Report on the Russians
By: Brian Bandy
In this title by W.L.White, it portrays Russia at the height of the Soviet Union, showcasing everything from the upper class to the lower class. In my humble opinion, it shows that the Russians were not the Soviet giant like everyone believed. It was in fact, a house of cards, a weakened country from the start and was doomed to fail.The book presents the Soviet Union during the waning years of World War 2, to just after the war. This extremely factual story goes through every part of Russia, viewing the extreme differences between the United States and the Soviet Union. Some examples of this include:
- The writer, while visiting Russia, saw an entire play get held up because he dallied over one last sip of wine for a private dinner in between the acts of the play.
- Also, unlike the more businesslike and efficient American and European factories that we are all familiar with, factories in the Soviet Union are presented in an entirely different light. Their factory floors looked like an OCD nightmare, absolutely disorganized and practically falling apart.
- Even though the Russian Revolution had happened over 25 years earlier, there still was an unofficial caste system behind the scenes. In the branch of manufacturing, if the workers did good and got higher on the chain of command, their reputation increased. If, however they saw a problem with one of the workers or just wanted to help the workers, their reputation suffered. This is sort of like the social ladder of a school, in that as one goes up, if they talk to the people “under” them, their status plummets.
All this and more can be found in this story, and here are some more sites to increase your understanding.