Nostalgia for the Soviet Union

Stalin-o-bus in Saint Petersburg, May 5, 2010

Nostalgia for the Soviet Union^[1] or Soviet nostalgia^[2][3] is a moral-psychological phenomenon in Russia and post-Soviet states, as well as persons born in the Soviet Union living abroad (Soviet people, Soviet generation). Nostalgia for the Soviet Union could be expressed in nostalgia for the politics of the Soviet Union, society, lifestyle, culture, or simply the aesthetics of the Soviet epoch.

It results mainly from the frustration Russia experienced after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Subsequently, the economy was changed from a socialist planned economy to capitalism, which eventuated the rise of Russian oligarchs.(see Gazprom).

The living standard subsequently fell and gave rise to a renaissance of Russian nationalism.

On April 25, 2005 the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, stated that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.^[4][5][6][7]

Revival of Stalin's cult

Since 2009 in Ukraine, the Communist Party of Ukraine, has actively tried to revive the cult of Joseph Stalin.^{[8][9][10][11]} On 22 June 2013, Serhiy Topalov, a People's Deputy from the Communist Party, attacked a law enforcement agent over a portrait of Stalin.^[12]

See also

• Dissolution of the Soviet Union
• National Bolshevism
• Neo-Stalinism
• Putinism
• Russian nationalism
• Soviet socialist patriotism

Communist nostalgia in Europe

• Ostalgie, in the former East Germany
• Yugo-nostalgia, in the former Yugoslavia

References

1. Why Russia Backs The Eurasian Union. Business Insider (from The Economist). August 22, 2014.
2. Nikitin, V. Putin is exploiting the legacy of the Soviet Union to further Russia's ends in Ukraine. The Independent. 5 March 2014.
3. Taylor, A. Calls for a return to ‘Stalingrad’ name test the limits of Putin’s Soviet nostalgia. Washington Post. June 9, 2014
4. Putin deplores collapse of USSR. BBC. April 25, 2005
5. Annual Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Kremlin. April 25, 2005
6. Allen, N. Soviet break-up was geopolitical disaster, says Putin. The Telegraph. April 26, 2005
7. Bigg, C. World: Was Soviet Collapse Last Century's Worst Geopolitical Catastrophe? Radio Liberty. April 29, 2005
8. Monument of Stalin in Zaporizhia placed under glass. ForUm. 7 November 2011
9. CPU opened a monument to Stalin in Lutsk. Gordonua. 3 February 2014
10. Residents of Kharkiv ride on a free of charge tramway with a portrait of Stalin. Censor.net. 2 February 2013
11. The monuments of Stalin established by businessmen who invest in CPU will not stay for long. Argument.ua. 7 May 2012
12. In Simferopol MP from CPU brawled with militsiya over a portrait of Stalin. Mirror Weekly. 23 June 2013

Further reading

• Satter, D. It Was a Long Time Ago and It Never Happened Anyway: Russia and the Communist Past. Yale University Press. New Haven, 2012. ISBN 0300111452.
• Boffa, G. "From the USSR to Russia. History of unfinished crisis. 1964—1994"
• Mydans, S. 20 Years After Soviet Fall, Some Look Back Longingly. New York Times. August 18, 2011
• Weir, F. Why nearly 60 percent of Russians 'deeply regret' the USSR's demise. The Christian Science Monitor. December 23, 2009.
• Houslohner, A. Young Russians never knew the Soviet Union, but they hope to recapture days of its empire. Washington Post. June 10, 2014

External links

News

• Blundy, A. Nostalgia for the Soviet Era Sweeps the Internet. Newsweek. July 30, 2014.
• Pippenger, N. Why Are So Many Russians Nostalgic For The USSR? New Republic. August 19, 2011.

Internet societies

• Project "Encyclopedia of our childhood", Soviet Union through the eyes of contemporaries
• Museum "20th century". Recollections about the Soviet epoch
• 3a_cccp — society "For our Soviet Motherland!"
• ussr_ru — society "USSR (all about the 1917—1991 epoch)"
• vospominanija — society "What always is nice to remember..."
• cccp_foto — society "1922 — 1991: USSR in photos"
• How it was. "Remember all". ч. 1 ч. 2 ч. 3
• Blog commemorated to the USSR, things, style, photo, nostalgia
• Soviet cards and posters
• USSR in scale, a website commemorated to a private collection of Soviet technology and vehicles in the scale 1:43
• In Barnaul, a store called "Sovietsky" was opened (photo)
• Soviet heritage: between zoo, reservation and sanctuary (about "Soviet epoch parks") // Новая Эўропа — DELFI, 11 сентября 2013