Danny and Derek sit down with Sudha Rajagopalan, Senior Lecturer in East European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, to discuss her book Journeys of Soviet Things, an oral history of socialist globalization focusing on the journeys of Cold War era Soviet objects in Cuba and India. The conversation explores why Sudha focused on banal objects, what Soviet-made household technologies meant to people in Cuba and India, people’s views of American-produced goods of the time, whether a transnational identity was forged through these objects, and more.
I have battled Soviet, Eastern Block, and Jugoslav "Cold War" appliances since 1997. Of course in my little low end rental units, my kitchens are always filled with "The Classics". Eventually I began to feel a grudging admiration for them because they do last forever, and the majstori (local repairmen/repair people) can keep them working against all odds. Then when I realized that these were indeed, "the People's Appliances", I developed a loyalty towards them as well.
I have battled Soviet, Eastern Block, and Jugoslav "Cold War" appliances since 1997. Of course in my little low end rental units, my kitchens are always filled with "The Classics". Eventually I began to feel a grudging admiration for them because they do last forever, and the majstori (local repairmen/repair people) can keep them working against all odds. Then when I realized that these were indeed, "the People's Appliances", I developed a loyalty towards them as well.
Another wonderful episode...
Please stop making me buy books...