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[-] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 14 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Like the people who don't know the actual meaning of 'Sewer socialism' ,'Champagne socialism' always makes me think of that quote from Caviar with champagne by Jukka Gronow about how workers where able to afford Champagne and Caviar for the first time during the Stalin period

idk if anyone has the screenshot of the screen saved

Stalin's Russia is best known for its political repression, forced collectivization and general poverty. Caviar with Champagne presents an altogether different aspect of Stalin's rule that has never been fully analyzed - the creation of a luxury goods society. At the same time as millions were queuing for bread and starving, drastic changes took place in the cultural and economic policy of the country, which had important consequences for the development of Soviet material culture and the promotion of its ideals of consumption.The 1930s witnessed the first serious attempt to create a genuinely Soviet commercial culture that would rival the West. Government ministers took exploratory trips to America to learn about everything from fast food hamburgers to men's suits in Macy's. The government made intricate plans to produce high-quality luxury goods en masse, such as chocolate, caviar, perfume, liquor and assorted novelties. Perhaps the best symbol of this new cultural order was Soviet Champagne, which launched in 1936 with plans to produce millions of bottles by the end of the decade.* Drawing on previously neglected archival material, Jukka Gronow examines how such new pleasures were advertised and enjoyed. He interprets Soviet-styled luxury goods as a form of kitsch and examines the ideological underpinnings behind their production.This new attitude toward consumption was accompanied by the promotion of new manners of everyday life. The process was not without serious ideological contradictions. Ironically, a factory worker living in the United States - the largest capitalist society in the world - would have been hard-pressed to afford caviar or champagne for a special occasion in the 1930s, but a Soviet worker theoretically could (assuming supplies were in stock)

[-] Jabril@hexbear.net 2 points 7 hours ago

Funny enough I think china is in the process of crashing the caviar market with their innovation in the space

[-] OffSeasonPrincess@hexbear.net 15 points 23 hours ago

Soviet ministers explaining the US to the politbyro: imagine a burger

this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2026
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