Some of those are pretty amusing. In no particular order.
1956 – Khrushchev denounces Stalin, as pointed out by the Kremlin tower standing on Stalin’s portrait. Previously Stalin’s portrait on the floor – years and years of Gulag, or worse. Roses are wrapped in the Soviet newspaper “Pravda” (Truth).
Citizen journalism in this town is celebrating a huge victory and I am here to take all the credit. My recent ground-breaking report on a possible contender for the biggest pothole in the State of Missouri sent seismic waves through the City Hall and the solution came swiftly – a bigger barrier.
Parts of the previous orange obstacle that weren’t swallowed by the pothole were recycled…
…and replaced with the state-of-the-art early warning system.
City geologists used the circular cracks around the barrier to size up a new commemorative steel plate which will be placed over the pothole in the near future.
The City Council ordered the City Attorney to draft a letter to BP demanding reimbursement for the repairs (mostly for the barricade) since the appearance of the pothole is directly related to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
On behalf of myself and many residents of the nearby property tax-free building I’d like to thank the City for paying attention and quick decisive action.
On the morning of August 19, 1991 I was eating breakfast and watching news on my TV (something like this) when the announcer reverted to the official voice they used when someone died and announced that due to the health reasons M.S.Gorbachev can no longer perform his duties and the control of the country is being taken over by a State Committee of the State of Emergency. This was the beginning of the 1991 Soviet coup d’état attempt. People had different reactions to the events; I for one wasn’t surprised at all: many people weren’t happy about Gorbachev’s reforms and were hoping for some form of reversal, and this was just what they were asking for.
This is what their first press-conference looked like (in Russian). For a group of conspirators they acted too strange and spaced out. Some of them were not exactly well-known before the events.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4eV8ffgDF8
The coup was over in 3 days with the press and the army refusing to support the conspirators and suppress demonstrations in Moscow and other places.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqoAhfEIfXo
Gorbachev returned to Moscow but never regained his full capacity and the USSR was over before the year’s end. One might say that right there over my breakfast I witnessed the beginning of the end of the country I grew up in. Recently I had a chance to find out how these events were covered in the American press. After the the putsch was over the Kansas City Star combined all of its coverage into a special insert. 18 years later people still argue if this was the right way to go. At that time it probably couldn’t go in any other way, but every forum is overloaded with people mourning the loss of the USSR – the superpower. I witnessed it then and thanks to one of my readers had a chance to revisit it now from the other side of where the Iron Curtain used to be. More videos of the American news coverage.
JJSinKCK asked me how Stalin was portrayed in the Soviet history books. Instead of a thoughtful answer I picked out and translated some of the propaganda posters, commonly displayed during the Stalin era.
With Lenin's book in hand,in front of Lenin's and Stalin's complete works
I am a big fan of the “Kansas City: Then and Now” and “Kansas City: Then and Now 2” books. No matter where you live there is a history and as much as everyone makes fun of old people and their “back in my day” stories, they are actually very entertaining. These books tell the stories with photos of the past and present side-by-side and, unfortunately, the present is not always better then the past.
I wanted to do something like that for a long time on a smaller more amateur level and with the help of the Johnson County History website I will try post some photos once in a while.
A group of men gathered in front of an automobile at the ground breaking for Andy Klein Pontiac dealership.
Here is what it looks like now (click for more):
Not really much of an improvement, but I am sure Mr. Klein would have been proud. The JoCoHistory website has some additional photos tagged “Andy Klein Pontiac” as well as Mr. Klein’s personal photos.
A business like an auto dealership touches many lives and I imagine in the old days it was more personal then now. Over the years it has probably seen a lot of happiness and excitement on its sales floor. Wouldn’t you get excited buying this “General Motors Masterpiece” in 1955,or, should I say “back in the day”.
