National Anthem of East Germany (Instrumental)

Originally written for the purposes of a united reunified Germany after the Second World War, the East German Anthem's tune remains one of the most orchestral and interesting to this day giving other former and current nations ample competition for the most beautifully melodic anthem in the world.

The Internationale (Instrumental)

An Instrumental version of the Internationale, widely known by many as the unofficial anthem of the world's communist, socialist and anarchist movements.

Время вперед! - Time Forward!

Originally written for the 1965 Drama Film of the same name, this orchestral suite became almost recognizable to millions due to it being the theme for the news program "Время", a news program still running to this day.

National Anthem of Russia (Instrumental Version)

A short but interesting instrumental version of the Russian national anthem with church bells as part of the background noise.

State Anthem of the USSR

Probably going to try and get back to posting more on this blog. To begin, here's a nice rendition of the National Anthem of the Soviet Union! 

A Journey Through Stalinist Architecture around the World Part VI: The Former German Democratic Republic

Due to the abundance of Stalinist architecture in the former East Germany, I decided that it'd be fitting to have it on a separate post in order to not clog up the previous post involving the rest of the Eastern Bloc.

East Berlin is probably one of the more well known and famous areas associated with Stalinist architecture, not just in Europe, but the rest of the world.

Strausberger Platz, in Berlin, Germany

Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin, Germany

Karl-Marx-Allee was originally named as Stalinallee, but due to the period of De-Stalinization, the boulevard's name was changed to its current one to pay homage to the founder of Marxist thought. 

The Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany

 List Platz in Dresden, Germany

 Frankfurter Tor in Berlin, Germany

Ernst-Reuter-Allee in Magdeburg, Germany

 The City Centre of Magdeburg, Germany

On the next post, we'll explore how China was influenced by Stalinist architecture, and look at several cities and areas of China where these influences can still be seen today. 

A Journey Through Stalinist Architecture around the World Part V: The Former Eastern Bloc

On the next leg of this series, we're going to take a look at the former Eastern Bloc which consisted of the countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.

Now for the purposes of simplicity, the former German Democratic Republic will be explored in a different post as the GDR had a sizable amount of architecture that would make this post just way too long.

The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland

 Ministry of Agriculture in Warsaw, Poland

Nowa Huta District of Krakow, Poland

Former Communist Party House in Sofia, Bulgaria

Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania. 

Interestingly enough, the Palace of Parliament in Romania was commissioned to be built several decades after the initial phase of Stalinist architecture had been built, which was during the 1950's. The Palace of Parliament was started in 1984 and finally completed in 1990.

Dunaújváros in Hungary

 

TZUM Department Store in Sofia, Bulgaria

 

House of the Free Press in Bucharest, Romania.

Hotel Crowne Plaza in Prague, Czech Republic 

On the next installment, we'll take a look at the German Democratic Republic, more commonly referred to as East Germany!

Long time Hiatus Update: Ukrainian Battlelines.

Wow. It's been quite some since I updated my blog.

Let's start with something short and serious. Ukraine. 

 

So far, the Ukrainians have launched a massive offensive aiming to separate the Lugansk People's Republic with that of the Donetsk People's Republic. This is also coinciding with a Ukrainian offensive into Horlivka (Ukrainian:Горлівка, Russian:Горловка)

The Ukrainian military has also recaptured Lyschansk (Ukrainian:Лисичанськ, Russian:Лисичанск)  the past few days and is aiming to recapture the town of Stakhanov.(Ukrainian/Russian:Стаханов)

Whether the rebels can hold or push the Ukrainian military back in that area is another question entirely. The rebels have however succeeded in inflicting sizable casualties on Ukrainian forces around the border regions, with several dozen deserting their posts and crossing the border into Russia. (Still need verification and good sources on this one)

Modi Magic

After a Bollywood-like campaign of appealing to people through overly acted out performances, Modi has won.

Odd how the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even nominated him as party leader considering he was disliked by those in his party though. Also his strong commitment to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist group accused of violence towards Muslims and Christians, sparks disgust amongst an articulate Indian middle class.

However thanks to the ruling congress-led government and their inefficiency in the economy, allowing India’s GDP to slump to grow from an annual nine to under five percent, a bunch of multi-billion dollar corruption scams, plus many other crazy issues, India has changed.

Plagued with the need of a messiah towards economic prosperity, Modi has risen.

Modi has been much attributed towards making Gujarat a hotspot for investment both domestic and foreign. GDP and Infrastructure to his credit as Chief Minister of Gujarat have reached to great highs and unemployment is of the lowest in the province.

As colourful and auspicious Modi may seem he does have a dark side

In 2002, four months into becoming Gujarat’s chief minister communal clashes largely aimed at killing Muslims by Hindu mobs erupted. Violence was incited due a train catching fire, killing Hindu pilgrims and others, said to be started by a Muslim mob. With these events, those affected, human rights activists, and some officials have accused Modi of accountability, and that he asked security forces not to intervene. Modi did well in hiding much of the evidence before the supreme court of India however.

Indeed Modi owes largely to the vigorous and annoying campaign towards his prophetic mission towards economic prosperity. Indian media and lenient interviewers (probably bribed) have painted such a praising image for Modi to the extent that even Muslims have helped supported him into power. Oh well, I guess India is desperate, hope Modi doesn’t deal with Pakistan, China, Kashmir, and other security issues the same way he did in 2002.

Good luck India

A Journey Through Stalinist Architecture around the World Part IV: The Former Central Asian Soviet Republics

I haven't updated this in quite some time, but now is a good time as any to update this series. Today, it's the turn of Central Asia to take a brief, very brief, place in the sun.

The Triumph of Astana, a building on the model of the Seven Sisters of Moscow, built after the the fall of the Soviet Union

Exhibition of Economic Achievements in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Bishek's Main Square in Kyrgyzstan