#stalin — Public Fediverse posts

The Trump administration's campaign against energy-efficiency policies is driven more by politics and support for fossil fuels than by sound energy or economic policy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/07/23/world/energy-efficiency-communist-plot/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #zohranmamdani #republicans #democrats #gregabbott #texas #newyorkcity #newyorkers #donaldtrump #departmentofenergy #stalin #environmentalprotectionagencygeorgehwbush #climatechange #electricity

The Trump administration's campaign against energy-efficiency policies is driven more by politics and support for fossil fuels than by sound energy or economic policy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/07/23/world/energy-efficiency-communist-plot/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #zohranmamdani #republicans #democrats #gregabbott #texas #newyorkcity #newyorkers #donaldtrump #departmentofenergy #stalin #environmentalprotectionagencygeorgehwbush #climatechange #electricity

The Trump administration's campaign against energy-efficiency policies is driven more by politics and support for fossil fuels than by sound energy or economic policy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/07/23/world/energy-efficiency-communist-plot/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #zohranmamdani #republicans #democrats #gregabbott #texas #newyorkcity #newyorkers #donaldtrump #departmentofenergy #stalin #environmentalprotectionagencygeorgehwbush #climatechange #electricity

The Trump administration's campaign against energy-efficiency policies is driven more by politics and support for fossil fuels than by sound energy or economic policy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/07/23/world/energy-efficiency-communist-plot/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #zohranmamdani #republicans #democrats #gregabbott #texas #newyorkcity #newyorkers #donaldtrump #departmentofenergy #stalin #environmentalprotectionagencygeorgehwbush #climatechange #electricity

22.07.1941 - 22.07.2026
85 YEARS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
Today marks the anniversary of the Great Patriotic War initiated by German imperialist aggression against the Soviet Union, which claimed 25 million victims in Eastern Europe. The Soviet resistance and counteroffensive drove the fascists all the way to Berlin on May 2, 1945.
#WWII #GreatPatrioticWar #Stalin #Imperialism #Socialism

#TRAVELLER #BOOK 7 #MERCHANT #PRINCE
www.perplexity.ai/search/new?q...
SHUKYŪ HA
aepiot.com?lang=en&q=SH...
#JOSEPH #STALIN #BIBLIOGRAPHY
allgraph.ro/advanced-sea...
aepiot.ro

Perplexity

#TRAVELLER #BOOK 7 #MERCHANT #PRINCE
www.perplexity.ai/search/new?q...
SHUKYŪ HA
aepiot.com?lang=en&q=SH...
#JOSEPH #STALIN #BIBLIOGRAPHY
allgraph.ro/advanced-sea...
aepiot.ro

Perplexity

New Lecture Series for the Public: "Hitler and Stalin Today" [Timothy Snyder]

Source:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/new-lecture-series-for-the-public

- **Institution:** University of Toronto
- **Lecturer:** [Timothy Snyder](https://substack.com/@snyder)
- **University Course Code:** [MUN180H1](https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/mun180h1)
- **Subject:** #authoritarianism #colonization #communism #democracy #fascism #genocide #history #holocaust #politics #soviet #worldhistory
- **Year:** 2026
- **Description:**
> The first lecture in a ten-lecture series on Hitler and Stalin today.
>
> The first lecture (video above) is titled “What is history?” We speak often about history, but we are careless with the past. When we choose not to know what has happened before, we are also choosing not to influence what will happen after. If we don’t care about history, we find ourselves in an eternal present, denied any sort of imagination about the future, and nurtured on lies about a past in which we were innocent. History does not mean these misleading tales; it means a search for knowledge, using a certain set of tools; it means a process that enriches and humanizes, one that allows us to name things by their proper names.
>
> There are two readings to go along with this lecture:
>
> - [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/nde/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01UTORONTO_INST%3AUTORONTO_NDE&search_scope=UTL_AND_CI&docid=alma991107113412006196)
> - [The War on History is a War on Democracy](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)

---

#20thcentury #democracyindanger #freecourse #historymatters #hitler #hitlerandstalintoday #massatrocities #nazi #nazigermany #neveragain #riseofauthoritarianism #sovietunion #stalin #timothysnyder #totalitarianism #universityoftoronto #uoft #freecourse #opencourselectures

---

If it is inaccessible, here are other ways to read:
- [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://annas-archive.gl/md5/34bf7861a9ee62b6a6bb2b82a6699ef7)
- [The War on History is a War on Democracy](http://web.archive.org/web/20260205233604if_/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)
- [Listen](https://static.nytimes.com/podcasts/2021/06/29/magazine/29audm-forced-forgetting-snyder/210629-forced-forgetting-snyder-nytmag-audm.mp3)

New Lecture Series for the Public: "Hitler and Stalin Today" [Timothy Snyder]

Source:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/new-lecture-series-for-the-public

- **Institution:** University of Toronto
- **Lecturer:** [Timothy Snyder](https://substack.com/@snyder)
- **University Course Code:** [MUN180H1](https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/mun180h1)
- **Subject:** #authoritarianism #colonization #communism #democracy #fascism #genocide #history #holocaust #politics #soviet #worldhistory
- **Year:** 2026
- **Description:**
> The first lecture in a ten-lecture series on Hitler and Stalin today.
>
> The first lecture (video above) is titled “What is history?” We speak often about history, but we are careless with the past. When we choose not to know what has happened before, we are also choosing not to influence what will happen after. If we don’t care about history, we find ourselves in an eternal present, denied any sort of imagination about the future, and nurtured on lies about a past in which we were innocent. History does not mean these misleading tales; it means a search for knowledge, using a certain set of tools; it means a process that enriches and humanizes, one that allows us to name things by their proper names.
>
> There are two readings to go along with this lecture:
>
> - [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/nde/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01UTORONTO_INST%3AUTORONTO_NDE&search_scope=UTL_AND_CI&docid=alma991107113412006196)
> - [The War on History is a War on Democracy](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)

---

#20thcentury #democracyindanger #freecourse #historymatters #hitler #hitlerandstalintoday #massatrocities #nazi #nazigermany #neveragain #riseofauthoritarianism #sovietunion #stalin #timothysnyder #totalitarianism #universityoftoronto #uoft #freecourse #opencourselectures

---

If it is inaccessible, here are other ways to read:
- [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://annas-archive.gl/md5/34bf7861a9ee62b6a6bb2b82a6699ef7)
- [The War on History is a War on Democracy](http://web.archive.org/web/20260205233604if_/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)
- [Listen](https://static.nytimes.com/podcasts/2021/06/29/magazine/29audm-forced-forgetting-snyder/210629-forced-forgetting-snyder-nytmag-audm.mp3)

New Lecture Series for the Public: "Hitler and Stalin Today" [Timothy Snyder]

Source:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/new-lecture-series-for-the-public

- **Institution:** University of Toronto
- **Lecturer:** [Timothy Snyder](https://substack.com/@snyder)
- **University Course Code:** [MUN180H1](https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/mun180h1)
- **Subject:** #authoritarianism #colonization #communism #democracy #fascism #genocide #history #holocaust #politics #soviet #worldhistory
- **Year:** 2026
- **Description:**
> The first lecture in a ten-lecture series on Hitler and Stalin today.
>
> The first lecture (video above) is titled “What is history?” We speak often about history, but we are careless with the past. When we choose not to know what has happened before, we are also choosing not to influence what will happen after. If we don’t care about history, we find ourselves in an eternal present, denied any sort of imagination about the future, and nurtured on lies about a past in which we were innocent. History does not mean these misleading tales; it means a search for knowledge, using a certain set of tools; it means a process that enriches and humanizes, one that allows us to name things by their proper names.
>
> There are two readings to go along with this lecture:
>
> - [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/nde/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01UTORONTO_INST%3AUTORONTO_NDE&search_scope=UTL_AND_CI&docid=alma991107113412006196)
> - [The War on History is a War on Democracy](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)

---

#20thcentury #democracyindanger #freecourse #historymatters #hitler #hitlerandstalintoday #massatrocities #nazi #nazigermany #neveragain #riseofauthoritarianism #sovietunion #stalin #timothysnyder #totalitarianism #universityoftoronto #uoft #freecourse #opencourselectures

---

If it is inaccessible, here are other ways to read:
- [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://annas-archive.gl/md5/34bf7861a9ee62b6a6bb2b82a6699ef7)
- [The War on History is a War on Democracy](http://web.archive.org/web/20260205233604if_/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)
- [Listen](https://static.nytimes.com/podcasts/2021/06/29/magazine/29audm-forced-forgetting-snyder/210629-forced-forgetting-snyder-nytmag-audm.mp3)

New Lecture Series for the Public: "Hitler and Stalin Today" [Timothy Snyder]

Source:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/new-lecture-series-for-the-public

- **Institution:** University of Toronto
- **Lecturer:** [Timothy Snyder](https://substack.com/@snyder)
- **University Course Code:** [MUN180H1](https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/mun180h1)
- **Subject:** #authoritarianism #colonization #communism #democracy #fascism #genocide #history #holocaust #politics #soviet #worldhistory
- **Year:** 2026
- **Description:**
> The first lecture in a ten-lecture series on Hitler and Stalin today.
>
> The first lecture (video above) is titled “What is history?” We speak often about history, but we are careless with the past. When we choose not to know what has happened before, we are also choosing not to influence what will happen after. If we don’t care about history, we find ourselves in an eternal present, denied any sort of imagination about the future, and nurtured on lies about a past in which we were innocent. History does not mean these misleading tales; it means a search for knowledge, using a certain set of tools; it means a process that enriches and humanizes, one that allows us to name things by their proper names.
>
> There are two readings to go along with this lecture:
>
> - [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/nde/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01UTORONTO_INST%3AUTORONTO_NDE&search_scope=UTL_AND_CI&docid=alma991107113412006196)
> - [The War on History is a War on Democracy](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)

---

#20thcentury #democracyindanger #freecourse #historymatters #hitler #hitlerandstalintoday #massatrocities #nazi #nazigermany #neveragain #riseofauthoritarianism #sovietunion #stalin #timothysnyder #totalitarianism #universityoftoronto #uoft #freecourse #opencourselectures

---

If it is inaccessible, here are other ways to read:
- [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://annas-archive.gl/md5/34bf7861a9ee62b6a6bb2b82a6699ef7)
- [The War on History is a War on Democracy](http://web.archive.org/web/20260205233604if_/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)
- [Listen](https://static.nytimes.com/podcasts/2021/06/29/magazine/29audm-forced-forgetting-snyder/210629-forced-forgetting-snyder-nytmag-audm.mp3)

New Lecture Series for the Public: "Hitler and Stalin Today" [Timothy Snyder]

Source:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/new-lecture-series-for-the-public

- **Institution:** University of Toronto
- **Lecturer:** [Timothy Snyder](https://substack.com/@snyder)
- **University Course Code:** [MUN180H1](https://artsci.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/mun180h1)
- **Subject:** #authoritarianism #colonization #communism #democracy #fascism #genocide #history #holocaust #politics #soviet #worldhistory
- **Year:** 2026
- **Description:**
> The first lecture in a ten-lecture series on Hitler and Stalin today.
>
> The first lecture (video above) is titled “What is history?” We speak often about history, but we are careless with the past. When we choose not to know what has happened before, we are also choosing not to influence what will happen after. If we don’t care about history, we find ourselves in an eternal present, denied any sort of imagination about the future, and nurtured on lies about a past in which we were innocent. History does not mean these misleading tales; it means a search for knowledge, using a certain set of tools; it means a process that enriches and humanizes, one that allows us to name things by their proper names.
>
> There are two readings to go along with this lecture:
>
> - [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://librarysearch.library.utoronto.ca/nde/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01UTORONTO_INST%3AUTORONTO_NDE&search_scope=UTL_AND_CI&docid=alma991107113412006196)
> - [The War on History is a War on Democracy](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)

---

#20thcentury #democracyindanger #freecourse #historymatters #hitler #hitlerandstalintoday #massatrocities #nazi #nazigermany #neveragain #riseofauthoritarianism #sovietunion #stalin #timothysnyder #totalitarianism #universityoftoronto #uoft #freecourse #opencourselectures

---

If it is inaccessible, here are other ways to read:
- [Tadeusz Borowski, Here in Our Auschwitz](https://annas-archive.gl/md5/34bf7861a9ee62b6a6bb2b82a6699ef7)
- [The War on History is a War on Democracy](http://web.archive.org/web/20260205233604if_/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html)
- [Listen](https://static.nytimes.com/podcasts/2021/06/29/magazine/29audm-forced-forgetting-snyder/210629-forced-forgetting-snyder-nytmag-audm.mp3)

Tallest ‘Stalinist’ Skyscrapers of the former Soviet Bloc

Identified below by order of height are “Stalinist” empire style skyscrapers that were built in the former Soviet Union. and its satellite nations. Most of these were begun in the late 1940s and 1950s, while Joseph Stalin was still alive, though one, Triumph Palace, represents a rebirth of the Stalinism style from the early 2000s.

The skyscrapers with an asterisk (*) before them are the famous Seven Sisters of Stalin’s Empire Style Architecture built in Moscow. Two others were planned, but never built, including what would have been the tallest building in the world at the time – The Palace of the Soviets.

Design characteristics of “Stalinist” empire style of architecture include, but are not limited to the following:

• Monumental design including tall spires
• Strict symmetry
• Abundant decoration
• Expensive natural materials
• Palatial interiors
• Combination of neoclassical and art deco styles
• Ornamental features such as stars, hammer & sickle, etc.

Regardless of one’s opinions of Stalin and his policies, these towering structures are immensely impressive and quite breathtaking. Compared to so many bland, boxy skyscrapers proliferating the planet, these high-rise edifices succeed in adding character and a touch of panache to the cities where they are located in a manner that enhances their surroundings. If only more early post-WWII architectural trends had done the same, many dullish city skylines would have been more visually entertaining during the Cold War era.

Peace/Mir!

1. Triumph Palace (2006): Moscow, Russia = 264.1 m/866.5 feet – Neo-Stalinist style – often considered the “Eighth Sister“.

2. *Moscow State University Administration Building (1953): Moscow, Russia= 240 m/787.4 feet

3. Palace of Culture and Science (1955): Warsaw, Poland = 237 m/777.6 feet

4. *Hotel Ukraina [Radisson] (1957): Moscow, Russia = 206 m/675.9 feet

5. *Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building (1952): Moscow, Russia = 176 m/577.4 feet

6. *Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1953): Moscow, Russia = 172 m/564.3 feet

7. *Kudrinskaya Square Building (1954): Moscow, Russia = 156 m/511.8 feet

8. *Hotel Leningradskaya [Hilton} (1954): Moscow, Russia = 136 m/446.2 feet

9. *Red Gate Square (1953): Moscow, Russia = 133 m/436.4 feet

10. Latvian Academy of Sciences (1961): Riga, Latvia = 108 m/354.3 feet

11. House of the Free Press (1957): Bucharest, Romania = 104 m/341.2 feet

12. Grand Hotel International (1956): Prague, Czechia = 88 m/288.7 feet

13. Beijing Exhibition Center (1954): Beijing, China = 87 m/285.4 feet

14. South Ural University Main Building (1950s/1997): Chelyabinsk, Russia = 84 m/275.6 feet – truncated by Khrushchev but fully completed in 1997

15. Sochi Marine Terminal Building (1955): Sochi, Russia = 71 m/233 feet

16. Ukraine Hotel (1961): Kyiv, Ukraine = 66.1 m/216.9 feet – truncated by Khrushchev

17-18. Frankfurt Tor “Gate” x 2 (1957): East Berlin/Berlin, East Germany/Germany ~ 60 m/196.85 feet each

19. Sochi Railway Station (rebuilt 1952): Sochi, Russia = 55 m/180.5 feet

SOURCES:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Moscow
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(Moscow)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Moscow_Leningradskaya
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Gate_Building
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_International_Prague
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Ukraine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Free_Press
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Academy_of_Sciences
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science
• https://skyscraperpage.com/b46671/kyiv/ukraine-hotel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Palace
• gemini.google.ai
• https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pnvgc/stalinist-architecture-makes-a-comeback-in-russia.html
• https://www.susu.ru/en/news/2021/12/21/main-building-what-it-looked-and-how-it-transformed
• https://museumstudiesabroad.org/moscow-seven-sisters-history-stalin-skyscrapers/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Exhibition_Center
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Tor
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbidgood/47619192062
• https://www.berlin.de/ost-west-ost-kulturbahnhoefe/en/history-walk/artikel.1604472.en.php
• https://denkmaldatenbank.berlin.de/daobj.php?obj_dok_nr=09085171
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi_railway_station
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Station_(Sochi)

Tallest ‘Stalinist’ Skyscrapers of the former Soviet Bloc

Identified below by order of height are “Stalinist” empire style skyscrapers that were built in the former Soviet Union. and its satellite nations. Most of these were begun in the late 1940s and 1950s, while Joseph Stalin was still alive, though one, Triumph Palace, represents a rebirth of the Stalinism style from the early 2000s.

The skyscrapers with an asterisk (*) before them are the famous Seven Sisters of Stalin’s Empire Style Architecture built in Moscow. Two others were planned, but never built, including what would have been the tallest building in the world at the time – The Palace of the Soviets.

Design characteristics of “Stalinist” empire style of architecture include, but are not limited to the following:

• Monumental design including tall spires
• Strict symmetry
• Abundant decoration
• Expensive natural materials
• Palatial interiors
• Combination of neoclassical and art deco styles
• Ornamental features such as stars, hammer & sickle, etc.

Regardless of one’s opinions of Stalin and his policies, these towering structures are immensely impressive and quite breathtaking. Compared to so many bland, boxy skyscrapers proliferating the planet, these high-rise edifices succeed in adding character and a touch of panache to the cities where they are located in a manner that enhances their surroundings. If only more early post-WWII architectural trends had done the same, many dullish city skylines would have been more visually entertaining during the Cold War era.

Peace/Mir!

1. Triumph Palace (2006): Moscow, Russia = 264.1 m/866.5 feet – Neo-Stalinist style – often considered the “Eighth Sister“.

2. *Moscow State University Administration Building (1953): Moscow, Russia= 240 m/787.4 feet

3. Palace of Culture and Science (1955): Warsaw, Poland = 237 m/777.6 feet

4. *Hotel Ukraina [Radisson] (1957): Moscow, Russia = 206 m/675.9 feet

5. *Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building (1952): Moscow, Russia = 176 m/577.4 feet

6. *Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1953): Moscow, Russia = 172 m/564.3 feet

7. *Kudrinskaya Square Building (1954): Moscow, Russia = 156 m/511.8 feet

8. *Hotel Leningradskaya [Hilton} (1954): Moscow, Russia = 136 m/446.2 feet

9. *Red Gate Square (1953): Moscow, Russia = 133 m/436.4 feet

10. Latvian Academy of Sciences (1961): Riga, Latvia = 108 m/354.3 feet

11. House of the Free Press (1957): Bucharest, Romania = 104 m/341.2 feet

12. Grand Hotel International (1956): Prague, Czechia = 88 m/288.7 feet

13. Beijing Exhibition Center (1954): Beijing, China = 87 m/285.4 feet

14. South Ural University Main Building (1950s/1997): Chelyabinsk, Russia = 84 m/275.6 feet – truncated by Khrushchev but fully completed in 1997

15. Sochi Marine Terminal Building (1955): Sochi, Russia = 71 m/233 feet

16. Ukraine Hotel (1961): Kyiv, Ukraine = 66.1 m/216.9 feet – truncated by Khrushchev

17-18. Frankfurt Tor “Gate” x 2 (1957): East Berlin/Berlin, East Germany/Germany ~ 60 m/196.85 feet each

19. Sochi Railway Station (rebuilt 1952): Sochi, Russia = 55 m/180.5 feet

SOURCES:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Moscow
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(Moscow)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Moscow_Leningradskaya
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Gate_Building
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_International_Prague
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Ukraine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Free_Press
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Academy_of_Sciences
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science
• https://skyscraperpage.com/b46671/kyiv/ukraine-hotel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Palace
• gemini.google.ai
• https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pnvgc/stalinist-architecture-makes-a-comeback-in-russia.html
• https://www.susu.ru/en/news/2021/12/21/main-building-what-it-looked-and-how-it-transformed
• https://museumstudiesabroad.org/moscow-seven-sisters-history-stalin-skyscrapers/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Exhibition_Center
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Tor
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbidgood/47619192062
• https://www.berlin.de/ost-west-ost-kulturbahnhoefe/en/history-walk/artikel.1604472.en.php
• https://denkmaldatenbank.berlin.de/daobj.php?obj_dok_nr=09085171
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi_railway_station
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Station_(Sochi)

Tallest ‘Stalinist’ Skyscrapers of the former Soviet Bloc

Identified below by order of height are “Stalinist” empire style skyscrapers that were built in the former Soviet Union. and its satellite nations. Most of these were begun in the late 1940s and 1950s, while Joseph Stalin was still alive, though one, Triumph Palace, represents a rebirth of the Stalinism style from the early 2000s.

The skyscrapers with an asterisk (*) before them are the famous Seven Sisters of Stalin’s Empire Style Architecture built in Moscow. Two others were planned, but never built, including what would have been the tallest building in the world at the time – The Palace of the Soviets.

Design characteristics of “Stalinist” empire style of architecture include, but are not limited to the following:

• Monumental design including tall spires
• Strict symmetry
• Abundant decoration
• Expensive natural materials
• Palatial interiors
• Combination of neoclassical and art deco styles
• Ornamental features such as stars, hammer & sickle, etc.

Regardless of one’s opinions of Stalin and his policies, these towering structures are immensely impressive and quite breathtaking. Compared to so many bland, boxy skyscrapers proliferating the planet, these high-rise edifices succeed in adding character and a touch of panache to the cities where they are located in a manner that enhances their surroundings. If only more early post-WWII architectural trends had done the same, many dullish city skylines would have been more visually entertaining during the Cold War era.

Peace/Mir!

1. Triumph Palace (2006): Moscow, Russia = 264.1 m/866.5 feet – Neo-Stalinist style – often considered the “Eighth Sister“.

2. *Moscow State University Administration Building (1953): Moscow, Russia= 240 m/787.4 feet

3. Palace of Culture and Science (1955): Warsaw, Poland = 237 m/777.6 feet

4. *Hotel Ukraina [Radisson] (1957): Moscow, Russia = 206 m/675.9 feet

5. *Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building (1952): Moscow, Russia = 176 m/577.4 feet

6. *Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1953): Moscow, Russia = 172 m/564.3 feet

7. *Kudrinskaya Square Building (1954): Moscow, Russia = 156 m/511.8 feet

8. *Hotel Leningradskaya [Hilton} (1954): Moscow, Russia = 136 m/446.2 feet

9. *Red Gate Square (1953): Moscow, Russia = 133 m/436.4 feet

10. Latvian Academy of Sciences (1961): Riga, Latvia = 108 m/354.3 feet

11. House of the Free Press (1957): Bucharest, Romania = 104 m/341.2 feet

12. Grand Hotel International (1956): Prague, Czechia = 88 m/288.7 feet

13. Beijing Exhibition Center (1954): Beijing, China = 87 m/285.4 feet

14. South Ural University Main Building (1950s/1997): Chelyabinsk, Russia = 84 m/275.6 feet – truncated by Khrushchev but fully completed in 1997

15. Sochi Marine Terminal Building (1955): Sochi, Russia = 71 m/233 feet

16. Ukraine Hotel (1961): Kyiv, Ukraine = 66.1 m/216.9 feet – truncated by Khrushchev

17-18. Frankfurt Tor “Gate” x 2 (1957): East Berlin/Berlin, East Germany/Germany ~ 60 m/196.85 feet each

19. Sochi Railway Station (rebuilt 1952): Sochi, Russia = 55 m/180.5 feet

SOURCES:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Moscow
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(Moscow)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Moscow_Leningradskaya
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Gate_Building
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_International_Prague
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Ukraine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Free_Press
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Academy_of_Sciences
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science
• https://skyscraperpage.com/b46671/kyiv/ukraine-hotel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Palace
• gemini.google.ai
• https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pnvgc/stalinist-architecture-makes-a-comeback-in-russia.html
• https://www.susu.ru/en/news/2021/12/21/main-building-what-it-looked-and-how-it-transformed
• https://museumstudiesabroad.org/moscow-seven-sisters-history-stalin-skyscrapers/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Exhibition_Center
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Tor
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbidgood/47619192062
• https://www.berlin.de/ost-west-ost-kulturbahnhoefe/en/history-walk/artikel.1604472.en.php
• https://denkmaldatenbank.berlin.de/daobj.php?obj_dok_nr=09085171
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi_railway_station
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Station_(Sochi)

Tallest ‘Stalinist’ Skyscrapers of the former Soviet Bloc

Identified below by order of height are “Stalinist” empire style skyscrapers that were built in the former Soviet Union. and its satellite nations. Most of these were begun in the late 1940s and 1950s, while Joseph Stalin was still alive, though one, Triumph Palace, represents a rebirth of the Stalinism style from the early 2000s.

The skyscrapers with an asterisk (*) before them are the famous Seven Sisters of Stalin’s Empire Style Architecture built in Moscow. Two others were planned, but never built, including what would have been the tallest building in the world at the time – The Palace of the Soviets.

Design characteristics of “Stalinist” empire style of architecture include, but are not limited to the following:

• Monumental design including tall spires
• Strict symmetry
• Abundant decoration
• Expensive natural materials
• Palatial interiors
• Combination of neoclassical and art deco styles
• Ornamental features such as stars, hammer & sickle, etc.

Regardless of one’s opinions of Stalin and his policies, these towering structures are immensely impressive and quite breathtaking. Compared to so many bland, boxy skyscrapers proliferating the planet, these high-rise edifices succeed in adding character and a touch of panache to the cities where they are located in a manner that enhances their surroundings. If only more early post-WWII architectural trends had done the same, many dullish city skylines would have been more visually entertaining during the Cold War era.

Peace/Mir!

1. Triumph Palace (2006): Moscow, Russia = 264.1 m/866.5 feet – Neo-Stalinist style – often considered the “Eighth Sister“.

2. *Moscow State University Administration Building (1953): Moscow, Russia= 240 m/787.4 feet

3. Palace of Culture and Science (1955): Warsaw, Poland = 237 m/777.6 feet

4. *Hotel Ukraina [Radisson] (1957): Moscow, Russia = 206 m/675.9 feet

5. *Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building (1952): Moscow, Russia = 176 m/577.4 feet

6. *Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1953): Moscow, Russia = 172 m/564.3 feet

7. *Kudrinskaya Square Building (1954): Moscow, Russia = 156 m/511.8 feet

8. *Hotel Leningradskaya [Hilton} (1954): Moscow, Russia = 136 m/446.2 feet

9. *Red Gate Square (1953): Moscow, Russia = 133 m/436.4 feet

10. Latvian Academy of Sciences (1961): Riga, Latvia = 108 m/354.3 feet

11. House of the Free Press (1957): Bucharest, Romania = 104 m/341.2 feet

12. Grand Hotel International (1956): Prague, Czechia = 88 m/288.7 feet

13. Beijing Exhibition Center (1954): Beijing, China = 87 m/285.4 feet

14. South Ural University Main Building (1950s/1997): Chelyabinsk, Russia = 84 m/275.6 feet – truncated by Khrushchev but fully completed in 1997

15. Sochi Marine Terminal Building (1955): Sochi, Russia = 71 m/233 feet

16. Ukraine Hotel (1961): Kyiv, Ukraine = 66.1 m/216.9 feet – truncated by Khrushchev

17-18. Frankfurt Tor “Gate” x 2 (1957): East Berlin/Berlin, East Germany/Germany ~ 60 m/196.85 feet each

19. Sochi Railway Station (rebuilt 1952): Sochi, Russia = 55 m/180.5 feet

SOURCES:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Moscow
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(Moscow)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Moscow_Leningradskaya
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Gate_Building
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_International_Prague
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Ukraine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Free_Press
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Academy_of_Sciences
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science
• https://skyscraperpage.com/b46671/kyiv/ukraine-hotel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Palace
• gemini.google.ai
• https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pnvgc/stalinist-architecture-makes-a-comeback-in-russia.html
• https://www.susu.ru/en/news/2021/12/21/main-building-what-it-looked-and-how-it-transformed
• https://museumstudiesabroad.org/moscow-seven-sisters-history-stalin-skyscrapers/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Exhibition_Center
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Tor
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbidgood/47619192062
• https://www.berlin.de/ost-west-ost-kulturbahnhoefe/en/history-walk/artikel.1604472.en.php
• https://denkmaldatenbank.berlin.de/daobj.php?obj_dok_nr=09085171
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi_railway_station
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Station_(Sochi)

Tallest ‘Stalinist’ Skyscrapers of the former Soviet Bloc

Identified below by order of height are “Stalinist” empire style skyscrapers that were built in the former Soviet Union. and its satellite nations. Most of these were begun in the late 1940s and 1950s, while Joseph Stalin was still alive, though one, Triumph Palace, represents a rebirth of the Stalinism style from the early 2000s.

The skyscrapers with an asterisk (*) before them are the famous Seven Sisters of Stalin’s Empire Style Architecture built in Moscow. Two others were planned, but never built, including what would have been the tallest building in the world at the time – The Palace of the Soviets.

Design characteristics of “Stalinist” empire style of architecture include, but are not limited to the following:

• Monumental design including tall spires
• Strict symmetry
• Abundant decoration
• Expensive natural materials
• Palatial interiors
• Combination of neoclassical and art deco styles
• Ornamental features such as stars, hammer & sickle, etc.

Regardless of one’s opinions of Stalin and his policies, these towering structures are immensely impressive and quite breathtaking. Compared to so many bland, boxy skyscrapers proliferating the planet, these high-rise edifices succeed in adding character and a touch of panache to the cities where they are located in a manner that enhances their surroundings. If only more early post-WWII architectural trends had done the same, many dullish city skylines would have been more visually entertaining during the Cold War era.

Peace/Mir!

1. Triumph Palace (2006): Moscow, Russia = 264.1 m/866.5 feet – Neo-Stalinist style – often considered the “Eighth Sister“.

2. *Moscow State University Administration Building (1953): Moscow, Russia= 240 m/787.4 feet

3. Palace of Culture and Science (1955): Warsaw, Poland = 237 m/777.6 feet

4. *Hotel Ukraina [Radisson] (1957): Moscow, Russia = 206 m/675.9 feet

5. *Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building (1952): Moscow, Russia = 176 m/577.4 feet

6. *Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1953): Moscow, Russia = 172 m/564.3 feet

7. *Kudrinskaya Square Building (1954): Moscow, Russia = 156 m/511.8 feet

8. *Hotel Leningradskaya [Hilton} (1954): Moscow, Russia = 136 m/446.2 feet

9. *Red Gate Square (1953): Moscow, Russia = 133 m/436.4 feet

10. Latvian Academy of Sciences (1961): Riga, Latvia = 108 m/354.3 feet

11. House of the Free Press (1957): Bucharest, Romania = 104 m/341.2 feet

12. Grand Hotel International (1956): Prague, Czechia = 88 m/288.7 feet

13. Beijing Exhibition Center (1954): Beijing, China = 87 m/285.4 feet

14. South Ural University Main Building (1950s/1997): Chelyabinsk, Russia = 84 m/275.6 feet – truncated by Khrushchev but fully completed in 1997

15. Sochi Marine Terminal Building (1955): Sochi, Russia = 71 m/233 feet

16. Ukraine Hotel (1961): Kyiv, Ukraine = 66.1 m/216.9 feet – truncated by Khrushchev

17-18. Frankfurt Tor “Gate” x 2 (1957): East Berlin/Berlin, East Germany/Germany ~ 60 m/196.85 feet each

19. Sochi Railway Station (rebuilt 1952): Sochi, Russia = 55 m/180.5 feet

SOURCES:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Moscow
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(Moscow)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Moscow_Leningradskaya
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Gate_Building
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_International_Prague
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Ukraine
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_the_Free_Press
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Academy_of_Sciences
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Culture_and_Science
• https://skyscraperpage.com/b46671/kyiv/ukraine-hotel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Palace
• gemini.google.ai
• https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pnvgc/stalinist-architecture-makes-a-comeback-in-russia.html
• https://www.susu.ru/en/news/2021/12/21/main-building-what-it-looked-and-how-it-transformed
• https://museumstudiesabroad.org/moscow-seven-sisters-history-stalin-skyscrapers/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_architecture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Exhibition_Center
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Tor
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbidgood/47619192062
• https://www.berlin.de/ost-west-ost-kulturbahnhoefe/en/history-walk/artikel.1604472.en.php
• https://denkmaldatenbank.berlin.de/daobj.php?obj_dok_nr=09085171
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sochi_railway_station
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Station_(Sochi)

“When you mix science and politics, you get politics:*…

Tina Hesman Saey on a looming threat to the U.S…

Soviet scientists in the 1930s knew what could happen if they bucked the party line: denunciation, firing and banishment from the scientific establishment, even imprisonment and death. Political reprisals against those who opposed the views of dictator Joseph Stalin and his followers — and the dubious science they endorsed — led to the starvation of millions, as well as to decades of lost progress in fields from agriculture to molecular biology.

Now, scientists are warning that history could repeat itself — but in the United States.

A new proposal from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget would put political appointees in charge of funding decisions traditionally overseen by scientists. In recent years, the federal government has funded about 40 percent of basic science research in the United States.

The OMB’s more than 400-page proposed rule change would let political appointees decide how to hand out federal research funds and who can get them. It would cut funding for collaboration with scientists in other countries and restrict scientists’ ability to communicate their findings. What’s more, it could prevent research on matters that President Donald Trump’s administration has deemed “not in the national interest” — such as studies on health disparities, mRNA-based vaccines and research that doesn’t recognize biological sex as a strict binary.

The new rules would also give OMB the power to rescind previously approved research funds. The proposal “poses a sweeping threat to federal grantmaking and the responsible stewardship of American taxpayer dollars,” the science advocacy group Stand Up for Science Foundation said in a report. In addition, it would impact nonscientific grants supporting services for mental health, housing, education, veterans and Tribal nations, affecting the health and well-being of millions.

So far, OMB has received more than 98,000 comments on the proposal. The public comment period closes July 13. It then will be up to OMB to decide whether to keep the rule as is, revise it or scrap it.

These far-reaching measures are already drawing parallels to dark moments in scientific history. Some researchers say the recent mass firings, policy changes and grant cancellations at federal research institutions, including the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, closely mirror what happened in the U.S.S.R. under Stalin. “A similar threat now hangs over U.S. science,” the editorial board of The New England Journal of Medicine wrote in June.

Its editorial invoked the example of Trofim Lysenko [see here], an agronomist and astute political operator who rose to power in the 1930s Soviet Union under Stalin.

Until the 1930s, “the Soviet Union was a real powerhouse in the field of genetics,” says Lee Dugatkin, an evolutionary biologist and historian of science at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Then, Lysenko came along. “This guy was your sort of classic charlatan,” Dugatkin says. “He had the equivalent of a mail order degree in agriculture, but he was quite good with the press, and he started to basically spread this idea out there that he was capable of dramatically increasing crop yield, particularly wheat.”

Lysenko’s supposed innovation was a process called vernalization and amounted to soaking seeds in freezing water. The resulting plants — and all their offspring — should be resistant to the U.S.S.R.’s famously cold winters, Lysenko reasoned.

His reasoning was based on a disproven idea in evolutionary biology called Lamarckian inheritance. French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and his followers thought that things an organism experiences in its lifetime can be handed down to the next generation. The classic example is a giraffe that has to stretch to reach leaves producing offspring with long necks.

This idea ran counter to Mendelian genetics, which holds that genes — not environmental influences — control traits and are passed to offspring. Mendelian geneticists thought it would take five years to breed more cold-tolerant crops. Lysenko said he could do it in two to three years.

Stalin didn’t have time to wait. He was trying to get collective farms going and needed to increase crop yields to feed more than 150 million people. Large parts of the country had already suffered from famine in 1932 and 1933 and about 6 million people died. Some resorted to cannibalism.

Stalin embraced Lysenko’s quick-fix approach. That decision, says Michael Gordin, a historian of science at Princeton University, was “something that the majority of people at the time, and everyone since, considers the wrong side of the dispute.”

Lysenko was put in charge of a prestigious genetics institute and forced his scientifically unsound farming practices on the collective farms. His methods were disastrous.

Soaking seeds in freezing water hampered germination, leading to crop losses. Millions starved. Meanwhile, Mendelian genetics was branded a “whore of capitalism,” and geneticists were forced to renounce their views or lose their jobs. Many were jailed, and almost a dozen were executed or died in prison.

The Soviet Union lost its scientific leadership role and sat on the sidelines for important scientific discoveries of the 1950s and beyond. One, Gordin says, was the development of “massively” productive hybrid corn. The country also missed out on the discovery of DNA and the advent of molecular biology, putting Soviet genetics decades behind the rest of the world.

Soviet genetics did not recover from Lysenko’s influence until after the break-up of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gordin says. “I think you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks that … Russia is today, or Ukraine, or any post-Soviet successor state, is a leading molecular biology country.”…

The Soviets did it, and it didn’t end well: “Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science,” from @thsaey.bsky.social in @sciencenews.bsky.social.

See also: Idiocracy

* John M. Barry

###

As we remember the past so as not to repeat it, we might recall that it was on this date in 1834 that the Spanish Inquisition (finally) ended. Authorized by Pope Sixtus IV in 1478, the Inqusition was initially led by inquisitors (Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martín) who were appointed by the future Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. It was originally (ostensibly) intended primarily to identify heretics; its aim, to maintain Christian orthodoxy. But it became an effective instrument of state power by replacing the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control.

Over its course, the Inquisition prosecuted an estimated 150,000 people for various offences. An estimated 3,000–5,000 were turned over to the state for execution, particularly in the initial 50 years, mostly by burning at the stake. Other punishments included penance and public flogging, exile, enslavement on galleys, and prison terms ranging from several years to life. In many of these punishments an important motive was the confiscation of all the victims’ property.

As Monty Python observed, “nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.” And nobody expected it to last 356 years.

“When you mix science and politics, you get politics:*…

Tina Hesman Saey on a looming threat to the U.S…

Soviet scientists in the 1930s knew what could happen if they bucked the party line: denunciation, firing and banishment from the scientific establishment, even imprisonment and death. Political reprisals against those who opposed the views of dictator Joseph Stalin and his followers — and the dubious science they endorsed — led to the starvation of millions, as well as to decades of lost progress in fields from agriculture to molecular biology.

Now, scientists are warning that history could repeat itself — but in the United States.

A new proposal from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget would put political appointees in charge of funding decisions traditionally overseen by scientists. In recent years, the federal government has funded about 40 percent of basic science research in the United States.

The OMB’s more than 400-page proposed rule change would let political appointees decide how to hand out federal research funds and who can get them. It would cut funding for collaboration with scientists in other countries and restrict scientists’ ability to communicate their findings. What’s more, it could prevent research on matters that President Donald Trump’s administration has deemed “not in the national interest” — such as studies on health disparities, mRNA-based vaccines and research that doesn’t recognize biological sex as a strict binary.

The new rules would also give OMB the power to rescind previously approved research funds. The proposal “poses a sweeping threat to federal grantmaking and the responsible stewardship of American taxpayer dollars,” the science advocacy group Stand Up for Science Foundation said in a report. In addition, it would impact nonscientific grants supporting services for mental health, housing, education, veterans and Tribal nations, affecting the health and well-being of millions.

So far, OMB has received more than 98,000 comments on the proposal. The public comment period closes July 13. It then will be up to OMB to decide whether to keep the rule as is, revise it or scrap it.

These far-reaching measures are already drawing parallels to dark moments in scientific history. Some researchers say the recent mass firings, policy changes and grant cancellations at federal research institutions, including the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, closely mirror what happened in the U.S.S.R. under Stalin. “A similar threat now hangs over U.S. science,” the editorial board of The New England Journal of Medicine wrote in June.

Its editorial invoked the example of Trofim Lysenko [see here], an agronomist and astute political operator who rose to power in the 1930s Soviet Union under Stalin.

Until the 1930s, “the Soviet Union was a real powerhouse in the field of genetics,” says Lee Dugatkin, an evolutionary biologist and historian of science at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Then, Lysenko came along. “This guy was your sort of classic charlatan,” Dugatkin says. “He had the equivalent of a mail order degree in agriculture, but he was quite good with the press, and he started to basically spread this idea out there that he was capable of dramatically increasing crop yield, particularly wheat.”

Lysenko’s supposed innovation was a process called vernalization and amounted to soaking seeds in freezing water. The resulting plants — and all their offspring — should be resistant to the U.S.S.R.’s famously cold winters, Lysenko reasoned.

His reasoning was based on a disproven idea in evolutionary biology called Lamarckian inheritance. French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and his followers thought that things an organism experiences in its lifetime can be handed down to the next generation. The classic example is a giraffe that has to stretch to reach leaves producing offspring with long necks.

This idea ran counter to Mendelian genetics, which holds that genes — not environmental influences — control traits and are passed to offspring. Mendelian geneticists thought it would take five years to breed more cold-tolerant crops. Lysenko said he could do it in two to three years.

Stalin didn’t have time to wait. He was trying to get collective farms going and needed to increase crop yields to feed more than 150 million people. Large parts of the country had already suffered from famine in 1932 and 1933 and about 6 million people died. Some resorted to cannibalism.

Stalin embraced Lysenko’s quick-fix approach. That decision, says Michael Gordin, a historian of science at Princeton University, was “something that the majority of people at the time, and everyone since, considers the wrong side of the dispute.”

Lysenko was put in charge of a prestigious genetics institute and forced his scientifically unsound farming practices on the collective farms. His methods were disastrous.

Soaking seeds in freezing water hampered germination, leading to crop losses. Millions starved. Meanwhile, Mendelian genetics was branded a “whore of capitalism,” and geneticists were forced to renounce their views or lose their jobs. Many were jailed, and almost a dozen were executed or died in prison.

The Soviet Union lost its scientific leadership role and sat on the sidelines for important scientific discoveries of the 1950s and beyond. One, Gordin says, was the development of “massively” productive hybrid corn. The country also missed out on the discovery of DNA and the advent of molecular biology, putting Soviet genetics decades behind the rest of the world.

Soviet genetics did not recover from Lysenko’s influence until after the break-up of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gordin says. “I think you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks that … Russia is today, or Ukraine, or any post-Soviet successor state, is a leading molecular biology country.”…

The Soviets did it, and it didn’t end well: “Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science,” from @thsaey.bsky.social in @sciencenews.bsky.social.

See also: Idiocracy

* John M. Barry

###

As we remember the past so as not to repeat it, we might recall that it was on this date in 1834 that the Spanish Inquisition (finally) ended. Authorized by Pope Sixtus IV in 1478, the Inqusition was initially led by inquisitors (Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martín) who were appointed by the future Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. It was originally (ostensibly) intended primarily to identify heretics; its aim, to maintain Christian orthodoxy. But it became an effective instrument of state power by replacing the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control.

Over its course, the Inquisition prosecuted an estimated 150,000 people for various offences. An estimated 3,000–5,000 were turned over to the state for execution, particularly in the initial 50 years, mostly by burning at the stake. Other punishments included penance and public flogging, exile, enslavement on galleys, and prison terms ranging from several years to life. In many of these punishments an important motive was the confiscation of all the victims’ property.

As Monty Python observed, “nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.” And nobody expected it to last 356 years.

“When you mix science and politics, you get politics:*…

Tina Hesman Saey on a looming threat to the U.S…

Soviet scientists in the 1930s knew what could happen if they bucked the party line: denunciation, firing and banishment from the scientific establishment, even imprisonment and death. Political reprisals against those who opposed the views of dictator Joseph Stalin and his followers — and the dubious science they endorsed — led to the starvation of millions, as well as to decades of lost progress in fields from agriculture to molecular biology.

Now, scientists are warning that history could repeat itself — but in the United States.

A new proposal from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget would put political appointees in charge of funding decisions traditionally overseen by scientists. In recent years, the federal government has funded about 40 percent of basic science research in the United States.

The OMB’s more than 400-page proposed rule change would let political appointees decide how to hand out federal research funds and who can get them. It would cut funding for collaboration with scientists in other countries and restrict scientists’ ability to communicate their findings. What’s more, it could prevent research on matters that President Donald Trump’s administration has deemed “not in the national interest” — such as studies on health disparities, mRNA-based vaccines and research that doesn’t recognize biological sex as a strict binary.

The new rules would also give OMB the power to rescind previously approved research funds. The proposal “poses a sweeping threat to federal grantmaking and the responsible stewardship of American taxpayer dollars,” the science advocacy group Stand Up for Science Foundation said in a report. In addition, it would impact nonscientific grants supporting services for mental health, housing, education, veterans and Tribal nations, affecting the health and well-being of millions.

So far, OMB has received more than 98,000 comments on the proposal. The public comment period closes July 13. It then will be up to OMB to decide whether to keep the rule as is, revise it or scrap it.

These far-reaching measures are already drawing parallels to dark moments in scientific history. Some researchers say the recent mass firings, policy changes and grant cancellations at federal research institutions, including the U.S. National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, closely mirror what happened in the U.S.S.R. under Stalin. “A similar threat now hangs over U.S. science,” the editorial board of The New England Journal of Medicine wrote in June.

Its editorial invoked the example of Trofim Lysenko [see here], an agronomist and astute political operator who rose to power in the 1930s Soviet Union under Stalin.

Until the 1930s, “the Soviet Union was a real powerhouse in the field of genetics,” says Lee Dugatkin, an evolutionary biologist and historian of science at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Then, Lysenko came along. “This guy was your sort of classic charlatan,” Dugatkin says. “He had the equivalent of a mail order degree in agriculture, but he was quite good with the press, and he started to basically spread this idea out there that he was capable of dramatically increasing crop yield, particularly wheat.”

Lysenko’s supposed innovation was a process called vernalization and amounted to soaking seeds in freezing water. The resulting plants — and all their offspring — should be resistant to the U.S.S.R.’s famously cold winters, Lysenko reasoned.

His reasoning was based on a disproven idea in evolutionary biology called Lamarckian inheritance. French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and his followers thought that things an organism experiences in its lifetime can be handed down to the next generation. The classic example is a giraffe that has to stretch to reach leaves producing offspring with long necks.

This idea ran counter to Mendelian genetics, which holds that genes — not environmental influences — control traits and are passed to offspring. Mendelian geneticists thought it would take five years to breed more cold-tolerant crops. Lysenko said he could do it in two to three years.

Stalin didn’t have time to wait. He was trying to get collective farms going and needed to increase crop yields to feed more than 150 million people. Large parts of the country had already suffered from famine in 1932 and 1933 and about 6 million people died. Some resorted to cannibalism.

Stalin embraced Lysenko’s quick-fix approach. That decision, says Michael Gordin, a historian of science at Princeton University, was “something that the majority of people at the time, and everyone since, considers the wrong side of the dispute.”

Lysenko was put in charge of a prestigious genetics institute and forced his scientifically unsound farming practices on the collective farms. His methods were disastrous.

Soaking seeds in freezing water hampered germination, leading to crop losses. Millions starved. Meanwhile, Mendelian genetics was branded a “whore of capitalism,” and geneticists were forced to renounce their views or lose their jobs. Many were jailed, and almost a dozen were executed or died in prison.

The Soviet Union lost its scientific leadership role and sat on the sidelines for important scientific discoveries of the 1950s and beyond. One, Gordin says, was the development of “massively” productive hybrid corn. The country also missed out on the discovery of DNA and the advent of molecular biology, putting Soviet genetics decades behind the rest of the world.

Soviet genetics did not recover from Lysenko’s influence until after the break-up of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gordin says. “I think you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks that … Russia is today, or Ukraine, or any post-Soviet successor state, is a leading molecular biology country.”…

The Soviets did it, and it didn’t end well: “Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science,” from @thsaey.bsky.social in @sciencenews.bsky.social.

See also: Idiocracy

* John M. Barry

###

As we remember the past so as not to repeat it, we might recall that it was on this date in 1834 that the Spanish Inquisition (finally) ended. Authorized by Pope Sixtus IV in 1478, the Inqusition was initially led by inquisitors (Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martín) who were appointed by the future Catholic monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. It was originally (ostensibly) intended primarily to identify heretics; its aim, to maintain Christian orthodoxy. But it became an effective instrument of state power by replacing the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control.

Over its course, the Inquisition prosecuted an estimated 150,000 people for various offences. An estimated 3,000–5,000 were turned over to the state for execution, particularly in the initial 50 years, mostly by burning at the stake. Other punishments included penance and public flogging, exile, enslavement on galleys, and prison terms ranging from several years to life. In many of these punishments an important motive was the confiscation of all the victims’ property.

As Monty Python observed, “nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.” And nobody expected it to last 356 years.

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@lassessostehen #Tagesspiegel wie immer völlig *lost* mit diesem Schluss auf den “politischen Rändern mimimi”.

#Wegner und seine Lügen _sind_ der politische “Rand”!
Aber #Stalin und die Mauer, uaaaaah!
Kotzen > fressen

"[S]ix million people were sent to the #Soviet #Gulag. A quarter did not survive. Another 16-17 million were transported to strict regime #laborcamps, where the death rate was around 10%.

Within these numbers are the names of tens of thousands of #Jews of every kind, from the devout #hassid to the #assimilated #Communist.

#Stalin’s rule was fortified by spies who believed that they were repairing the world and saving it from the ravages of #fascism. The most effective of these were five young idealists who were at #CambridgeUniversity in the 1930s and who bore witness to the rise of #Hitler and the march of #Nazism across Europe.

#TheCambridgeFive: #GuyBurgess, #DonaldMcLean, #KimPhilby, #AnthonyBlunt, and #JohnCairncross sold their collective soul to Stalin. While their story has been retold countless times in many #books, the remarkable Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire by #AntoniaSenior sheds new light[...]"

https://www.jpost.com/history/article-901146?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

"[S]ix million people were sent to the #Soviet #Gulag. A quarter did not survive. Another 16-17 million were transported to strict regime #laborcamps, where the death rate was around 10%.

Within these numbers are the names of tens of thousands of #Jews of every kind, from the devout #hassid to the #assimilated #Communist.

#Stalin’s rule was fortified by spies who believed that they were repairing the world and saving it from the ravages of #fascism. The most effective of these were five young idealists who were at #CambridgeUniversity in the 1930s and who bore witness to the rise of #Hitler and the march of #Nazism across Europe.

#TheCambridgeFive: #GuyBurgess, #DonaldMcLean, #KimPhilby, #AnthonyBlunt, and #JohnCairncross sold their collective soul to Stalin. While their story has been retold countless times in many #books, the remarkable Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire by #AntoniaSenior sheds new light[...]"

https://www.jpost.com/history/article-901146?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

"[S]ix million people were sent to the #Soviet #Gulag. A quarter did not survive. Another 16-17 million were transported to strict regime #laborcamps, where the death rate was around 10%.

Within these numbers are the names of tens of thousands of #Jews of every kind, from the devout #hassid to the #assimilated #Communist.

#Stalin’s rule was fortified by spies who believed that they were repairing the world and saving it from the ravages of #fascism. The most effective of these were five young idealists who were at #CambridgeUniversity in the 1930s and who bore witness to the rise of #Hitler and the march of #Nazism across Europe.

#TheCambridgeFive: #GuyBurgess, #DonaldMcLean, #KimPhilby, #AnthonyBlunt, and #JohnCairncross sold their collective soul to Stalin. While their story has been retold countless times in many #books, the remarkable Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire by #AntoniaSenior sheds new light[...]"

https://www.jpost.com/history/article-901146?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

"[S]ix million people were sent to the #Soviet #Gulag. A quarter did not survive. Another 16-17 million were transported to strict regime #laborcamps, where the death rate was around 10%.

Within these numbers are the names of tens of thousands of #Jews of every kind, from the devout #hassid to the #assimilated #Communist.

#Stalin’s rule was fortified by spies who believed that they were repairing the world and saving it from the ravages of #fascism. The most effective of these were five young idealists who were at #CambridgeUniversity in the 1930s and who bore witness to the rise of #Hitler and the march of #Nazism across Europe.

#TheCambridgeFive: #GuyBurgess, #DonaldMcLean, #KimPhilby, #AnthonyBlunt, and #JohnCairncross sold their collective soul to Stalin. While their story has been retold countless times in many #books, the remarkable Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire by #AntoniaSenior sheds new light[...]"

https://www.jpost.com/history/article-901146?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

"[S]ix million people were sent to the #Soviet #Gulag. A quarter did not survive. Another 16-17 million were transported to strict regime #laborcamps, where the death rate was around 10%.

Within these numbers are the names of tens of thousands of #Jews of every kind, from the devout #hassid to the #assimilated #Communist.

#Stalin’s rule was fortified by spies who believed that they were repairing the world and saving it from the ravages of #fascism. The most effective of these were five young idealists who were at #CambridgeUniversity in the 1930s and who bore witness to the rise of #Hitler and the march of #Nazism across Europe.

#TheCambridgeFive: #GuyBurgess, #DonaldMcLean, #KimPhilby, #AnthonyBlunt, and #JohnCairncross sold their collective soul to Stalin. While their story has been retold countless times in many #books, the remarkable Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire by #AntoniaSenior sheds new light[...]"

https://www.jpost.com/history/article-901146?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Sachsen: Elternhaus von Clara Zetkin wird als „Ort der Demokratiegeschichte“ ausgezeichnet

AUDIO: Clara-Zetkin-Haus in Wiederau bekommt neue Dauerausstellung (5 Min) Wiederau Stand:…
#Chemnitz #Deutschland #Deutsch #DE #Schlagzeilen #Headlines #Nachrichten #News #Europe #Europa #EU #Ausstellung #DDR #Demokratie #Exil #Frauenrechte #Germany #Geschichte #Heimatverein #Kommunismus #kulturnachrichten #museum #Ort #Sachsen #Schule #Sowjetunion #Stalin #Wiederau
https://www.europesays.com/de/1141374/

The PEOPLE'S ethnic cleansing and forced resettlement!

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes@piefed.social/p/2182439/the-people-s-ethnic-cleansing-and-forced-resettlement

The PEOPLE'S ethnic cleansing and forced resettlement!

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes@piefed.social/p/2182439/the-people-s-ethnic-cleansing-and-forced-resettlement

The PEOPLE'S ethnic cleansing and forced resettlement!

https://piefed.social/c/tankiejerk@piefed.social/p/2182433/the-people-s-ethnic-cleansing-and-forced-resettlement

The PEOPLE'S ethnic cleansing and forced resettlement!

https://piefed.social/c/tankiejerk@piefed.social/p/2182433/the-people-s-ethnic-cleansing-and-forced-resettlement

All hail the Great Genius Stalin!

All hail the Great Genius Stalin!

https://piefed.social/c/tankiejerk/p/2179854/all-hail-the-great-genius-stalin

All hail the Great Genius Stalin!

All hail the Great Genius Stalin!

https://piefed.social/c/tankiejerk/p/2179854/all-hail-the-great-genius-stalin

All hail the Great Genius Stalin!

Backfiring propaganda

Backfiring propaganda

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/2174683/backfiring-propaganda

Backfiring propaganda

Backfiring propaganda

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/2174683/backfiring-propaganda

Backfiring propaganda

Backfiring propaganda

Backfiring propaganda

https://piefed.social/c/tankiejerk/p/2174680/backfiring-propaganda