Seventeen Moments in Soviet History

Seventeen Moments in Soviet History is a multi-media archive of primary materials designed to introduce students and the general public to the richness and contradictions of Soviet history. This project was created by James von Geldern (Macalester College) and Lewis Siegelbaum (Michigan State University). The site provides a cross-section of the Soviet world at seventeen different historical junctures. It covers political, societal, cultural, and economic issues enabling users to experience each given time through the words, songs, and paintings that an ordinary Soviet citizen would have encountered. One of the great strengths of this site is the array of learning materials provided. On the homepage, users can search for subjects by year or by theme. Clicking on different themes will reveal an overview of the subject and texts, images, videos, music, and maps connected to the subject. When a year is selected, users can see a list of events which provides the user with even more detailed information on a variety of topics relevant to the year initially selected. The introductory text is balanced and well written, however, the text is too small to read and may be a deterrent to users, higher resolution files for the visual images are desired.

The site provides more than two hundred subjects on the Soviet Union. Each subject features a brief introductory essay written by a scholar. The site has more than 1,400 images from published and archived sources. Many images are presented with a short description and some translated text. Furthermore, the site features more than 270 video clips, most of them from the Soviet newsreel archive in Krasnogorsk. Others are from Soviet features, documentaries, and propaganda films are available for most of the subjects. They provide a fascinating and immediate window into the Soviet past. More than 600 primary source texts provide a rich background, and detailed examples of the subjects covered. Those primary sources include newspapers, journals, legislation, memoirs, novels, poetry, and archival materials. The site has three tabs which are located at the top of the right column. The "Glossary" contains a list of explanations for historical terms and abbreviations which may be less familiar for students. The "Personages" provides dates, photos, and basic biographical information for more than six hundred prominent individuals in Soviet history. However, the introduction is too short for history students and they may want to see more details of those historical actors. The "Bibliography" offers a list of all published and archival material and of all external sites referenced in the project.

Seventeen Moments in Soviet History offers a concise and thoroughly engaging look at the rich history of this one-time superpower. The site has a great deal of information, it is providing users with primary sources to recreate the spirit and mentality of a nation emerging as a future threat, ally, and superpower to the western world. By assigning students to explore the primary sources, teachers can let students understand how Bolshevism was established in Russia in 1917. The project can also enable students to understand the complexities of the Communist movement, encouraging student objectivity in evaluating the role of the Soviet Union in Western and world history, and enables student to judge the accomplishments and failures of the Soviet system. In conclusion, instead of answering the complex question of whether the Soviet legacy is best characterized by its successes or its crimes, this project helps students and readers understand the more complicated truth—that at all moments of its history, the Soviet Union offered experiences of great good and great evil. Soviet citizens were forced to understand themselves as a whole. The object of the Web site is to give users a sense of what this total experience was like, using the original words of the participants.