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The
USSR had a clear sense of purpose; a national idea. Echoes and imprints
of the vociferations of the Soviet state linger in the present day,
now engaging in a dialogue with signifiers of the emerging commercial
culture. Lately, the rumblings and early warning shots of an as yet
undetermined future have become apparent.
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© Bee Flowers
The book is available:
1920 - lenin's plan for the electrification of the entire nation passes into law 1922 - large-scale installation of radio throughout the country commences 1934 - soviet scientists are the first to formulate a theory of chain reaction 1937 - first soviet floating station in the arctic 1938 - opening of the great northern sea passage 1953 - the ussr creates a fast data processing machine 1954 - in the ussr, the world's first nuclear power station renders current 1955 - the ussr builds a passenger jet airplane 1957 - the ussr is first to launch a satellite to orbit the earth 1958 - the ussr launches the world's largest synchrophasotron 1958 - first soviet automatic factory is built 1959 - a soviet rocket photographs the dark side of the moon 1959 - the world's first nuclear icebreaker 'lenin' is built 1960 - the first soviet ships with underwater wings are built 1960 - invention of optical quantum laser generators 1960 - the ussr is the world's first to produce artificial diamonds 1961 april 12 - the world's first astronaut, yuri gagarin, completes his space flight 1962 - mass production of the new and powerful tractor 'kirovets' k-700 1965 - discovery of the west-siberian fossil fuel reserves 1965 - astronaut a.a. leonov is the first in history to complete a space walk 1969 - the ussr builds the world's first continuous steel casting plant 1970 - first in history, a soviet automatic space craft carries moon gravel back to earth 1970 - soviet scientist are the first to compile an atlas of antarctica 1970 - a historical first, the soviet unmanned vehicle 'lunokhod-1' reaches the moon 1971 - the first soviet scientific space station 'salyut' is launched 1971 - a soviet automatic space craft completes a soft landing on mars 1973 - creation of the first fast-neutron nuclear reactor-multiplier 1974 - construction of the baikal-amur railroad commences 1976 - the first section of the leningrad nuclear power plant goes online 1977
- the soviet nuclear icebreaker 'arctic' is the first in history to
reach the north pole across water 1979 - production of the wide-body aircraft 'il-86'
(source: a leningrad metro station) |
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Following
the early 90s, public interest in history rapidly abated, and the country's
new leadership proved keen to avoid a reassessment of the past. No fingers
were pointed, no examples were set, the Party was not tried, and no
safeguards were built into the schooling system to prevent a repetition
of history.
And so, history is not generally thought of in moral terms, but merely as 'difficult', and soul-searching such as in postwar Germany is not common. With the negative aspects of the past thus de-emphasized, the Soviet State's self-portrayal retains much of its prominence. With people's personal experience fading from memory, the past is gaining in stature. |
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