Here’s a picture which never goes out of style: nukes being shown off in Moscow. Race for Latest Class of Nuclear Arms Threatens to Revive Cold War - The New York Times
It’s not a Soviet flag, true. But what gives?
That’s not a May Day celebration, but Victory Day celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany. As such, they are using historical symbols, including that of the USSR (CCCP in Cyrillic) on the right.
From the article:
Display of the hammer and sickle is no doubt part of that revival.
Thanks.
A large majority of Russians (as well as a majority or plurality of people in most of the other former Eastern Block countries) is nostalgic for the Soviet era and thinks they were better off under communism, is the simple answer. I would guess that using the old Soviet symbols is an attempt to appeal to that sector of the population.
http://russialist.org/russians-increasingly-nostalgic-for-soviet-system-poll-finds/
Back in the first fall of the Soviet Union (Putin is ensuring there will be another), many people brought out their favorite political signs - the Russian Tricolor, the various States which had been suppressed (Ukraine esp.).
The saddest were very old people with perfect posters of Stalin as represented in the propaganda - large, strong, resolute. They had kept these in perfect condition all those years.
The poor folks were watching their country denounce the ideals of their youth.
Maybe the KGB should have snatched them and tortured them. Just for old-time’s sake,
I saw a lot of them in Vietnam this Spring. I assumed they were supposed to be just a general Communist symbol, rather than representing the USSR specifically.
Maybe in Russia, the Hammer and Sickle has a similar nostalgic/patriotic/religious emotional value as the Stars and Bars has in the USA? Of course, we have a 150 year head start on them.
Nitpick: The American national flag is the “Stars and Stripes.”
“Stars and Bars” is the first Confederate national flag—
I’m pretty Ranger was refering to the Confederate flag. His post doesn’t make much sense if he meant the US flag. You can’t really be nostalgic for the Stars and Stripes, its still the present flag (albeit with more stars as time goes on).
I don’t see much nostalgia for the Stars and Bars. Except for the fact that it’s incorporated into the design of a couple of state flags, I don’t see very many people displaying it.
So is he referring to the “Southern Cross” flag, commonly just known as the “Confederate Flag”? That seems likely. But “Stars and Bars” is still the wrong name.
Well, yes. That’s the point. We had the “reset” because those bad old days were gone.
A few lightening bolts on a flag in a German state- sponsored military parade would be worrisome.
The Confederate flag is a definite political symbol meant to convey something, not a vague emotional thing. So is the hammer and sickle (although what it means to convey may vary depending on whether one is a communist, a nationalist, or just someone vaguely nostalgic for the past).
Well, in that case you should find the opinion polls much more worrisome than the flags, because the flags are telling us nothing the opinion polls haven’t been saying for years.
Yes, I meant the Confederate Flag when I said “Stars and Bars”.
Many of China’s older folks also have a lot of nostalgia for the days of Mao. Despite being tough, life was simpler and it is normal to have fond memories from youth.
They even have Mao little red book reading sessions for people to take families too.