Red Dawn 9 – NEPman Stalin

Greetings, Comrades!

I’ll be honest with you – the previous week has been a living hell for me, I’m dealing with a dying grandfather, for whom I have to do all the paperwork while he’s still here with us. And it’s hard. And Alice has exam season. And Alice spilled water on her laptop, so I had to re-record the whole episode. And then, we had to fix some factual errors in our episode, as it turns out, some of the documentaries that we watched were literally based in nothing. But…we pulled through. We did our best, and clenched our teeth and did amazing things. Like the Soviet people, during the NEP era, when they finally got some opportunities to do some private enterprises. Or, like Stalin, who, even though, curbed all of those private business activities, nonetheless kind of represents the stereotypical NEP-man in the political world. He was shrewd, cunning, tough, witty and…indescribably selfish, evil and with no sense of honor or loyalty to his allies. But…in a way, that’s how the businessmen in the NEP were, and Stalin probably has more in common with Ostap Bender and Voland than he probably had imagined. And I’ll leave this long description at that, comrades. Enjoy the show!

Today’s picture:

Inessa Armand - Lenin's long-time lover.
Inessa Armand – Lenin’s long-time lover.

Oh, and –

Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife.
Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin’s wife.

These women matter for this story. Again, as most of the times with these pictures, you’ll get their significance, once you listen to the show.

The Eastern Border
The Eastern Border
Red Dawn 9 - NEPman Stalin
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About Curonian 6 Articles
The humble creator of this podcast - living in Riga, Latvia, and trying to give you the best that I can.