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Author Topic: Stalin Banner  (Read 1090 times)

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Offline Lord of the Dance

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Stalin Banner
« on: September 21, 2017, 07:23:26 AM »
I'm a member of several international ballooning forums, and I happened to catch a heated debate on one of them yesterday pertaining to a Russian balloon flying a huge Joseph Stalin photo banner (attached to the envelope, not underslung) during a Russian airshow / exhibition.

I'm sorry guys, I didn't get the opportunity to save any of the discussion or photos before the topic was pulled down, but it was obvious from the automatically translated comments that this "debate" (war) was nastier than anything you'd see here on RUA. From what I could understand, several of the members of the forum (but not the pilots of the aircraft, they didn't seem to be present in the discussion) were basically saying that Stalin was a great leader who gets a bum rap from all the propaganda and that the best days of communism are still to come. The other group was obviously in direct opposition to these ideas.

I wish I had taken a closer look at the photo before it was pulled. The balloon appeared to be a 24-gore Kubicek balloon of maybe 90,000 to 140,000 cubic feet. The banner itself appeared to be a digitally printed color-photo banner of maybe 10 meters square (not sure if there was a second banner on the other side of the balloon or not). The envelope was a base of red with a blue throat and black base panels (and I think a white checker-board pattern at the top as well). The basket appeared to contain 4-5 occupants.

I did manage to catch the caption under the photograph: "Sept. 18th. Russia, the International Festival of Aeronautics in Pyatigorsk city. A hot-air balloon with Stalin on the envelope banner was piloted by aeronauts from Kaluga. The pilots explained: 'this Stalin's image is our talisman.'"

Now this begs the question in my mind, what percentage of the Russian population wants to see a resurgence of Soviet-era communism? ~ Doug     

 
"My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait." - Canticle of the Turning

Offline msmoby

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2017, 08:22:07 AM »
I'm a member of several international ballooning forums, and I happened to catch a heated debate on one of them yesterday pertaining to a Russian balloon flying a huge Joseph Stalin photo banner (attached to the envelope, not underslung) during a Russian airshow / exhibition.

I'm sorry guys, I didn't get the opportunity to save any of the discussion or photos before the topic was pulled down, but it was obvious from the automatically translated comments that this "debate" (war) was nastier than anything you'd see here on RUA. From what I could understand, several of the members of the forum (but not the pilots of the aircraft, they didn't seem to be present in the discussion) were basically saying that Stalin was a great leader who gets a bum rap from all the propaganda and that the best days of communism are still to come. The other group was obviously in direct opposition to these ideas.

I wish I had taken a closer look at the photo before it was pulled. The balloon appeared to be a 24-gore Kubicek balloon of maybe 90,000 to 140,000 cubic feet. The banner itself appeared to be a digitally printed color-photo banner of maybe 10 meters square (not sure if there was a second banner on the other side of the balloon or not). The envelope was a base of red with a blue throat and black base panels (and I think a white checker-board pattern at the top as well). The basket appeared to contain 4-5 occupants.

I did manage to catch the caption under the photograph: "Sept. 18th. Russia, the International Festival of Aeronautics in Pyatigorsk city. A hot-air balloon with Stalin on the envelope banner was piloted by aeronauts from Kaluga. The pilots explained: 'this Stalin's image is our talisman.'"

Now this begs the question in my mind, what percentage of the Russian population wants to see a resurgence of Soviet-era communism? ~ Doug     

 

Doug, interesting topic

The modern-day  leaders thought it would be smart to win over those harking back to the old days - to negate the threat from the Communist Party ...

Stalin's tenure was vilified under Khrushchev - as was his tenure - in turn -  later  ;) ..

Part of Russia#s 'resurgence' - as perceived by man Russians - as the 'west' does noting to stop Russia in Ukraine, Georgia, etc., - their words - not mine - means that there is a blur between Soviet and Russian success ... 

Stalin is now revered by some, again - who weren't around under his rule  - and even some who were ..    He is seen as a strong leader - by some ....

There were even mores to rename Volgorad "Stalingrad' again ...

Personally speaking those who think Stalin should be revered belong in the same psycho ward as Hitler 'fans' ...



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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2017, 09:28:13 AM »
I will venture a guess (and I have not been to Russia in nearly 5 years.) But when I first visited (directly after the fall of Yeltsin) there was a very strong anti-Stalin and for that matter Lenin vibe present, this ranged for politicians to intellectuals to the general public.

It seems since that since the period and with the emergence of Vladimir Putin, who has on a number of occasions directly linked his name to the other Vladimir, that there is a gradual reconditioning of both Stalin and Lenin. That they on a wholesale basis murdered entire populations for no reasons is not even taught any more according to friends with children in Russian schools.

On the other side to your question Russians as a population have never been it seems to be be very comfortable with personal freedoms. This is perhaps the one great difference between average Joe's and average Ivan's. This means in simple perspective as long as the Russian state does not intrude into intimate (personal) affairs or attack the private wealth of the local population, the rest of the world will witness a growing resurgence of communist type activity, albeit in a new Putin mantle.
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Offline msmoby

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2017, 10:30:32 AM »
This means in simple perspective as long as the Russian state does not intrude into intimate (personal) affairs or attack the private wealth of the local population, the rest of the world will witness a growing resurgence of communist type activity, albeit in a new Putin mantle.

I'd hardly call state - oligarch co-operation on projects from TV, mobile phone networks road and railway construction / operation  'communism' ...

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Offline Lord of the Dance

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2017, 11:31:13 AM »
I will venture a guess (and I have not been to Russia in nearly 5 years.) But when I first visited (directly after the fall of Yeltsin) there was a very strong anti-Stalin and for that matter Lenin vibe present, this ranged for politicians to intellectuals to the general public.

It seems since that since the period and with the emergence of Vladimir Putin, who has on a number of occasions directly linked his name to the other Vladimir, that there is a gradual reconditioning of both Stalin and Lenin. That they on a wholesale basis murdered entire populations for no reasons is not even taught any more according to friends with children in Russian schools.

On the other side to your question Russians as a population have never been it seems to be be very comfortable with personal freedoms. This is perhaps the one great difference between average Joe's and average Ivan's. This means in simple perspective as long as the Russian state does not intrude into intimate (personal) affairs or attack the private wealth of the local population, the rest of the world will witness a growing resurgence of communist type activity, albeit in a new Putin mantle.

Thanks for your insight.
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Offline Contrarian

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #5 on: September 21, 2017, 11:53:37 AM »
I'm a member of several international ballooning forums, and I happened to catch a heated debate on one of them yesterday pertaining to a Russian balloon flying a huge Joseph Stalin photo banner (attached to the envelope, not underslung) during a Russian airshow / exhibition.

I'm sorry guys, I didn't get the opportunity to save any of the discussion or photos before the topic was pulled down, but it was obvious from the automatically translated comments that this "debate" (war) was nastier than anything you'd see here on RUA. From what I could understand, several of the members of the forum (but not the pilots of the aircraft, they didn't seem to be present in the discussion) were basically saying that Stalin was a great leader who gets a bum rap from all the propaganda and that the best days of communism are still to come. The other group was obviously in direct opposition to these ideas.

I wish I had taken a closer look at the photo before it was pulled. The balloon appeared to be a 24-gore Kubicek balloon of maybe 90,000 to 140,000 cubic feet. The banner itself appeared to be a digitally printed color-photo banner of maybe 10 meters square (not sure if there was a second banner on the other side of the balloon or not). The envelope was a base of red with a blue throat and black base panels (and I think a white checker-board pattern at the top as well). The basket appeared to contain 4-5 occupants.

I did manage to catch the caption under the photograph: "Sept. 18th. Russia, the International Festival of Aeronautics in Pyatigorsk city. A hot-air balloon with Stalin on the envelope banner was piloted by aeronauts from Kaluga. The pilots explained: 'this Stalin's image is our talisman.'"

Now this begs the question in my mind, what percentage of the Russian population wants to see a resurgence of Soviet-era communism? ~ Doug     

My guess would be 10% or less and those will mostly be senior citizens. The rest would never willingly go back.

Offline msmoby

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #6 on: September 21, 2017, 12:35:02 PM »

My guess would be 10% or less and those will mostly be senior citizens. The rest would never willingly go back.

This isn't a guess .... best you hang out there for a while ..  Stalin has been officially 'rehabilitated' - one only had to be around on May 9th to know that

Kids were carrying banners with his image on ..
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Offline Texan77

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2017, 06:57:37 PM »
My girls grandmother lives in Lugansk Ukraine. She felt that life was very good under Stalin. My girl from her grandmother's stories seems to like Stalin though she hates Putin.  ???
3) There has been no "threat" to invade Ukraine. The US invented that and fed it to a complicit media.

Offline Lord of the Dance

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2017, 09:01:47 PM »
I'm a member of several international ballooning forums, and I happened to catch a heated debate on one of them yesterday pertaining to a Russian balloon flying a huge Joseph Stalin photo banner (attached to the envelope, not underslung) during a Russian airshow / exhibition.

I'm sorry guys, I didn't get the opportunity to save any of the discussion or photos before the topic was pulled down, but it was obvious from the automatically translated comments that this "debate" (war) was nastier than anything you'd see here on RUA. From what I could understand, several of the members of the forum (but not the pilots of the aircraft, they didn't seem to be present in the discussion) were basically saying that Stalin was a great leader who gets a bum rap from all the propaganda and that the best days of communism are still to come. The other group was obviously in direct opposition to these ideas.

I wish I had taken a closer look at the photo before it was pulled. The balloon appeared to be a 24-gore Kubicek balloon of maybe 90,000 to 140,000 cubic feet. The banner itself appeared to be a digitally printed color-photo banner of maybe 10 meters square (not sure if there was a second banner on the other side of the balloon or not). The envelope was a base of red with a blue throat and black base panels (and I think a white checker-board pattern at the top as well). The basket appeared to contain 4-5 occupants.

I did manage to catch the caption under the photograph: "Sept. 18th. Russia, the International Festival of Aeronautics in Pyatigorsk city. A hot-air balloon with Stalin on the envelope banner was piloted by aeronauts from Kaluga. The pilots explained: 'this Stalin's image is our talisman.'"

Now this begs the question in my mind, what percentage of the Russian population wants to see a resurgence of Soviet-era communism? ~ Doug     

 

Doug, interesting topic

The modern-day  leaders thought it would be smart to win over those harking back to the old days - to negate the threat from the Communist Party ...

Stalin's tenure was vilified under Khrushchev - as was his tenure - in turn -  later  ;) ..

Part of Russia#s 'resurgence' - as perceived by man Russians - as the 'west' does noting to stop Russia in Ukraine, Georgia, etc., - their words - not mine - means that there is a blur between Soviet and Russian success ... 

Stalin is now revered by some, again - who weren't around under his rule  - and even some who were ..    He is seen as a strong leader - by some ....

There were even mores to rename Volgorad "Stalingrad' again ...

Personally speaking those who think Stalin should be revered belong in the same psycho ward as Hitler 'fans' ...

An interesting topic indeed. I must admit to feeling some disappointment at the discovery that a lighter-than-air research expert that I've come to respect is not only a staunch supporter of communism, but apparently also hates the US with a passion. What a shame. That'll be his loss though, because between England and the US, we've got some of the best LTA technology going.
"My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait." - Canticle of the Turning

Offline Lord of the Dance

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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2017, 09:17:58 PM »
My girls grandmother lives in Lugansk Ukraine. She felt that life was very good under Stalin. My girl from her grandmother's stories seems to like Stalin though she hates Putin.  ???

Odd. Perhaps it was the Mustache?
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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #10 on: September 22, 2017, 12:16:14 AM »
My girls grandmother lives in Lugansk Ukraine. She felt that life was very good under Stalin. My girl from her grandmother's stories seems to like Stalin though she hates Putin.  ???
A lot of the people I speak to about Crimea also have fond memories on the Communism era. They wouldn't like to get back a butcher like Stalin, but communism itself they would want back.
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Re: Stalin Banner
« Reply #11 on: September 22, 2017, 02:25:30 AM »

A lot of the people I speak to about Crimea also have fond memories on the Communism era. They wouldn't like to get back a butcher like Stalin, but communism itself they would want back.

For the majority of people there's very good reasons why that should be so. Over time though, as people who knew the Soviet system at first hand die off that memory attitude will change. Objectively, one can see that for most people the late Soviet era, with the exception of the last few years, was a good time for ordinary humans.
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