[2013] Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won

Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won (archived)

There are many theories of why Soviet communism collapsed and the Cold War ended. Here are a few of them to consider:

That is a claim also made by a former Hungarian ambassador to Washington, Andras Simonyi*, who led a rock band in Budapest during the Cold War. In a talk titled “How Rock Music Helped Bring Down the Iron Curtain,” delivered at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Simonyi said, ”Rock ‘n roll, culturally speaking, was a decisive element in loosening up communist societies and bring them closer to the world of freedom.”

Related:

*Wikipedia-András Simonyi:

He plays guitar in the rock band, The Coalition of the Willing (est.2003) with top rated U.S. guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers) which has Secretary of State Tony Blinken (guitar, vocals) as a regular guest.

Blinken picks up guitar for new US music diplomacy push

Hiroshima, Nagasaki Bombings Were Needless, Said World War II’s Top US Military Leaders

“Three-year old Shinichi Tetsutani, burned as he was riding this tricycle when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima, died a painful death that night (Hiroki Kobayashi/National Geographic)”

The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki present an opportunity to demolish a cornerstone myth of American history — that those twin acts of mass civilian slaughter were necessary to bring about Japan’s surrender, and spare a half-million US soldiers who’d have otherwise died in a military conquest of the empire’s home islands.

Hiroshima, Nagasaki Bombings Were Needless, Said World War II’s Top US Military Leaders

70 Years Ago: The Death of Joseph Stalin

https://youtu.be/LSaip2XnWgU

Soviet leader Joseph #Stalin died on March 5, 1953 — 70 years ago this week.

Stalin’s body was put on display at the Hall of Columns in the House of the Unions, remaining there for three days, while more than five million mourners came to pay their respects. (By contrast, about 250,000 Americans passed by the coffin of President John F. Kennedy after his assassination a decade later.)

70 Years Ago: The Death of Joseph Stalin

Related:

Joseph Stalin & the USSR

HISTORIAN EVGENY SPITSYN: “STALIN WAS THE FIRST TO START THE BATTLE AGAINST GLOBALISM”

HISTORIAN EVGENY SPITSYN: “STALIN WAS THE FIRST TO START THE BATTLE AGAINST GLOBALISM”

“It so happened that first of all the representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia were the bearers of the ideas of globalism. At the same time, Stalin was not a zoological anti-Semite. He even told the Central Committee member and editor-in-chief of ‘Pravda’, Pyotr Pospelov, when the campaign against cosmopolitanism was ending: Pospelov, it is not necessary to fight against specific characters. You have to fight the ideas in the minds of these characters. We are fighting on an ideological level, not on the level of seeking out Jews or half-Jews. To assume that Stalin was a narrow-minded nationalist is to substitute the essence of the issue.”

Related:

Speech of the 19th Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Economic problems of socialism in the USSR

Poland signs humiliating surrender agreement with the US

Poland signs humiliating surrender agreement with the US

The Poland-US agreement has turned out to be a cover for the rescinding of Polish sovereignty. Under the agreement’s terms, Poland will no longer be allowed to inspect American vehicles and aircraft, will allow American commanders to restrict access to new US bases at will, and will allow unrestricted temporary on-demand access to both state and privately-owned land and buildings.

And for this privilege, Poland will graciously foot the bill.

Related:

Stalin ‘planned to send a million troops to stop Hitler if Britain and France agreed pact’