomątowska / for kindly agreeing to tell us the story of Warsaw being resurrected from the ashes. Beata is a writer, journalist and the president and co-founder of the Association of Social and Cultural Initiatives Stacja Muranów. Michał Murawski / for generously devoting his lunch time to telling us about the social life of the palace. Michał is an anthropologist of architecture and cities based at the Department of Russian, Queen Mary, University of London. America Programme at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute / for inviting us to the conference about the palace and making the interview with Michał Murawski possible.   SFTEW Team: Wojciech Oleksiak, Adam Zulawski, John Beauchamp, Lea Berriault, Nitzan Reisner & Michael Keller

One hundred years after the Russian Revolution, the intellectual and ideological nature of the art and culture produced between October 1917 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 remained hotly debated and, at times, poorly understood. Here, Juliet Jacques welcomes writer/critics Maria Chehonadskih, Owen Hatherley (author of Militant Modernism (2009), Landscapes of Communism (2015) and The Chaplin Machine (2016)) and Ilia Rogatchevski to discuss the cultural legacy of the Soviet period and challenge Western preconceptions about the relationship between art and politics in the former USSR, from the Constructivist energy of the 1920s and imposition of Socialist Realism under Stalin, all the way through to the underground art movements of the 1980s. WORKS REFERENCED: Maria Chehonadskih on Pussy Riot – https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/commentary/what-is-pussy-riots-idea Adam Curtis on Vladislav Surkov - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od4MWs7qTr8 SERGEI M. EISENSTEIN, Aleksandr Nevsky (1938) SERGEI M. EISENSTEIN, Ivan the Terrible (Parts I & II) (1944-1958) SERGEI M. EISENSTEIN, October (Ten Days That Shook the World) (1928) EVALD ILYENKOV (Soviet theorist) - https://www.marxists.org/archive/ilyenkov/ ILYA & EMILIA KABAKOV (Moscow Conceptual School) - https://ilya-emilia-kabakov.com/ VITALI KOMAR (Sots Art founder) - http://www.komarandmelamid.org/ MIKHAIL LIFSHITZ(Soviet philosopher) - https://thecharnelhouse.org/2014/12/15/art-is-dead-long-live-art-mikhail-lifshitz-on-karl-marxs-philosophy-of-art/ EDUARD LIMONOV (National Bolshevik Party) CHRIS MARKER, The Last Bolshevik (1993) - https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-happiness-is-making-a-bolshevik-laugh-1459870.html VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY, '150,000,000' (1919-1920) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/150_000_000 VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY, The Bathhouse (1929) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bathhouse VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY, The Bedbug (1928) - http://snoowilson.co.uk/The%20Bedbug.pdf ALEKSANDR MEDVEDKIN (Soviet filmmaker) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Medvedkin Deimantas Narkevičius (Lithuanian filmmaker/artist) YURI OLESHA, Envy (1927) - https://godsavethetsar.wordpress.com/2015/08/04/dont-laugh-andrei-petrovich-yuri-oleshas-envy/ VIKTOR PELEVIN (Russian author) BORIS PILNYAK, The Naked Year (1928) - http://www.overlookpress.com/ardis/naked-year-1.html ANDREI PLATONOV, The Foundation Pit (1930) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Foundation_Pit ABRAM ROOM, Bed and Sofa (1927) - http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/1339/film-club-sofa-and-bed-abram-room VLADIMIR SOROKIN (Russian author) VLADIMIR TATLIN, Letatlin – http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-birdlike-soviet-flying-machine-that-never-quite-took-off VLADIMIR TATLIN, 'Monument to the Third International' (1919-1920, unbuilt) DZIGA VERTOV, The Eleventh Year (1928) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSve8HNjZ4Y DZIGA VERTOV, Enthusiasm: Symphony of the Donbass (1930) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUInm2dC6Ug DZIGA VERTOV, Kino-Pravda (1920s) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0SJyLX9MgQ DZIGA VERTOV, Man with a Movie Camera (1929) DZIGA VERTOV, Stride, Soviet! (1926) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILG1_ceQCzE DZIGA VERTOV, Three Songs of Lenin (1934) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66SYdygrpE VOINA, phallus on Liteiny Bridge, St. Petersburg - https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/apr/12/voina-art-terrorism

Professor Christina Lodder and writer and curator Konstantin Akinsha explore the complex relationship between the Soviet leadership and the avant-garde art movement in Russia between 1917-32, in a discussion chaired by art historian Theodora Clarke. Avant-garde artists were some of the first to embrace the Bolshevik cause, with a common interest in “a new art for a new society”. As Anatoly Lunacharsky, People’s Commissar of Enlightenment, declared in 1918 to composer Sergey Prokofiev, “You are revolutionary in music as we are revolutionary in life”. Members of the avant-garde took key posts in the new regime and benefited from state resources. However within a few years, the state began to withdraw its support, feeling that abstract art could not advance the communist cause if the masses could not understand it. A more persuasive and recognisable art best suited the party’s requirements. By 1932, the politicised figurative art of Socialist Realism became the dominant style and independent artistic movements vanished.

Exhibition co-curator Professor John Milner introduces ‘Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932’ and investigates how artists from Kazimir Malevich to Alexander Deineka made Russian art revolutionary in the first 15 years after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. The revolution triggered radical innovations in Russian art. Encouraged to work collectively to promote the revolution, artists began to make a face for the Bolshevik regime, replacing signs of the Imperial command with an art for the people. Artists including Kandinsky, Malevich, Tatlin, Rodchenko and Popova turned the storm of the Russian Revolution into a radical experiment in art and society. In 1932, the work of these artists was celebrated and exhibited in 'Artists of the Russian Federation over Fifteen Years', a diverse survey held in Leningrad and curated by the critic Nikolai Punin. Yet later in the same year, all independent art groups were dissolved, and Socialist Realism became the dominant force in the Russian art world.

Listen to the Sun. March 12, 2017 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the upcoming meeting between Republic of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and revolutionary war veterans; the governments of Russia and the North African state of Egypt have agreed upon a safety protocol for the resumption of airline flights between the two states; armed clashes have taken place in southern Tunisia resulting in the deaths of a police officer; and the central bank in the East African state of Tanzania has requested financial institutions to lower interests rates on commercial loans. In the second and third hours we continue our monthlong commemoration of Women's History Month with a rare archival lecture delivered by Shirley Graham Du Bois at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on November 13, 1970 where she discusses the-then state of political developments in Africa and the Middle East.

Morning Short is back, with a third season of amazing curated short stories! Today’s episode is: A story written by the Russian writer Maxim Gorky, who created the socialist-realism literatary style. Learn more:http://listen.morningshort.com - Discuss:http://reddit.com/r/morningshort More Context: This particular story is gritty, but sweet. The characters (Theresa, the student) are imperfect and complex, but good at heart. There's a real humanity to them, which is why we selected it. Story Genres: Fiction, Literature, Russian, Soviet, Socialist Realism, Drama Famous books by this author: The Mother Children of the Sun My Childhood And many others. -----What is Morning Short? ------- Morning Short is a podcast and daily newsletter featuring amazing, curated short stories, handpicked for you. Our stories are like little audiobooks, and feature everything from romance, to sci-fi thrillers, to drama, and even detective/crime fiction. We sometimes even welcome special guests to our story, like Sherlock Holmes, everyone's favorite sleuth (or at least ours). Other popular genres are fantasy, comedy, satire, and tragedy. We even read some  narrative poetry sometimes! (Some say we're a bit like Audible for short stories) -----Why listen to Morning Short audiobooks? ------- Most of our readers just want a great story, every day or every week. They love the mystery aspect of it too, not knowing what story/genre/author will come next. Many readers use our service to improve their writing skills. We don't offer writing tips, but we feature a wide variety of legendary authors from around the world. Reading good literature is one of the best ways to improve your own writing skill. Others listen to us to improve their English. We're not an English-language course, but our stories are helpful for grasping idioms and english writing styles. They’re meant to entertain you while you commute or work out, help you improve your reading and writing skills, and generally just make you happier. Enjoy our amazing fiction! If you like the short audiobook format, let us know!

Listen to this special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on President Uhuru Kenyatta of the East African state of Kenya who has launched a new political party inside the country; the Polisario Front of the Western Sahara has appealed to the United Nations Security Council to intervene to prevent the construction of a wall inside the occupied territory in Northwest Africa; there has been a political deal worked out in Guinea-Bissau aimed at resolving the turmoil inside the national government; and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) asset who heads a militia in Libya has seized control of several oil ports in the west of the troubled North African state. In the second hour we continue our focus on the literary contributions of African people with another audio file on the legendary poet, essayist, novelist, playwright and composer Langston Hughes. The final segment presents a lecture by former New York Times writer Tom Wicker who reflects on the Attica Prison Rebellion of 45 years ago.

Listen to this special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the status of President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who has spoken out in the aftermath of his return to the country after visiting the United Arab Emirates; a number of former anti-apartheid stalwarts in South Africa have spoken out in defense of financial minister Pravin Gordhan who the media has speculated is facing a politically-motivated prosecution; the United Nations has warned the government of the Republic of South Sudan over the acceptance of more so-called "peacekeeping " troops for deployment inside the beleagured state; and there has already been a diplomatic row with the arrival of United States President Barack Obama to the People's Republic of China. In the second hour we continue our monthlong focus on the literary contributions of African people with segments on Chinua Achebe, Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. This program also acknowledges the annual Detroit Jazz Festival.

Listen to the Sun. July 24, 2016 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the ongoinig political fallout surrounding the memorandum issued by the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association criticizing the ZANU-PF Party; an analyst says that the Republic of South Africa must grow by five percent in order to make significant economic progress; there has been a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the South American state of Brazil; and the Democratic Party is in disarray after the revelations surrounding the conspiracy to place former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the presumptive nominee. In the second hour we listen to a rare archived speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered at Stanford University in 1967 where he discusses the problems of poverty and economic injustice in the United States. Finally, the field of African Studies is still being distorted on an academic level by white racism in the publications field.

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the Zimbabwe government's response to a memorandum issued by the War Veterans Association which is critical of the rulng ZANU-PF Party; the South African prosecutorial authority is appealing the sentence given to athelete Oscar Pistorius involving the murder of his girlfriend; there is further commentary about the attack on the former Olympic Village in Munich, Germany on July 22 amid a rash of similar actions across Europe; and there has been a bomb attack on a demonstration in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul earlier today. In the second hour we continue our examination of the history of the contributions of Ida B. Wells-Barnett to the struggle against racist violence during the late 19th and early 20th century. The final segment looks at the contemporary relations between the Republic of South Africa and the People's Republic of China.

Listen to this episode Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. Our program features the regular PANW report with dispatches on the African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda where the conflict in South Sudan will be placed in a prominent position on the agenda; the AU is slated to move towards a continential trade zone along with a passport; the government in Zimbabwe is holding with neighboring South Africa to iron our trade issues between the two Southern African state; and the Zimbabwe government is beginning an audit of the Marange diamond fields closed down earlier this year over irregularies. The second hour presents a birthday tribute to Assata Shakur living in exile in Cuba for many years. Finally we look at the impact of racial profiling of African Americans in the United States.

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the the African Union summit being held in the East African state of Rwanda; the AU is poised to institute a continental trade zone and passport; the North African monarchy of Morocco is attempting to rejoin the AU after resigning over the question of the Western Sahara; and the attempt to overthrow the Turkish government by elements of the military has sent shockwaves through the NATO and the entire western imperialist states allied with the United States. The second hour features an interview with Abayomi Azikiwe on the efforts by the State of Israel to reestablish diplomatic and economic ties to African countries. 

Listen to this episode of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the continuing demonstrations demanding an end to police violence against African Americans across the United States; striking civil servants in the Southern African state of Zimbabwe have returned to work after receiving their delayed salaries from the ZANU-PF government; there are reports that the AMISOM occupation of Somalia will end by 2018 amid ongoing attacks against the federal government in Mogadishu; and the South Sudanese coalition administration is attempting to stop an apparent mutiny by some elements of the military. Finally we take a look at the history of policing in the U.S. and its racist origins during the 19th century.

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program will feature our regular PANW report with dispatches on the nationwide demonstrations against police violence across the United States; the shooting of 12 police officers and the deaths of five have sent shockwaves throughout the country and internationally; the suspect in the ambush of police in Dallas was a former army reserve soldier who served during the US-NATO occupation of Afghanistan; and a new generation of African American youth have emerged in mass protests denouncing police brutality and the use of lethal force. In the second hour we look at the role of the Caribbean island-nation of Cuba in the provision of healthcare domestically and globally. The final segment will continue to highlight the role of Ida B. Wells-Barnett in bringing to the fore the struggle against racist violence beginning over 130 years ago.

Listen to this special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the the legacy of Kwame Nkrumah and regional affairs in Southern Africa; the state-run media in Harare is examining the possibility of a third force in the border violence between Zimbabwe and South Africa; Somalia's first woman presidential candidate seeks to open dialogue with Al-Shabaab; and Africans continue to weigh-in on the Brexit vote and its aftermath. In the second hour we pay tribute to African-Caribbean journalist Austin Clarke through a 1963 interview with Malcolm X. The final segment of this episode reviews the contributions of journalist and anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells-Barnett. 

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This program will feature our regular PANW repor with dispatches on continuing responses to the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and its international implications; the current economic situation in the Republic of South Africa; the corruption investigations in the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and the oil industry in Ghana. In the second hour we focus on the false construct of independence day in the United States through an audio file featuring African American historian Gerald Horne on the Counter-Revolution of 1776. Finally we reexamine the life and work of Ida B. Wells-Barnett and the struggle for self-determination and against lynching in the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Listen to this special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the continuing fallout around the Brexit vote this time on the Labor Party where members are calling for the ouster of Jeremy Corbyn; in Somalia there has been an attack at a hotel in the capital of Mogadishu in the Horn of Africa state; the North African state of Libya is still the scene of deadly violence in the eastern city of Benghazi the birthplace of the counter-revolution of 2011. In the second hour we conclude our monthlong commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Black Power Movement looking at its antecedents through Malcolm X through Stokely Carmichael. The conclusion of the episode begins a discussion of the continuation of the Black Power Movement and the urban rebellions into Detroit which held the largest uprising the following summer in July 1967..

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This program will feature our regular PANW report with dispatches on the fallout from the Exit vote by the British electorate to leave the European Union; we will look at the positions of leading left organizations; the response to the vote in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and the United States. In the second hour this episode will review the history of Mozambique in light of the 41st anniversary of its delcaration of independence on June 25, 1975 from Portuguese colonialism. In the final hour we continue our focus on the 50th anniversary of the Black Power movement.

Listen to this edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. We will feature our regular PANW report with dispatches on the efforts by the Zimbabwe government to track down resources looted from the diamond sector which have been stored away in Britain; South African President Jacob Zuma has blamed the legacy of the apartheid regime for the current crisis in education during a rally commemorating the 40th anniversary of the national student uprising of 1976; the migration crisis in the Mediterranean is worsening once again due to the instability caused by imperialism in the North African state of Libya; and documents have been revealed illustrating that acting Brazilian President Michel Temer served as an informant to the United States government against the Worker's Party suspended President Dilma Rousseff. In the second hour we continue our monthlong commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Black Power Movement of 1966 highlighting the demands of the struggle being contrasted with reaction from the white community. Finally we look back four decades at the national student uprising in South Africa of June 1976 which changed the political trajectory of the country leading to majority rule some 18 years later.

In Berlin, Germany, socialist realism — the art of the communist era — actually went beyond censorship. Art was legitimate only if it actively promoted the state. At www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

In Berlin, Germany, socialist realism — the art of the communist era — actually went beyond censorship. Art was legitimate only if it actively promoted the state. At www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Listen to the June 16 special worldwide edition of the Pan-African Journal honoring Black Music Month 2013. Our guest in the second  hour will be musicologist and broadcaster Norman Otis Richmond of Toronto.

When I first went to the Soviet Union (in all my ignorance), I was amazed that everyone in Moscow lived in what I called “housing projects.” The Russians called them “houses” (doma), but they weren’t houses as I understood them at all. They were huge, multi-story, cookie-cutter apartment blocks, one standing right next to the other for miles. “Why?” I asked myself. Kimberly Zarecor‘s wonderfulManufacturing a Socialist Modernity: Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960 (Pittsburgh UP, 2011) goes a long way in providing an answer, and it’s a surprising one. As she shows, socialism and architectural modernism were tightly linked even before the Second World War. This was true in the Soviet Union, of course, but it was also true throughout much of Europe–especially in Czechoslovakia. The avante guard of Czech architects were enthralled with modernism, just as they were (with some exceptions) enthralled with the promise of communism. They believed modernism provided a template for a truly socialist architecture, particularly in the sphere of housing. Once the communists came to power after the war, the Czech architects were given the opportunity to realize the dream of building that truly socialist built environment. The result was the “panel house”: pre-fab apartment blocks built in factories, transported to sites, and then assembled. They were strikingly modern in terms of design, construction techniques and materials. Over time, the panel-house vision was compromised: by Socialist Realism, by economic constraints, by corruption and politics. But if you travel to the Czech Republic today, you can still see excellent examples of modernist panel houses in more or less pure form. Let Kimberly Zarecor be you guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I first went to the Soviet Union (in all my ignorance), I was amazed that everyone in Moscow lived in what I called “housing projects.” The Russians called them “houses” (doma), but they weren’t houses as I understood them at all. They were huge, multi-story, cookie-cutter apartment blocks, one standing right next to the other for miles. “Why?” I asked myself. Kimberly Zarecor‘s wonderfulManufacturing a Socialist Modernity: Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960 (Pittsburgh UP, 2011) goes a long way in providing an answer, and it’s a surprising one. As she shows, socialism and architectural modernism were tightly linked even before the Second World War. This was true in the Soviet Union, of course, but it was also true throughout much of Europe–especially in Czechoslovakia. The avante guard of Czech architects were enthralled with modernism, just as they were (with some exceptions) enthralled with the promise of communism. They believed modernism provided a template for a truly socialist architecture, particularly in the sphere of housing. Once the communists came to power after the war, the Czech architects were given the opportunity to realize the dream of building that truly socialist built environment. The result was the “panel house”: pre-fab apartment blocks built in factories, transported to sites, and then assembled. They were strikingly modern in terms of design, construction techniques and materials. Over time, the panel-house vision was compromised: by Socialist Realism, by economic constraints, by corruption and politics. But if you travel to the Czech Republic today, you can still see excellent examples of modernist panel houses in more or less pure form. Let Kimberly Zarecor be you guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I first went to the Soviet Union (in all my ignorance), I was amazed that everyone in Moscow lived in what I called “housing projects.” The Russians called them “houses” (doma), but they weren’t houses as I understood them at all. They were huge, multi-story, cookie-cutter apartment blocks, one standing right next to the other for miles. “Why?” I asked myself. Kimberly Zarecor‘s wonderfulManufacturing a Socialist Modernity: Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960 (Pittsburgh UP, 2011) goes a long way in providing an answer, and it’s a surprising one. As she shows, socialism and architectural modernism were tightly linked even before the Second World War. This was true in the Soviet Union, of course, but it was also true throughout much of Europe–especially in Czechoslovakia. The avante guard of Czech architects were enthralled with modernism, just as they were (with some exceptions) enthralled with the promise of communism. They believed modernism provided a template for a truly socialist architecture, particularly in the sphere of housing. Once the communists came to power after the war, the Czech architects were given the opportunity to realize the dream of building that truly socialist built environment. The result was the “panel house”: pre-fab apartment blocks built in factories, transported to sites, and then assembled. They were strikingly modern in terms of design, construction techniques and materials. Over time, the panel-house vision was compromised: by Socialist Realism, by economic constraints, by corruption and politics. But if you travel to the Czech Republic today, you can still see excellent examples of modernist panel houses in more or less pure form. Let Kimberly Zarecor be you guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I first went to the Soviet Union (in all my ignorance), I was amazed that everyone in Moscow lived in what I called “housing projects.” The Russians called them “houses” (doma), but they weren’t houses as I understood them at all. They were huge, multi-story, cookie-cutter apartment blocks, one standing right next to the other for miles. “Why?” I asked myself. Kimberly Zarecor‘s wonderfulManufacturing a Socialist Modernity: Housing in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1960 (Pittsburgh UP, 2011) goes a long way in providing an answer, and it’s a surprising one. As she shows, socialism and architectural modernism were tightly linked even before the Second World War. This was true in the Soviet Union, of course, but it was also true throughout much of Europe–especially in Czechoslovakia. The avante guard of Czech architects were enthralled with modernism, just as they were (with some exceptions) enthralled with the promise of communism. They believed modernism provided a template for a truly socialist architecture, particularly in the sphere of housing. Once the communists came to power after the war, the Czech architects were given the opportunity to realize the dream of building that truly socialist built environment. The result was the “panel house”: pre-fab apartment blocks built in factories, transported to sites, and then assembled. They were strikingly modern in terms of design, construction techniques and materials. Over time, the panel-house vision was compromised: by Socialist Realism, by economic constraints, by corruption and politics. But if you travel to the Czech Republic today, you can still see excellent examples of modernist panel houses in more or less pure form. Let Kimberly Zarecor be you guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Global Contemporary: Kunstwelten nach 1989 | Symposium 09/16/2011 - 09/19/2011 The Global Contemporary. Art Worlds After 1989 NSK Volk Art, 2008 (ongoing) All three core groups of NSK explore similar areas in various media. Their main interests are the relationship between art and ideology, the functioning of ideology and totalitarianism, in which the idea of the state plays a key role. The point of departure for all NSK’s activities is a reflection on the experience of Slovenian history. In 1991, NSK declared itself a “State in Time,” without territory or national borders. The NSK State is a “spiritual, virtual state” that issues real original passports in accordance with international standards. Anybody can obtain a passport of the “first global state of the universe” and thus acquire the status of one of its citizen. The passports are documents “of subversive nature and unique value” and take NSK reprocessing of state motifs to the extreme. They bear witness to the artistic appropriation of state power. NSK has opened embassies and consular offices throughout the world in the form of creative institutions. The organization of congresses and rendezvous may serve as further examples of their activities. The fundamentals of NSK “statist aesthetics” is a sort of retrospective manipulation and “recycling” of the images and symbols of the avant-garde, “Nazi Art”, and Socialist Realism. The NSK insignia, the emblem of the “retro-avant-garde”, is typical of the eclectic visual language of the organization. The NSK State currently includes several thousand citizens from all over the world. In collaboration with NSKSTATE.COM, IRWIN has collected a number of artworks created by NSK citizens that reflect on different aspects of the NSK project and are executed in its style. (DM) /// NSK Volk Art, 2008 (fortlaufend) Alle drei Hauptgruppen von NSK setzen sich in unterschiedlichen Medien mit ähnlichen Fragestellungen auseinander, in erster Linie mit dem Verhältnis zwischen Kunst und Ideologie und mit der Funktionsweise von Ideologie und Totalitarismus, wobei dem Begriff des Staats eine Schlüsselrolle zukommt. Ausgangspunkt aller NSK-Aktivitäten ist die Auseinandersetzung mit der slowenischen Geschichte. NSK erklärte sich 1991 zu einem „Staat in der Zeit“ ohne Territorium oder Landesgrenzen. Dieser „geistige, virtuelle Staat“ stellt Reisepässe aus, die internationalen Richtlinien entsprechen und von jedem beantragt werden können, der Bürger des „ersten globalen Staats des Universums“ werden möchte. Mit diesen Pässen – Zeugnissen der Aneignung der Staatsmacht durch die Kunst von „subversiver Wirkung und einmaligem Wert“ – treibt NSK die Umwertung staatlicher Motive auf die Spitze. In Form kreativer Institutionen hat NSK weltweit Botschaften und Konsulate eingerichtet und organisiert darüber hinaus Tagungen und Treffen. Die Grundsätze der „Staatsästhetik“ von NSK fußen auf einer Art rückwirkender Überarbeitung und Wiederverwertung von Symbolen der Avantgarde, der „Nazi-Kunst“ und des sozialistischen Realismus. Das NSK-Logo, Emblem der „Retro-Avantgarde“, ist kennzeichnend für die eklektische Bildsprache der Organisation. Gegenwärtig gibt es mehrere Tausend NSK-Bürger in aller Welt. IRWIN sammelte in Zusammenarbeit mit NSKSTATE.COM Kunstwerke seiner Bürger im NSK-Stil, die verschiedene Aspekte des Kollektivprojekts beleuchten. (DM)

In the Soviet Union, artists lived lives that were at once charmed and cursed. Though relatively poor, the USSR poured resources into the arts. The Party created a large, well-funded cultural elite of which only two things were expected. First, that they practice their art. Second–and here's the rub–that they tow the Party's ideological line. Art under Communism was intended to enlighten the working class. In practice, that meant hewing to hackneyed tropes (“Socialist Realism”). Worse still, the Party could and did change its line at will. What was “progressive” one day could be “reactionary” the next. This made the lives of Soviet artists unpredictable. It was hard to say what the Party bosses' would want from one year to the next. In his masterful The People's Artist: Prokofiev's Soviet Years (Oxford UP, 2009), Simon Morrison offers an excellent example and analysis of the dilemmas Soviet artists faced. When Prokofiev came back to the Soviet Union in 1935, he was asked to accommodate his work to the “needs of the Party.” He did so and became a Party darling. But then things changed. Stalin–an expert in all things–decided that Prokofiev's work was too “formal” (whatever that meant). And so he was out of favor, and remained so for the rest of his life. When he died–ironically on the same day as Stalin–his passing was hardly noticed. It's a sad and instructive story, and we should all thank Simon Morrison for telling it. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven't already.

In the Soviet Union, artists lived lives that were at once charmed and cursed. Though relatively poor, the USSR poured resources into the arts. The Party created a large, well-funded cultural elite of which only two things were expected. First, that they practice their art. Second–and here’s the rub–that they tow the Party’s ideological line. Art under Communism was intended to enlighten the working class. In practice, that meant hewing to hackneyed tropes (“Socialist Realism”). Worse still, the Party could and did change its line at will. What was “progressive” one day could be “reactionary” the next. This made the lives of Soviet artists unpredictable. It was hard to say what the Party bosses’ would want from one year to the next. In his masterful The People’s Artist: Prokofiev’s Soviet Years (Oxford UP, 2009), Simon Morrison offers an excellent example and analysis of the dilemmas Soviet artists faced. When Prokofiev came back to the Soviet Union in 1935, he was asked to accommodate his work to the “needs of the Party.” He did so and became a Party darling. But then things changed. Stalin–an expert in all things–decided that Prokofiev’s work was too “formal” (whatever that meant). And so he was out of favor, and remained so for the rest of his life. When he died–ironically on the same day as Stalin–his passing was hardly noticed. It’s a sad and instructive story, and we should all thank Simon Morrison for telling it. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Soviet Union, artists lived lives that were at once charmed and cursed. Though relatively poor, the USSR poured resources into the arts. The Party created a large, well-funded cultural elite of which only two things were expected. First, that they practice their art. Second–and here’s the rub–that they tow the Party’s ideological line. Art under Communism was intended to enlighten the working class. In practice, that meant hewing to hackneyed tropes (“Socialist Realism”). Worse still, the Party could and did change its line at will. What was “progressive” one day could be “reactionary” the next. This made the lives of Soviet artists unpredictable. It was hard to say what the Party bosses’ would want from one year to the next. In his masterful The People’s Artist: Prokofiev’s Soviet Years (Oxford UP, 2009), Simon Morrison offers an excellent example and analysis of the dilemmas Soviet artists faced. When Prokofiev came back to the Soviet Union in 1935, he was asked to accommodate his work to the “needs of the Party.” He did so and became a Party darling. But then things changed. Stalin–an expert in all things–decided that Prokofiev’s work was too “formal” (whatever that meant). And so he was out of favor, and remained so for the rest of his life. When he died–ironically on the same day as Stalin–his passing was hardly noticed. It’s a sad and instructive story, and we should all thank Simon Morrison for telling it. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Soviet Union, artists lived lives that were at once charmed and cursed. Though relatively poor, the USSR poured resources into the arts. The Party created a large, well-funded cultural elite of which only two things were expected. First, that they practice their art. Second–and here’s the rub–that they tow the Party’s ideological line. Art under Communism was intended to enlighten the working class. In practice, that meant hewing to hackneyed tropes (“Socialist Realism”). Worse still, the Party could and did change its line at will. What was “progressive” one day could be “reactionary” the next. This made the lives of Soviet artists unpredictable. It was hard to say what the Party bosses’ would want from one year to the next. In his masterful The People’s Artist: Prokofiev’s Soviet Years (Oxford UP, 2009), Simon Morrison offers an excellent example and analysis of the dilemmas Soviet artists faced. When Prokofiev came back to the Soviet Union in 1935, he was asked to accommodate his work to the “needs of the Party.” He did so and became a Party darling. But then things changed. Stalin–an expert in all things–decided that Prokofiev’s work was too “formal” (whatever that meant). And so he was out of favor, and remained so for the rest of his life. When he died–ironically on the same day as Stalin–his passing was hardly noticed. It’s a sad and instructive story, and we should all thank Simon Morrison for telling it. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Soviet Union, artists lived lives that were at once charmed and cursed. Though relatively poor, the USSR poured resources into the arts. The Party created a large, well-funded cultural elite of which only two things were expected. First, that they practice their art. Second–and here’s the rub–that they tow the Party’s ideological line. Art under Communism was intended to enlighten the working class. In practice, that meant hewing to hackneyed tropes (“Socialist Realism”). Worse still, the Party could and did change its line at will. What was “progressive” one day could be “reactionary” the next. This made the lives of Soviet artists unpredictable. It was hard to say what the Party bosses’ would want from one year to the next. In his masterful The People’s Artist: Prokofiev’s Soviet Years (Oxford UP, 2009), Simon Morrison offers an excellent example and analysis of the dilemmas Soviet artists faced. When Prokofiev came back to the Soviet Union in 1935, he was asked to accommodate his work to the “needs of the Party.” He did so and became a Party darling. But then things changed. Stalin–an expert in all things–decided that Prokofiev’s work was too “formal” (whatever that meant). And so he was out of favor, and remained so for the rest of his life. When he died–ironically on the same day as Stalin–his passing was hardly noticed. It’s a sad and instructive story, and we should all thank Simon Morrison for telling it. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices