The American Conservative
•72% Informative
Robert Hornsby's new book captures the Soviet Sixties , the last decade when Russian Communists felt optimistic.
Khrushchev’s “Secret Speech” on February 25, 1956 signaled the start of a more open era.
There was still oppression in the new era, but nothing like the bad old days .
Frida Ghitis: For the average Russian , the Sixties had nothing to do with the treatment of dissidents, of whom there were very few.
She says Sixties were a period of rising living standards and self-confidence in Russia .
Ghitis says the Gagarin episode captured the essence of the Soviet Sixties : the old world of the village and the new world of space travel.
How strange, I thought, to have a new holiday on the calendar that commemorates one of your country’s great accomplishments instead of some historical sin like slavery or indigenous genocide. In the totally unironic way this woman spoke of Gagarin ’s greatness, I detected honest civilizational pride. There were many things in Hornsby’s book that reminded me of the country I live in today , including ideological profilaktika. That pride was the biggest difference..
VR Score
78
Informative language
78
Neutral language
41
Article tone
informal
Language
English
Language complexity
44
Offensive language
offensive
Hate speech
not hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
not detected
Known propaganda techniques
detected
Time-value
medium-lived
External references
3
Source diversity
2
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