One thing that is unavoidable in post-Soviet states (and that is the moment when all of you thought about corruption) is ugliness. Inextirpable and timeless, it eagerly awaits you at every corner ready to strike.
"Classless society" - one of the leading ideas of communism aimed to bring a new concept into life - egalitarian society, but at some point it all went wrong.
Some say Brits should get rid of the royal family and finally get their happily after. Some say it's the access to education that defines what our children will grow up into. However, this laudable theory of the society where everyone will experience equal rights and opportunities didn't come to the same actualization it has in Western tradition.
In short, this perverted regional variant of classless society meant you weren't encouraged to express yourself, as a matter of fact, you weren't even a central element of the picture. Working class at last could enjoy the appreciation but did it also mean everyone had to literally become classless?
Some say Brits should get rid of the royal family and finally get their happily after. Some say it's the access to education that defines what our children will grow up into. However, this laudable theory of the society where everyone will experience equal rights and opportunities didn't come to the same actualization it has in Western tradition.
In short, this perverted regional variant of classless society meant you weren't encouraged to express yourself, as a matter of fact, you weren't even a central element of the picture. Working class at last could enjoy the appreciation but did it also mean everyone had to literally become classless?
Remember the White and the Red? The aristocracy (as well as other people of influence who didn't, well, hold much of the capital but contributed to the cultural development, e.g. writers) fled country and took away the brightest minds, nobility and manners with them.
1959 in Moscow, Cristian Dior decided to take over the unknown and showcased his collection in a very unconventional way. Models dressed in Dior from head to toe were walking the streets followed by a photographer. What could serve as a better contrast?
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| Dior in Moscow, 1959 |
Do not be misguided by the word ugly here for I have picked it up not as an indicator of bad looks only, but also poor, biased judgments, and unacceptable behaviour.
These events that took place nearly one century ago keep defining who we are today.
When politicians make their speeches before election and address us with populist words and statements worth a bunch of idiots and definitely not a group of intelligent people let us remember Lenin. When police refuses to register your complain of domestic violence let us think about Soviet guide books to marriage that justify wife beating. When you see someone dressed like a heavily drunk jester look at the picture of Khrushchev's wife accompanying him during diplomatic visit to the States.
