Format:
1 Online-Ressource (xi, 196 pages)
,
illustrations
Edition:
First edition
Edition:
Also published in print
ISBN:
9781350050747
,
9781859736333
,
1859736335
,
9781845209070
,
1859736386
,
9781859736388
,
1350050741
Series Statement:
Leisure, consumption, and culture
Content:
Introduction : the birth of the Soviet consumer -- Soviet champagne : Stalin's great invention -- Soviet Kitsch and organized carnivals -- Increasing variety -- Soviet novelties and their advertising -- The emergence of the Soviet system of retail trade -- The political struggle over the development of the restaurants -- Soviet consumption amidst general poverty -- Conclusion : Socialist realism in the material culture.
Content:
"'Life has become more joyous, comrades.' Josef Stalin, 1936. 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). The Soviet example is unique since the luxury culture had to be created entirely from scratch, and the process was taken extremely seriously. Even the smallest decisions, such as the design of perfume bottles, were made at the highest level of government by the People's Commissars. Sometimes the interpretation of 'luxury goods' bordered on the comical, such as the push to produce Soviet ketchup and wurst."--Bloomsbury Publishing
Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-179) and indexes
,
Also published in print.
,
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
,
Barrierefreier Inhalt: Compliant with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Content is displayed as HTML full text which can easily be resized or read with assistive technology, with mark-up that allows screen readers and keyboard-only users to navigate easily
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9781859736333
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1859736335
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9781845209070
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1859736386
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9781859736388
Additional Edition:
ISBN 1350050741
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Druck-Ausgabe Gronow, Jukka Caviar with champagne Oxford ; New York : Berg, 2003
Language:
English
Keywords:
Electronic books
DOI:
10.5040/9781350050747
