The Left Chapter: Ulan-Ude

Showing posts with label Ulan-Ude. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

On Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands - A Photographic Trip to the Soviet Far East, 1973

Monument to V.I. Lenin / Festive demonstration on V.I. Lenin Square

At the end of the Second World War with the defeat of Japan the Soviet Union took full control of Sakhalin Island (which is the largest island in Russia) and the Kuril Islands in the northern Pacific. These became important to the USSR both economically and militarily.

Published in 1973 this postcard folder has a variety of views of the islands as well as of its major city, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk which had around 100,000 inhabitants at the time. The cards are in Russian and were aimed at a domestic audience. Much of the islands were off-limits to non-Soviet citizens.

The cards show some of the area's exceptional natural beauty as well as unsurprisingly focusing on the fishing and maritime industry. The photo of Gagarin Park in the center of the city is remarkable.

One of the photos is of the region's Orbita Station images of which we have looked at before in the posts Soviet Ulan-Ude 1973 -- 15 Vintage Images w. the World's Largest Lenin Bust and Khabarovsk -- Images of the Soviet Far East, USSR 1975. Orbita Stations were part of the Soviet Union's remarkable technological achievement of building the world's first national satellite TV network in 1967. It allowed people living throughout the Soviet Far East to receive live television signals.

Sadly the region has seen a massive rise in crime, inequality and environmental degradation due in large part to the penetration of multinational and oligarchic business interests after the fall of socialism and the restoration of capitalism.

We have translated all the card descriptions from the original Russian.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Order of Lenin on the banner of the Sakhalin Region /

Stella with the text of the Decree on the award of the Order of Lenin to the region

City Executive Committee

Gagarin Park

Sakhalin autumn

On the Pacific coast / City of Korsakov, New House of Culture "Ocean"

Festival of the Peoples of the North

Orbita Station / Fishing flotilla near the island

Boiling Lake, Kunashir Island

Fish wealth of Sakhalin

"Poachers" / Spawning

See also: “The End of History” and the Post-Soviet Tragedy

Friday, February 1, 2019

Doug Ford, John Horgan, the Queen, Venezuela & more -- December and January on The Left Chapter in review

December and January saw 67 posts of various kinds on The Left Chapter.

These included our ever popular annual countdown of The 20 Best Songs of 2018 ft. Janelle Monáe, John Prine, Childish Gambino, Leon Bridges & more!, our widely shared photography post Soviet Ulan-Ude 1973 -- 15 Vintage Images w. the World's Largest Lenin Bust, our look at The Leader -- Chinese Karl Marx Anime Bio Trailer, an overview of the work of Yuri Raksha, Soviet Artist b. December 2, 1937 w. 12 Prints, the reality of how the imperialist present echoes the imperialist past of In Venezuela as in Chile, what is past is prologue and our report on Hundreds March and Rally in Toronto in Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en: Photos from the Day.

Thanks very much to all our readers and contributors.

If you have an article, editorial, analysis, recipe or story you would like to contribute there are details on how to do so on our Submissions page as well as at the end of this post.

Without any further ado, here are the top six posts, in terms of hits, from December and January.

1) Doug Ford's bully boy antics may yet derail his vicious administration

It speaks volumes when the historic organ of Canada's business class, The Globe and Mail, deigns to pronounce on the instability wrought by a newly elected right wing government that should be the stuff of Conservative wet dreams.

Read more!

2) The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic 1987: Photos, Culture, Economy, History & more -- Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Series

The book begins with a really interesting and relatively in-depth look at the geography and history of Azerbaijan going back thousands of years. We learn how Baku rose to become a major early oil center and as a result developed a more modern working class. Almost half of the world's oil production came from the area early in the 20th Century and due to this the city experienced a boom that drew over 60,000 workers of 30 nationalities.

Read more!

3) For Horgan "peaceful resolution" apparently flows from the barrel of a gun

After setting up an exclusion zone so that media and supporters could not see what was going on, RCMP officers in British Columbia armed with assault and sniper rifles invaded Wet'suwet'en territory and arrested 14 peaceful community members who were guarding their lands at a checkpoint on Monday night.

Read more!

4) The true seasonal message is that the monarchy has got to go

By Nathaniel Laxer

Christmas came and went, an 8 year old migrant child died in American custody on Christmas Eve and humanity still only has 12 years to limit severe irreversible climate change. But look on the bright side -- the Queen granted us her annual Christmas message! A statement that was broadcast live over CBC radio into my home, and the homes, cars and public places of millions of other people across Canada and across the Commonwealth.

Read more!

5) Which of these countries is not like the other? -- A Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland Imperialism Quiz!

Only one of these three countries has tried to chart a path free from the dominance of global capital and American economic and foreign policy. Only one of these countries has sought to socialize and nationalize essential pillars of the economy. Only one of these three countries has attempted to build a more equal, fair and just, socialistic economy.

Can you guess which?

Read more!

6) It is time to call a technical foul on Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri's ties to Paul Kagame

By Yves Engler

It is time to call a technical foul on Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri for his ties to one of the world’s most ruthless dictators. Through his Giants of Africa charity Ujiri has bestowed legitimacy on Paul Kagame even as local newspapers document the Rwandan president’s violence.

Read more!

Our top food related post was: Woodfire Sandwich Co. w. the Exceptional Nashville Hot & Hero Sandwiches in Long Branch

Do you have a left point-of-view or opinion, event or petition, a recipe or a story you want to share?

Send them to The Left Chapter via theleftchapter@outlook.com!

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See also: The Rising Right, Farley Mowat, the CBC, Horwath & more -- October and November on The Left Chapter in review

Monday, December 17, 2018

Soviet Ulan-Ude 1973 -- 15 Vintage Images w. the World's Largest Lenin Bust

Ulan-Ude is a city that lies in the Siberian Far East near Lake Baikal and the Mongolian border. Its name means "Red Uda" in the Buryat language referring to both the communism of the USSR and the river Uda that runs through the city.

This folder of 15 photographs of the city and region was published in 1973 and is notable for a number of reasons. The postcards were aimed entirely at Soviet citizens and tourists as Ulan-Ude was closed to any visitors who were not from the Soviet Union.

At the time it had a population of slightly over 250,000. One thing the city was known for -- and still is as it is still there -- was its gigantic statue bust of Lenin's head, which is the largest of its type ever built. This was erected for the centenary of Lenin's birth in 1970 and sat in what was called the Square of the Soviets.

The snow-laden city hippodrome with horses is a great photo as are those of the train snaking along the Selenga River, the public stairs leading up to the House of Culture at the car repair plant, and the fascinating photo of the Orbita Station outside the city.

The Orbita Station was part of the world's first national satellite TV network that the Soviet Union launched in 1967. It allowed people living throughout the Soviet Far East to receive live television signals.

(Click on images to enlarge)