Communism in Hungary

Hungary was the most reform-minded Communist state in Eastern Europe and so its revolution was the least dramatic. Many intellectuals remained despite the defeating of the 1956 revolt and the repression that followed. In the 1960s, Hungary experimented with free-market reforms, known as “goulash Communism”. In the 1980s a more relaxed political atmosphere permitted the growth of a limited independent sector and the re-emergence of reformers in the party.

In June 1985 the first multi-party elections were held. There were some prominent defeats and 43 independent candidates were elected. It was not yet democracy but it was a big step forward.

Behind the Iron Curtain, culture from the capitalist world was denounced as immoral  but behind closed doors Hungarian communist leaders loved what they condemned in public.

Leaders of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party, or MSZMP, which ruled Hungary between 1956 and 1989, had a wide-ranging library of movies from the West, a recently discovered movie archive shows.   Hungarian film maker and trader Mokep-Pannonia Kft. discovered the archive of some 6,000 movie titles, which was available for private screenings for MSZMP’s Central Committee and Janos Kadar, the party’s general secretary of 32 years.

Churches were allowed to exist in the former Soviet bloc but the communist regimes were hostile to religion.

Kádár came to power in 1956, following the Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union and the Soviet invasion to restore communist rule. He died on July 6, 1989, on the day that Hungary’s Supreme Court rehabilitated Imre Nagy, Hungary’s prime minister during the uprising who was hanged in 1958.

 

Revolution:

The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People’s Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. It was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR forces drove out the Nazis at the end of World War II and occupied Eastern Europe. Despite the failure of the uprising, it was highly influential, and came to play a role in the downfall of the Soviet Union decades later.

The revolt began as a student demonstration, which attracted thousands as they marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building, calling out on the streets using a van with loudspeakers via Radio Free Europe. A student delegation entering the radio building to try to broadcast the students’ demands was detained. When the delegation’s release was demanded by the demonstrators outside, they were fired upon by the State Security Police (ÁVH) from within the building. As the news spread, disorder and violence erupted throughout the capital.

The revolt spread quickly across Hungary and the government collapsed. Thousands organized into militias, battling the State Security Police (ÁVH) and Soviet troops. Pro-Soviet communists and ÁVH members were often executed or imprisoned and former prisoners were released and armed. Radical impromptu workers’ councils gained municipal control from the ruling Hungarian Working People’s Party and demanded political changes. A new government formally disbanded the ÁVH, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normality began to return.

 

REFERENCES

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/09/99/iron_curtain/timelines/hungary.stm

 

Rose Muzvondiwa

Interview with bulgarian student– perceptions of the communist era in Bulgaria

1.       What is your knowledge of Communism?

My knowledge of what Communism is  definitely biased and shaped through the perspective of a country that has been ruled under this regime and from the point of view of my family which weren’t living a good life then. However, some benefited a lot from communism and their families are still enjoying the ‘joys’ of it.

2.       From your knowledge of communism do you think your country was better off then or now?

It is better now, though as explained above, my opinion is subject to the ways I was being raised  and the situation in which my family has been during the period of Communism.   Bulgaria’s  views on communism vary. For some the fall of communism was something to celebrate, for  others it was a disaster.

3.       Do you think going through communism helped your country and if so how?  What would you say where the benefits of communism or the communist era compared to now?

No. Maybe it just helped my country to appreciate Democracy.

4.       Have you ever spoken to any of the older generation (who experienced communism) and how do they account their experience of communism?

I have yes. My father use to tell me how both him and my mum had to wait in endless queues in order to buy food. There used to be a censorship on the press and the freedom of speech. My dad used to hide with his mates and listen to radio ‘Free Europe’ which was illegal then. (I don’t remember everything my parents used to tell me so I will have to get back to you on this question. I will ask them a few stuff on the topic when I speak with them next and will tell you some more things).

5.        Any other information you would like to add on?

What is interesting in regards to Bulgaria and communism is that there is still a communist party which has a very strong support (the ex- president was a representative of the communist party), mainly by older generations. However, there are still young people who support communism (I am not one of them) and who believe in the communist ideology. I don’t think my opinion is representative of Bulgaria’s opinions towards it and it shouldn’t have that much of a weight to your research project.

Rose Muzvondiwa

Communism in Bulgaria

The People’s Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) was the official name of the Bulgarian socialist republic that existed from 1946 to 1990, when the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) was ruling together with the ‘oppositional’ National Agrarian Party.   In 1946, Georgi Dimitrov, a close friend of Joseph Stalin, became prime minister.

In 1948-49, the Party severely restricted or forbid all religious activities and organisations.  Orthodox, Muslim, Protestant and Roman Catholic religious organizations were restrained or banned. The Orthodox Church of Bulgaria somehow continued functioning but was restricted and was later infiltrated with communist functionaries.  Over 90 000 dissidents were eliminated via expulsions, arrests and killings in an anti-Titoist purge in 1948-49.

In 1950, after the death of Vasil Kolarov and that of Georgi Dimitrov a year earlier, Vulko Chervenkov became prime minister and he started a process of rapid and forceful industrialization. In March 1954, a year after Stalin’s death, Chervenkov was deposed as Party Secretary with the approval of the new leadership in Moscow and replaced by the youthful Todor Zhivkov.  Chervenkov stayed on as Prime Minister until April 1956, when he was finally dismissed and replaced by Anton Yugov.

Todor Zhivkov.  Bulgaria’s communist dictator from 1954 to 1989

During Zhivkov’s era, Bulgaria followed the Communist line meticulously, often called (even by Bulgarians) the 13th Soviet Republic. In return for Party loyalty came a secure job, enough food, education, health care and the reputation of one of the most prosperous Eastern European countries at the time. Those who didn’t adhere to the strict Soviet policies were marginalised and denied access to educational, personal and job opportunities, so most had little choice but to accept what the Party had to offer.

The uprisings in Poland and Hungary in 1956 did not spread to Bulgaria, but the Party placed firm limits and restraints on intellectuals to prevent any such outbreaks. In the 1960s some economic reforms were adopted, which allowed the free sale of production that exceeded planned amounts. The country became the most popular tourist destination for the Eastern Bloc people. Bulgaria also had a large production basis for commodities such as cigarettes and chocolate, which were hard to obtain in other socialist countries.

Under Zhivkov, many monuments were built in memory of heroes of Bulgarian history who had helped to bring the country to its Communist success, and therefore had not died in vain. Minority groups such as the Roma (Gypsy) and Turkish populations were not so glorified, and beginning in the 1950s were fully disregarded, denied access to basic services and forced to renounce their own names in favour of Bulgarian ones. Those who refused to do so were further marginalised or even sent to concentration camps, and in 1984 a violent spark was ignited over the issue.

In the autumn of 1989 the long ruling Todor Zhivkov was removed from power  and in 1990 Bulgarian Communist Party changed its name to Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and adopted a centre-left political ideology in place of Marxism-Leninism. Following that the first free elections since 1931 were held and were won by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the country’s name was changed to Republic of Bulgaria.

Revolution:

By the time Zhivkov turned 70, his regime was very autocratic but brought also some social and cultural liberalisation and progress led by his daughter Lyudmila Zhivkova who unlike her father didn’t receive approval of communist functionaries because of her pro-Western attitudes.  Before the fall of communism this autocracy was shown in a campaign of forced assimilation against the ethnic Turkish minority, who were forbidden to speak the Turkish language and were forced to adopt Bulgarian names in the winter of 1984. The issue strained Bulgaria’s economic relations with the West. The expelling of 300,000 Turks caused a significant drop in agricultural production in the southern regions due to the loss of labour force.

In the late 1980s, the Communists had grown too weak to resist the demand for change for long. Liberal outcry at the breakup of an environmental demonstration in Sofia in October 1989 broadened into a general campaign for political reform. More moderate elements in the Communist leadership reacted promptly by deposing Zhivkov and replacing him with foreign minister Petar Mladenov in November 1989.

This swift move, however, gained only a short respite for the Communist Party and prevented revolutionary change. Although Mladenov promised to open up the regime, demonstrations throughout the country brought the situation to a head. On December 11, Mladenov went on national television to announce the Communist Party had abandoned power. On January 15, 1990, the National Assembly formally abolished the Communist Party’s “leading role.” In June 1990, the first free elections since 1931 were held, thus paving Bulgaria’s way to multiparty democracy. Finally in mid-November 1990, the National Assembly voted to change the country’s name to the Republic of Bulgaria and removed the Communist state emblem from the national flag.

 

REFERENCES

http://sofiaecho.com/2009/02/01/679419_bulgaria-guide-bulgarian-history-the-communist-era

 

PLEASE READ Interview with bulgarian student

 Rose Muzvondiwa

Communism in Yugoslavia

Josep Broz Tito

With an irregular campaign and a secret ballot, on 11th of November 1945, The Communist Party, lead by Josip Broz Tito, won the elections in Yugoslavia, bringing communism as the new political  regime.  This description sounds like the ideal representation of implementing the communist orthodoxy, however the alliance with mother URSS and Stalin started easily to fall apart until it broke in the summer of 1948. In the time which Yugoslavia considered themselves allies of Moscow, they considered Yugoslavia a satellite and often treated as such. A rough exchange of letters started with the Soviet Unit and ended up with the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the Cominform.

This separation lead to economically and politically isolation in the Eastern Bloc, also the Stalinist Yugoslavs started different rebellions and acts of sabotage against the government which were cracked down very easy by the security services. The Soviet Union did not stay away, military units were sent from Hungary which left Tito no choice and he had to ally with the US.

 

In the years that followed, a big number of reforms change the state in three major directions: rapid liberalisation and decentralisation of the country’s political system, the institution of a new, unique economic system, and a diplomatic policy of non-alignment.

A new variant of socialism, called informally Titoism was implemented.  Also significant economic reforms were started at the period, helped along by western aid, revived Yugoslavia and created an economic boom. Employment doubled between 1950 and 1964, with unemployment falling to 6% in 1961. Despite the new mass of industrial laborers, the annual increase in wages was 6.2% per year, while industrial productivity increased by 12.7% annually. Exports of industrial products, led by heavy machinery, transportation machines (e.g. shipbuilding industry), and military technology, rose dramatically by a yearly increase of 11%. All in all, the annual growth of the gross domestic product all through to the early 1980s averaged 6.1%. Literacy was increased dramatically and reached 91%, medical care was free on all levels, and life expectancy was 72 years.

After Tito’s death on the 4th of May 1980, the Yugoslav government began to make a course away from communism as it attempted to transform to a market economy under the leadership of Ante Markovic. Marković was popular as he was seen as the most capable politician to be able to transform the country to a liberalized democratic federation, later on he lost his popularity mainly due to rising unemployment. His work was left incomplete as Yugoslavia broke apart in the 1990s.

Tensions between the republics and nations of Yugoslavia intensified from the 1970s to the 1980s. The causes for the collapse of the country have been associated with nationalism, ethnic conflict, economic difficulty, frustration with government bureaucracy, the influence of important figures in the country, and international politics.

After powerful civil wars, in October 1991 Croatia and Slovenia declared independence, they were followed by Macedonia in September, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 1992. Past the secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia was officially dissolved by its two remaining members, Serbia and Montenegro.

Eduard Vasile

Soviet Union

In 1917, Vladimir Lenin, the Russian Communist Party took control of the government and economy after The Russian Revolution which ended the Czars ruling. In October 1017, The Bolsheviks (a mass organization consisting primarily of workers under a democratic internal hierarchy governed by the principle of democratic centralism who considered themselves the leaders of the revolutionary working class of Russia was founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov in 1905) overthrow provisional government. In 1918, the Civil War between the Reds (Bolvheviks) and the Whites (any other group that opposed Bolvheviks) broke out. The Reds controlled the industrial centres and railway networks while the Whites were supported by outsiders from other nations that were also against the Reds. The Reds won over the Whites and remained in control because of the military genius who is also the leader of the Reds, Leon Tortsky. Also in 1918, the policy of  “War Communism” was enforced, with the state taking control of the whole economy; compulsory labour was introduced, private trade was suppressed and the nature of war communism. Workers were forced to work and were moved to better suit the government, while millions other starved to death as the army confiscated grain for its own needs. In 1921, War Communism was failing which result Lenin to introduce the New Economic Policy. The New Economic Policy provided a period of stability and the return of market economic.

In 1922, the Communist Party had tied all of the countries that were taken by Russia into one name, the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics or in short, Soviet Union. Germany recognises the Soviet Union. Soviet Unions adopted the constitutions based on the dictatorship of the proletariat and stipulating the public ownership of land the means of production. Following the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, Joseph Stalin took over the power and committed the state ideology to Marxism-Leninism and initiated a centrally planned economy. The Stalin’s Five-Year Plan, with the state setting goals and priorities for the whole economy, signifies the end of the New Economic Policy.

When World War II broke out, Stalin led the S.U in the fight against Germany. Despite their common enemy, the S.U. has worsening relations with its allies (which includes the United States.) This contributes to the rise of communism by further distancing itself from democratic countries. In 1940, The Cold War was a conflict between the S.U. and the United States in which both superpowers struggled to show they they were more developed. As it would continue, economic and social power would be returned little by little to the people, thus starting the fall of communism. In 1953, Stalin dies and is succeeded by Georgi Malenkov as prime minister and by Nikita Khrushchev as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Shortly after, in 1955, Nikolay Bulganin replaces Malenkov as prime minister and the Warsaw Treaty Organisation or Warsaw Pact was set up.

Khrushchev made a secret speech during the 20^th Communist Party congress denouncing Stalin’s dictatorial rule and cult of personality. In 1958, Khrushchev became the prime minster and also the Chief of Communist Party dismissing Bulganin. Soviet Union signed a treaty banning atmospheric nuclear tests alongside with US and Britain.  In 1964, Khrushchev is replaced as first secretary of the Communist Party by Leonid Brezhev; Aleksy Kosygin becomes prime minister. Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia to stem a trend towards liberalisation in 1968. Soviet Union and US signed SALT-1 arms control agreement, heralding the start of dentente in 1972 and signed SALT-2 agreement in 1979. Brezhev was elected as president under the new constitution in 1977. When Kosygin died in 1980, Nikolay Tikhonov became the prime minister. Not long after, Brezhev dies and was replaced by KGB chief Yuri Andropv. However 2 years later, in 1984, Andropov died and was replaced by Konstantin Chernenko.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev replaced Chernenko as the general secretary of Communist Party after Chernenko’s death; Andrey Gromyko became the president. Gorbachev begins an anti-alcohol campaign and promulgates the polices of openness or glasnost, and restructuring, or perestroiko. In 1988, Gorbachev replaces Gromyko as president; challenges nationalists in Kazakhstan, the Baltic republics, Armenia and Azerbaijian; speicla Communist Party conference agrees to allow private sector. Soviet troops leave Afganistan; the nationlist riost put down in Georgia; Lithunian Communist Party declares its independence from the Soviet communist Party; first openly contested elections for new Congress of People;s Deuties or parliament all happened in 1989.

In 1990, Yeltsin elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic by the latter’s parliament and leaves the Soviet Communist Party. While in 1991, Gorbachev as detained by the senior officials including Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov, Vice-President Gennadiy Yanayev and the heads of the Interior Ministry and the KGB at his holiday villa in Crimea. 3days later, they themselves were arrested. Yeltsin bans the Soviet Communist Party in Russia and seizes its assets. Yeltsin recognises the independence of the Baltic republics while, Ukraine and other republics, declares itself independent.

Congress of People’s Deputies voted for the dissoliton of the Soviet Union in September 1991. Also in September 1991, Leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed agreement setting up Commonwealth of Independent States. In December 1991, Gorbachev resigns as Soviet president, while US recognises independence of remaining Soviet republics. Russian government takes over offices of USSR in Russia.

Foong Lin Liew

The German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

Germany was exceedingly affected by the Second World War, being leader and part of the defeated forces meant they had to follow the rules put in place for repairing Europe after their defeat. This included paying reparations, dividing its land between the allies and the Soviet Union. This meant in Germany as a whole as well as Berlin, now had been split into British/ French/American and Soviet regions.

-Germany 1947

Credit: thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com

-Berlin 1947

Credit: german-way.com

East Germany

The Soviet occupied part of Germany then became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), which was fully under communist rule and ran by the communist government until 1990 when communism fell and Germany was reunified. East Germany was under the Socialist Unity Party led by Wilhelm Pieck, with Otto Grotewohl as prime minister. Though Grotewohl was against illegal arrests, and wanted more respect for the East German’s civil rights he seemed to not want East Germany to answer to its mistakes after the Second World War.  West Germany was the legal successor of the Third Reich, meaning they now had the responsibility of paying reparations and take any other actions the world saw fit. East Germany chose to denounce its Nazi past, declare itself as a socialist state, refused to acknowledgement of the existence of anti-Semitism and Israel and therefore refused to pay the Holocaust victims. Though they did have to pay war reparations to the USSR. Though East Germany considered themselves a completely separate state from West Germany Stalin wanted to reunify Germany, Western allies refused this proposal.

Television and radio in East Germany were controlled by the state, though many artists returned from exile after world war two many of them left again after increasing levels of censorship. Foreign films were also shown in cinemas, though only few as it was expensive to buy the licenses and they had to be suitable in not glorifying capitalism.

Revolt

On June 16^th 1953 construction workers working on the Stalinallee boulevard in East Berlin went on a strike because of a 10% production quota increase and them being informed that their salaries would be affected if this quota was not met. The demonstrations began small but soon the participant numbers rose including the general public both in East Berlin as well as in other places in East Germany. By June 17^th more than a million people rioted across towns and cities, the government feared an anti-communist revolution so called upon the Soviet Occupation Forces and tanks to help the People’s Police (Volkspolizei) control the situation. 10,000 people were arrested and fifty people killed.

 Credits: libcom.org

Berlin wall

Many people did not like living under Soviet communist suppression, the majority of these people were young well educated citizens. This meant if they managed to cross into West Germany, East Germany would have less and less intellectuals and therefore be weaker economically. This led to the 1961 creation of the Berlin Wall, a wall separating West and East Berlin meaning neither sides could cross over. Before its creation approximately 3.5 million East Germans defected to West Berlin, leading them to West Germany or any other country. The wall had armed guard towers that could shoot down any person trying to cross, they also contained anti-vehicle trenches and many other defences. The wall existed from 1961 to 1989, in those years approximately 5,000 people tried to cross over of those it is said more than 600 people were killed.

Post-Unification

After a peaceful revolt in 1989 the Berlin Wall was destroyed and communism fell in East Germany, democratisation and reunification was the countries aim and on the 3^rd of October 1990 the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and Germany was reunified.

Though there was initial joy after the reunification, this quickly died down as popular opinion in West Germany was that they had won. This led to resentments on both sides, the East Germans resented the wealthy West Germans and the West resented the opportunist East Germans. With the closure of factories and increase of unemployment, many East Germans experienced “Ostalgie” the term coined and seen in media portrayals such as Goodbye Lenin! By Wolfgang Becker. This meant nostalgia for the east (Ost).

Credit: beyondthefilmblog.blogspot.co.uk

Mwen Fikirini

Perceptions of communism – Power, Spectacle, Memory

“The term ‘communism’ can refer to any system of social organization in which goods are held in common; However, the term is most commonly used in referring to a particular kind of communal organisation that claims to arise out of the movement begun by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 19th century” (Cohen 1972:2).

Czechoslovakia, as well as Romania, have experienced communism and they both had dictators that were relying on spectacle in order to create and maintain their citizen’s compliance to their communist ideology.

The Czech government highly publicized the secret police and the purges, increasing the realization of the government and secret police’s influence and power through the masses. From 1949 to 1954 around 180 people were executed, as these people were believed/ portrayed to be anti-communist and therefore anti-government.

This was more severe in communist Romania led by Nicolae Ceausescu, leading to a state of people reporting each other’s anti-communist activities. The dictator Ceausescu also created a cult of personality by using mass media and various forms of propaganda to create a god/hero like image of him, making the people of Romania idolize him through weekly shows and parades dedicated to him, his wife, and the greatness of communism.

By 1988 public criticism increased and the first major demonstration occurred in Prague on 21 August 1988 in which around 10000 demonstrators mainly young people marched through the centre of Prague (Wheaton & Kavan 1992:24-25). The main revolution leading to the fall of communism was ignited by a student-led demonstration, which began on 17 November 1989. 4000 followers were expected to assemble on the day but by the afternoon 14000 people had gathered and in the end an estimated 55000 people had joined the demonstration (Wheaton & Kavan 1992:42-43).

The communism ending Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia saw protestors using specific elements in their protests that created the spectacle of a winning revolution that would gain support and also be taken seriously by the government. Symbolic acts such as the famous photo portraying protestors presenting the heavily armed police force with flowers, as well as the jingling of keys to wave off the communists furthered the significance and therefore meaning of the revolution. The Romanian revolution (16th of December to the 22nd of December), was on the other hand far bloodier and with many more casualties, ending with the most significant spectacle of all. The broadcasted show trial and Christmas day execution of the president Nicolae Ceausescu and of his wife Elena.

The terrifying news came right after the revolution when people started finding out about the crimes that were done during communism to the people who opposed the regime.

Exile prisons such as the one in Pitesti (Romania), were created to re-educate their political prisoners using violent and degrading methods known today as “the Pitesti Phenomenon”. As Guy Debord wrote “Whoever becomes the ruler of a city that is accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it can expect to be destroyed by it, for it can always find a pretext for rebellion in the name of its former freedom” (2009:113). This was also true in Communist Romania and Czech Republic; by 1989 successful revolts occurred to gain back freedom creating an obvious and significant shift of power from the communist governments to the people.

Alongside many other European cities that came across the communist regime (Moscow, Bucharest, Warsaw), Prague experienced besides communism, the communist architecture, which has been, described either as grandiose (Stalinist architecture), either as massive and grey.

The 1950s architecture and generally the Socialist-Realist style consists mainly in consciously imitating Stalin’s tastes.

One of the very few examples of Socialist Realist architecture in Prague is the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  The architectural style of the building was inspired by a series of constructions in Russia, and it fulfilled Stalin’s fantasy by becoming a miniature copy of the Seven Sisters group of skyscrapers from Moscow.

The 254-room hotel is 88 meters high and it has 16 floors along with a fallout shelter, which can get together 600+ people.  Its original Socialist Realist architecture and character is imposing, as well as the green star on the top of the hotel which was once a red one (symbol of being a communist building).

Another symbol of the power and authority in Prague is Kotva department store, one of the most famous and controversial communist buildings of the Czech Republic.  Finished in 1975, the building instigates through its 6 units, the supremacy and the uniqueness of the communist retro design.

Looking into Bucharest’s architecture, one could easily observe that it represents one of the most evident proofs of the obsession to express supremacy and to exercise control of Nicolae Ceausescu, the dictator who came to power in 1965. He started by posing as chief architect of “New Romania”, but his decisions had a brutal, yet intense attack on Romania’s architecture and history, reforming Bucharest into one of the most affected communist cities in post Second World War Europe. The Romanian communist era, distorted Bucharest from the Small Paris of the Balkans to a copy of the USSR’s architectural style.

The House of the Parliament (as it is known nowadays) is one of the still living memories of a traumatic past of tyranny. Its surface (330 000 square meters) catalogues it as being the biggest administrative construction in Europe and the second in the world, after the U.S. Pentagon. The Guinness Book ranks its volume as the third in the world. The Palace’s scale, design and surroundings were the ultimate manifestation of Ceausescu’s dream which calculated this in order to express his power. In order for this construction to take place, the dictator decided entire neighborhoods to be demolished with a surface later compared with the size of Venice. Valuable historic constructions and churches were destroyed, alongside with 40 000 people that were forced to move.

Architecture finds justification here in politics not in art as even the layout with straight roads is the permanent symbol of order, control, and power.

People were not even allowed to walk on the streets outside the gates of the Palace, so there was only a large empty boulevard which was haunting the city, making them understand that any rebellion form would be pointless against the power of a totalitarian state.

In spite of what the media might convey today among the Czech general public, there is an atmosphere of profound disillusionment with the current political situation. According to an opinion poll conducted by the STEM polling agency in November, 2009, a mere 11 per cent of Czech citizens believe that the twenty years since the fall of communism ‘have been a good time’ and 57 per cent believe that it has ‘not been the happiest period in Czech history’.

People commented that they had not had a negative experience during the communist regime’s rule except for the travel restrictions; unlike today where they are free to do so but lack the money to do so. These surprising results might be due to a sentimentality resulting from the distortion of memories.

Based on the memory of those people who suffered during the communist era, Glenn Spicker (an American businessman), decided to build a museum in Prague, called the “Museum of communism” and everything was re-created in order to give the visitors the feeling of traveling back through time.  The museum is divided into three different sections – “Communism – The Dream, The Reality and The Nightmare”.

The first section (“The dream of communism”) – includes how the idealist people felt during the early days and it consists of propaganda material and classroom with communist school books.

The second section, called “The reality” has the role of conveying the harsh reality of communism consisting of empty shop shelves to an interrogation room.

The third and the last section of the museum (”The Nightmare”) emphasises on the 1989 Velvet Revolution.

It is evident from the communist era archives that in order for the communist leaders to maintain power they had to instil terror and fear through violence and that even though one of the aims was to bring about equality overall the majority of the population remained poor with barely enough to eat whilst those in power continued to accumulate vast amount of wealth.  However despite these memories, the general consensus is that life was far much better under that regime as there were more job opportunities and equality compared to life after communism.

REFERENCES

Cohen, C.  (1972) Communism, Fascism And Democracy.  Random House Inc.: New York. Toronto

Debord, G.  (2009) Society Of The Spectacle.     Soul Bay Press Ltd: East Sussex

Wheaton, B. & Kavan, Z. (1992) The Velvet revolution Czechoslovakia, 1988-1991.         Westview Press: Boulder. San Francisco. Oxford

Power and architecture – Romania

Looking into Bucharest’s architecture, one could easily observe that it represents one of the most evident proofs of the obsession to express supremacy and to exercise control of Nicolae Ceausescu, the dictator who came to power in 1965. He started by posing as chief architect of “New Romania”, but his decisions had a brutal, yet intense attack on Romania’s architecture and history, reforming Bucharest into one of the most affected communist cities in post Second World War Europe. The Romanian communist era, distorted Bucharest from the Small Paris of the Balkans to a copy of the URSS’ architectural style. Its architecture went from the before Second World War cosmopolitan soft Classical style to the imposing Socialist Realist one.

Bucharest, little Paris

The House of the Parliament (as it is known nowadays) is one of the still living memories of a traumatic past of tyranny. The Palace is the very picture of a cruel regime which mutilated a nation and managed to erase the beauty and soul of the city.  Its surface (330 000 square meters) catalogues it as being the biggest administrative construction in Europe and the second in the world, after the U.S. Pentagon. The Guinness Book ranks its volume as the third in the world. The Palace’s scale, design and surroundings were the ultimate manifestation of Ceausescu’s dream which calculated this in order to express his power.

The Palace

In order for this construction to take place, entire neighbourhoods were demolished with a surface later compared with the size of Venice. Valuable historic constructions and churches were destroyed, alongside 40 000 people that were forced to move (vision of apocalypse). They  were forced to leave everything behind because of the “systematisation”and move in clusters of badly built concrete towers and apartment blocks in proletarian areas of the city.

The Boulevard of Victory was cut through the centre of the city to provide Ceausescu with a suitably path to his building. At one end of the Boulevard is the Circus constructed entirely of simple boring concrete portions, while at the other is the governing Palace; in one side is the dirty reality of the people, while on the other side is the luxurious taste of a Tiran. Architecture finds justification here in politics not in art as even the layout with straight roads is the permanent symbol of order, control, and power.

Bucharest, Romania

People were not even allowed to walk on the streets outside the gates of the Palace, so there was only a large empty boulevard which was haunting the city, making them understand that any rebellion form would be pointless against the power of a totalitarian state.

The “fortress” did not become more useful after the revolution, even though car traffic was permitted. Most of the stores located nearby bankrupted as people continued to prefer the other boulevards for evening walks because these streets simply did not go anywhere.

Bucharest

Part 2: https://communistism.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/the-parliament-palace-of-romania/

Marina Gogeanu

Power and architecture – Czech Republic

Alongside many other European cities which came across the communist regime (Moscow, Bucharest, Warsaw), Prague experienced besides communism, the communist architecture which has been described either as grandiose (Stalinist architecture), either as massive and grey.

The 1950s architecture and generally the Socialist-Realist style consists mainly in consciously imitating Stalin’s tastes.

One of the very few examples of Socialist Realist architecture in Prague is the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the largest Stalinist building in Prague which was initially constructed as a luxurious meeting space for the army delegates of the Soviet Union.

(Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2011)

The architectural style of the building was inspired by a series of constructions in Russia, and it fulfilled Stalin’s fantasy by becoming a miniature copy of the Seven Sisters group of skyscrapers from Moscow.  The spire is one of Stalin’s individual marks as this element noticeably repeats in all the Moscow’s high-rises buildings along with features specific to the gothic cathedrals.

The hotel was built between 1952 and 1954 under the vigilant eye of the Stalinist Minister of Defense –  Alexej Cepicka and it was designed by František Jeřábek and his group of colleagues. The 254-room hotel is 88 meters high and it has 16 floors along with a fallout shelter which can get together 600+ people.  Its original Socialist Realist architecture and character is imposing, as well as the green star on the top of the hotel (the colour of Holiday Inn company, but also the colour of capitalism) which was once a red one (symbol of being a communist building).

Hotel Crowne Plaza Praha (Prague Convention Bureau)

Crowne Plaza Hotel represents the still-living memory of the socialistic era and is consequently one of the cultural monuments of the Czech Republic.

Another symbol of the power and authority in Prague is Kotva department store, one of the most famous and controversial communist buildings of the Czech Republic.  Finished in 1975, the building instigates through its 6 units the supremacy and the uniqueness of the communist retro design.

Kotva department store

Marina Gogeanu

A ‘real world’ study

This blog was created in order to gather, analyse  and track data while investigating the shifting and diverse cultural perceptions of communism and the communist regime as a socio-economic system.

The developers of the “Perceptions of communism” project are:

• Marina Gogeanu
• Eduard Vasile
• Mwen Fikirini
• Lesoda Otu-Iso
• Foong Lin Liew
• Rose Muzvondiwa

The study will consist in a field trip to Prague (Czech republic) because of its historical depiction and because of the communist regime, during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  It will focus on finding out how the concept of communism is reconstructed today in people’s memory, predominantly of those raised under the communist system, but it will also analyse the spectacle created by the communist regime (the political figures, the revolution) and the power those dictators had (the communist architecture, the crimes committed during communism).

The project will also try to find out how the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe portrayed communism in their history; how the communism is represented through films, through television shows, literature, or in the press coverage.

We hope that you will find this topic interesting and that you will be  following us, telling us your opinions regarding all the concerns that the research will cover.

Besides the blog, you can also follow us on:

– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAshesOfCommunism

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