Olga (the tall and skinny one) gave us a lecture on Soviet Architecture this morning. I was excited, because I had been looking forward to a lesson like this since we arrived in Moscow. Most of the buildings around us were built in the Soviet period and it would be much more beneficial to know more about the thought that went into constructing them. This lectures was one of the most interesting thus far, just because of how applicable the material was. Lenin supported a form of constructivist architecture that relied on cheap materials, simplistic construction, and geometrical structures. Constructivist architecture celebrated industrialization and often had more of a practical purpose, serving as workers' clubs, nurseries, and areas of communal living. Stalin made Socialist Realism the sole form of architecture of the USSR. This involved a regression back to imperial classic, baring symmetrical, powerful buildings that often served as political propaganda. Stalin used obvious symbols such as the ruby star, the hammer and sickle, sunflowers, wheat, and happy mothers and children to convey to the populous the glory that lay in the future with hard work and obedience to the state. The epitome of Stalinist architecture is found in his Seven Sisters. Stalin ordered the contraction of seven imperialistic buildings, two of which were hotels, two were ministries, two were apartment buildings, and the last one was Moscow State University (the cream of the crop). He built these to replicate the Kremlin towers. It was meant to convey to Muscovites that wherever you go, the state is ever present (as you can usually see one of the seven sisters from anywhere in Moscow).
One quick anecdote about the metro system: The metro system is widely used in Moscow and is extremely fast and convenient. A map of the system can be seen on the right. Rumor has it that the men planning the metro station had drawn up the lines and all of the major areas they wanted to build stations; however, they were left with the problem of how to connect all of the rail lines. When they showed the map to Stalin, he allegedly put down his coffee mug on the map and picked it up, leaving a brownish circular stain that just so happened to connect all of the lines. The planners thought this was ingenious and built the rail system in that form. The Moscow metro system remains the only system in the world to have a ring line connecting all of the other lines.
That afternoon, we went to the MSU Faculty of Journalism to meet the dean. She gave us a long and thorough PowerPoint presentation on Russian media, but it was honestly not the most interesting info session in the world. She presented to us a history of censorship from tsarist times to the present and then went through each media outlet and discussed the current status of journalism in Russia. The one thing that interested me was how the internet can be used as a form of counter-information. As Putin has control of the three major TV news channels (from which most Russians get their new), the internet as provided young bloggers an opportunity to protest the government and provide information that is not censored by the Kremlin (as of yet).
Lastly, we traveled to the new Tretyakov museum. Being the wonderful student that I am, I took a look at my Art History notes from my first semester at Geneseo and re-read Professor Valshenko's notes from the previous day. It was neat to see so many of the art pieces that Professor Valshenko showed us in class. Some of the most fascinating art was in the 1930's-1950's, when Socialist Realist became the official art form of the Soviet Union. Typically, art was used to express the general mood and overtones of society. It was a product of emotion. With Socialist Realism, however, the roles switched. Art was meant to make you feel a certain emotion. Commissioned by the state, it often conveyed what people were supposed to think rather than what was actually thought. This could be seen in the Tretyakov. As we moved through the museum chronologically, you could tell that early, there was more focus on the working man. Peasants were often at the center of artwork and as well as a general optimism towards the future. Moving forward in time, focus turned from the working man to the state. There were giant portraits of Stalin consulting with his generals as he looked angelic in his white uniform. The optimism appeared to be forced, as people appeared to be overly happy in a time that history holds to be one of the worst in Russian history.
At the end of the museum was a collection of modern art. Walking down the stairs, I saw what looked to be a guy sleeping in the middle of the floor. I turned to the people behind me and asked if I should wake him up. It turns out that the person wasn't real. It was just a creepily realistic dummy that looked like it would come to life and grab your leg at any second. I made sure to go through the rest of the modern art rather quickly, as most of it freaked me out. Pieces included a sanctuary for a toy doll, boots that came to life and walked up a wall, and 3-D images that would hypnotize you if you stared at them for too long.
One quick anecdote about the metro system: The metro system is widely used in Moscow and is extremely fast and convenient. A map of the system can be seen on the right. Rumor has it that the men planning the metro station had drawn up the lines and all of the major areas they wanted to build stations; however, they were left with the problem of how to connect all of the rail lines. When they showed the map to Stalin, he allegedly put down his coffee mug on the map and picked it up, leaving a brownish circular stain that just so happened to connect all of the lines. The planners thought this was ingenious and built the rail system in that form. The Moscow metro system remains the only system in the world to have a ring line connecting all of the other lines.
That afternoon, we went to the MSU Faculty of Journalism to meet the dean. She gave us a long and thorough PowerPoint presentation on Russian media, but it was honestly not the most interesting info session in the world. She presented to us a history of censorship from tsarist times to the present and then went through each media outlet and discussed the current status of journalism in Russia. The one thing that interested me was how the internet can be used as a form of counter-information. As Putin has control of the three major TV news channels (from which most Russians get their new), the internet as provided young bloggers an opportunity to protest the government and provide information that is not censored by the Kremlin (as of yet).
Lastly, we traveled to the new Tretyakov museum. Being the wonderful student that I am, I took a look at my Art History notes from my first semester at Geneseo and re-read Professor Valshenko's notes from the previous day. It was neat to see so many of the art pieces that Professor Valshenko showed us in class. Some of the most fascinating art was in the 1930's-1950's, when Socialist Realist became the official art form of the Soviet Union. Typically, art was used to express the general mood and overtones of society. It was a product of emotion. With Socialist Realism, however, the roles switched. Art was meant to make you feel a certain emotion. Commissioned by the state, it often conveyed what people were supposed to think rather than what was actually thought. This could be seen in the Tretyakov. As we moved through the museum chronologically, you could tell that early, there was more focus on the working man. Peasants were often at the center of artwork and as well as a general optimism towards the future. Moving forward in time, focus turned from the working man to the state. There were giant portraits of Stalin consulting with his generals as he looked angelic in his white uniform. The optimism appeared to be forced, as people appeared to be overly happy in a time that history holds to be one of the worst in Russian history.
At the end of the museum was a collection of modern art. Walking down the stairs, I saw what looked to be a guy sleeping in the middle of the floor. I turned to the people behind me and asked if I should wake him up. It turns out that the person wasn't real. It was just a creepily realistic dummy that looked like it would come to life and grab your leg at any second. I made sure to go through the rest of the modern art rather quickly, as most of it freaked me out. Pieces included a sanctuary for a toy doll, boots that came to life and walked up a wall, and 3-D images that would hypnotize you if you stared at them for too long.
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