Tuesday, September 30, 2008

To Communism's Triump Lead Us On

“KKK Hate Schools Found Throughout Atlanta” and “United States Refuses Soviet Aid for American Poor” are some of the headlines that startled me from a crumpled old newspaper we were using to protect the classroom floor from wet paint. These lines were from a 1990 issue of the Moscow Times, an English-language newspaper published during the Soviet Union. Although I’m in a country where school history books completely omit the Soviet Union, I am regularly reminded about the legacy of the USSR and Communism in Balkhash. As an American, this living legacy has been one of my most interesting experiences.

Balkhash and my oblast (province) have a special Soviet legacy. Most of the cities including mine were built in the 1930s with forced labor. In fact, my oblast was home to one of the largest gulags—the size of France. Taking a walk through Balkhash, one can see still remnants of Soviet symbols. Our City Hall still has the hammer and sickle emblem on its façade. The tops of apartment complexes have mosaics that say “Glory to Labor” and “Glory to the CCCP.” And of course, most people still live in Khruschevniks, the five story mass produced gray apartments commissioned by Nikita Khruschev. As in many cities that still have large Russian populations, there is a Lenin statue. There is still debate about what to do with these symbols. Recently in Karaganda, the second largest city, a huge outcry prevented authorities from removing their Lenin statue. At the camp I worked at near Petropavlovsk, the administration only painted over an enormous red star this summer.

The Soviet Union also lives on in official holidays. This February, I celebrated Red Army Day at my school. There was an assembly and all male teachers—three including myself—were placed in the front of the room. Since all men are expected to have served in the Red Army, teachers made speeches thanking us for having defended the Motherland. I wonder if they also thought it was ironic that they were including a guy who represented the enemy they were defending against. Anyway, they thanked us and gave us complimentary daggers for our service. Later that night, the host dad of my ex-site mate Andrew said that Red Army Day didn’t celebrate war, but friendship. Many Soviet soldiers did not fight. There mandatory two years of service was a time when they forged close friendships with people from other parts of Union—Ukranians, Georgians, Azeris. Red Army service bound all the different members of the Union together. The following month, we celebrated the complimenting holiday—Women’s Day. The male teachers put on a concert for the female teachers. My role was to sing old Communist songs, including “The International”—the Communist anthem.

The Kazakhstani government exerts much effort in trying to instill Kazakh pride and nationalism amongst the people. They are building statues to Kazakh heroes, renaming streets and cities, and adding Kazakh holidays to an already extensive collection of Soviet ones. Yet there is less effort in removing the old symbols. At first I thought this was because the government didn’t want to alienate the enormous Russian minority. But now I think that many Kazakhstani citizens still regard the Soviet Union fondly. These remaining Soviet symbols were not forgotten; they are still being lived and reminisced upon.