Twitter randomly served me this tweet. I’m not following the person, and neither is anyone I’m following. Nor did the tweet blow up. So I don’t know why.
The author of the tweet is John Kennedy, a history PhD, who is “working on the transfer of auto-industrial technology from FR and ITA to the USSR from the 60s onwards.” The author they’re quoting is just called Filtzer.
In the comments, there is just one other person with whom they have a small interaction where there is some more information.
Alexandra Oberländer: I’d say: Good ol’ days! (She’s a researcher at the Center for the History of Emotions, and an associate editor of Kritika Journal - A Quarterly academic journal about the history of Russia and the former Soviet states. She also lists History of Sexual Violence and the Cultural History of Work as her areas of knowledge/expertise.)
John Kennedy: I’m afraid my original political formation as a Trot prevents me from agreeing with you! I was just reading your article Cushy Work, Backbreaking Leisure the other day. Very nice corrective to the idea that the issue was (an intrinsic) laziness
Alexandra Oberländer: Well, as “Trot” you’d be better off with Filtzer then :) (No disrespect meant, of course!)
John Kennedy: Haha none taken :) I won’t tie myself to the mast just yet!
I don’t know what my point was exactly by posting this here. I just wanted to share this people, I guess. It’s fascinating.
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I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that the Soviet workplace was a social and communal place. The US had some of that too, once, with canteens and factory papers, but I’ve heard of Soviet factories having their own sports facilities, health centers, clubs, all kinds of stuff that you just wouldn’t find at an American workplace in the last few decades.
I’ve started reading ‘Behind the Urals’ and the one thing that struck me immediately is that, despite the described working conditions being pretty depressing and dangerous, everyone was just vibing? Everyone hung out together, chilled out to music, swapped stories about their lives and past homes, and even had energy after all of that to go off to night school to learn, driven by possibility to be anything they wanted.
You can be feeding people half of the rations they were promised, be unable to supply them all the tools they need for work, and have them sleep in barracks - but if they’re working towards something tangible, both for themselves and for community, and in good company, their spirits will remain very high.
“The indomitable human spirit” and “A burden shared is a burden halved” and a couple of others. That’s really cool.
looked up the guy who wrote behind the Urals
In later years he publicly advocated against Bolshevism. After his retirement in 1973, he served as vice president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty[2] for several years
oh well, still sounds interesting
Workers be shopping
imagine if the USSR hadn’t dissolved, the workers would all be charging their phones, eating hot chips, and lying about working
