Question 3 – Comrade Chat

The Stiliagi are an interesting group of people from this period in history – especially because it was after WW2, and one would expect them to be more interested in Soviet culture, music, fashion, etc. as a form of patriotism, rather than the Western culture which had always been depicted as the enemy to a safe and decent society. Historians stated that this fascination came from a few different events. One was that the Stiliagi were dissidents, especially in the face of the “macho” war veterans who were showing off their toxic masculinity (pg 164). Historians believed that the Stiliagi were using this fashion and western culture to bring themselves out of that tough and difficult lifestyle that the “macho” Russian veterans were presenting as. Another reason historians believe that the Stiliagi could have been interested in western culture is because it showed a life that was extremely different from their own — which included hunger, the spreading of disease, overcrowding, and in some places the lack of basic necessities such as running water (pg. 165). I find this explanation to be the most convincing of all explanations offered by historians. I think as young people, they wanted to change the world they lived in and experience better lives than that of the generation before them. Even though they saw themselves as uninterested in politics, I think this movement was extremely political. It showed their lack of happiness with the society presented to them and expressing that in itself is inherently political. 

One Reply to “Question 3 – Comrade Chat”

  1. I agree with this assessment that these young people may have said that their political interest was minimal, but this was still very much in political opposition of socialist life. They were seeking individuality and attention from being different from their peers and fellow countrymen which was, as the authors put it, “undeniably oppositional” (pg 164). A desire to be different, and even worse an infatuation with Western society and culture, undermines the entire Soviet culture which is why I found it so surprising that there was no widespread campaign against the stiliagi. This was not described as some underground, or private, movement that went largely unnoticed, but rather was on the streets of Moscow and yet still did not really get targeted by Stalin. An explanation might be that their influence and popularity is largely overstated in hindsight and this really wasn’t as destructive a movement as some historians make it out to be. I do not personally believe this to be the case, but I do struggle wondering why the stiliagi were not targeted by Stalin when so many other groups of people who actually were not a threat to socialism or his power were targeted.

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