Lubyanka

headquarters of the

committee for state intelligence

this is a page constantly under construction


notes on comrade scott


books

film

music

etc.

my ratings system ranks from five hammer-and-sickles at the top down to one hammer-and-sickle at the bottom. a brief look at both extremes:

: the ultimate. can be attained by propaganda, but rarely by history

: pure-d crap, author has head up ass. don't waste your time or money.

books

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Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov, Mirra Ginsburg (Translator)

comrade scott's thoughts:


We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Yeveny Zamyatin, Mirra Ginsburg (Translator)

comrade scott's thoughts:

A People's Tragedy : The Russian Revolution : 1891-1924 by Orlando Figes

comrade scott's thoughts: ½ an excellent all around book that relates the characters realistically yet doesn't spend time red bashing.

A Concise History of the Russian Revolution by Richard Pipes, Peter Dimock (Editor)

comrade scott's thoughts: ½


Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed, Edwin P. Hoyt

comrade scott's thoughts: ½


Autopsy of an Empire : The Seven Leaders Who Built the Soviet Regime by Dmitri Volkogonov, Harold Shukman (Translator)

comrade scott's thoughts:


The Harvest of Sorrow : Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine by Robert Conquest

comrade scott's thoughts:


The Soviet Tragedy : A History of Socialism in Russia, 1917-1991 by Martin Malia

comrade scott's thoughts: inflammatory anti-soviet rhetoric. if you like invective, a lack of accurate "facts" and ignoring economic data which disproves the author's point, this book is for you. the cover titled "We Smite the Lazy Workers" is worth more than the contents...


books currently under review:

Soviet Political Society by Leon P. Baradat (out of print)

How the Soviet Union is Goverened by Jerry F. Hough and Merle Fainsod (out of print)

Utopia in Power : The History of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the Present by Mikhail Heller and Aleksandr Nekrich (out of print)

film

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films by Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein


Alexander Nevsky (1938)

comrade scott's thoughts: Prince Alexander Nevsky rallies his forces to prevent the Teutonic Knights of Germany from overtaking Russia in 1250. Generally considered an allegory meant to raise Soviet fervor against the soon-to-invade Nazi troops.



Battleship Potemkin (1925)

comrade scott's thoughts: One of the landmarks of Soviet silent cinema -- and of film in general. Sergei Eisenstein's innovative editing techniques in this masterpiece have influenced directors from mainstream Hollywood to the avant-garde. The film recreates and celebrates an uprising that occurred in Odessa in 1905, during the first stages of the Russian Revolution. Sailors, enraged at their poor treatment -- one of the most memorable sequences shows the maggot-ridden meat meant for their dinner -- mutiny and sail to Odessa. The revolutionary fervor spreads, and Cossacks loyal to the Czar violently attempt to squelch the explosion. But the people will win out... Special scene: the Odessa Steps sequence, a masterfully edited, emotionally powerful episode. For those who have seen de Palma's "The Untouchables", this is the direct inspiration for the scene in Grand Central Station.


Ivan the Terrible - Pt. 1 (1943)

comrade scott's thoughts:

Ivan the Terrible - Pt. 2 (1946)

comrade scott's thoughts:


Strike (Toward the Dictatorship of the Proletariat) (1924)

comrade scott's thoughts:


October (1927

comrade scott's thoughts:

other films about the revolution

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

comrade scott's thoughts:


Reds (1981)

comrade scott's thoughts:

music

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Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony no 11 "In the Year 1905" / Leopold Stokowski, Houston Symphony Orchestra

comrade scott's thoughts:


Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies no 2 & 3 / Mstislav Rostropovich, London Symphony Orchestra

comrade scott's thoughts:


Sergei Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Lt Kijé / Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

comrade scott's thoughts:

etc.

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