An interesting series of documentaries on the Soviet Union made in 1990, just before its dissolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMRrXRTSJ_Y How much has the world changed...
Glad you like it. An old Soviet joke: Two old revolutionaries are chatting. One says "when the revolution came, they told us there would be no more rich or poor. But only the rich have disappeared". If you like Russian History, I thoroughly enjoyed "Nicholas and Alexandra" by Robert Massie. Russia is the land of lost opportunities
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh: Loved the joke, how beautifully Russian! I've got Massie's book; - it's a good one. The other two that he wrote about that period were fascinating as well. "Dreadnought" and "Castles of Steel". If you're into WWI and prior history, they're well worth the read!
Thanks Marc. I have read both of them. Dreadnought is a wonderful book. Great insight on how the modern world was shaped, as WWI did unleash the very destructive forces that would create our modern world. It reads like a train wreck in slow motion. So tragic that a thriving and prospering Europe chose to go into such a destructive path Another Soviet joke from the time of the purges: Three men are sitting in a cell in the Lubyanka. The first asks the second why he has been imprisoned, who replies, "Because I criticized Karl Radek." The first man responds, "But I am here because I spoke out in favor of Radek!" They turn to the third man who has been sitting quietly in the back, and ask him why he is in jail. He answers, "I'm Karl Radek" ________ An American man and a Soviet man died on the same day and went to Hell together. The Devil told them: "You may choose to enter two different types of Hells: the first is the American-style, where you may do anything you like, but at the condition of eating a bucketful of manure everyday; the second is the Soviet-style, where you may ALSO do any thing you like, but at the condition of eating TWO bucketfuls of manure a day." The American man chose the American-style Hell, and the Soviet man chose the Soviet-style one. A few months later, they met again. The Soviet man asked the American man: "Hi, how are you going?" The American man said:＂I'm fine, but I can't stand the bucketful of manure everyday. How about you?" Answered the Soviet man: "Well, I'm fine, too; except I don't know whether if we had a shortage of manure of if anybody stole all the buckets away." A more modern one: Stalin's ghost appears to Putin in a dream, and Putin asks for his help running the country. Stalin says, "Round up and shoot all the democrats, and then paint the inside of the Kremlin blue." "Why blue?" Putin asks. "Ha!" says Stalin. "I knew you wouldn't ask me about the first part."
Interesting talk about Calvin Coolidge, one of the best US presidents IMO yet completely forgotten by history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVn8ytEq-vU
I'll have to check out the Coolidge thing, thanks! A bad old German joke: What's the difference between a West German hell and an East German hell? In the West German hell the fires are burning and being continually stoked by a crew of demons who whip souls into shoveling in the coal. , there's lots of smoke and terror and the souls are tormented efficiently. In the East German hell, it's dark and cold and the souls are all standing around doing nothing; - because someone forgot to order the coal.
Interesting series of podcasts on American history. I've had the pre-Civil War ones playing in the background... https://mises.org/library/historical-controversies
