the space race is one of the icons of the Cold War it was not only a head-to-head competition between the superpowers an opportunity to highlight the triumphs of each respective system but also an opportunity to collaborate to work together for the furtherance of Science and Humanity although there is often a vigorous debate over who won the Space Race there is no question whatsoever that it had a tremendous impact on not only Soviet political life but unsoviet Society in general I'm your host David and this week we are going to look at the effects of the Soviet space race this is the Cold War foreign yet but I do try to enjoy some of the smaller things in life which is why I love my membership with bespoke post bespoke post is a monthly membership club which delivers amazing boxes of top shelf goods from under the radar Brands it's free to join you can skip a month if you want and even cancel any time bespoke post introduces you every month to cool new products from outdoor gear to 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the first satellite in orbit the first animal in Space the first man in space the first woman in space the first tortoises to go around the moon and so on all of these firsts brought glory and Prestige to the USSR and to the Communist system in general and at a long and lasting impact but when they happened is a huge factor in this impact the Space Race came at the same time as khrushchev's thaw a period of Hope for Soviet citizens the estate Terror of The Stylist period with its indiscriminate imprisonment and executions had come to an end and although the USSR was by no means a free country its citizens could breathe more freely than they had been able to for decades for the first time in its history the Soviet government which had been so focused on Military industrialization and production began to include the manufacture of consumer goods as part of its plans housing was becoming a new priority and quality of life began to rise now the threat of nuclear war still persisted and the West was still the enemy but more normalized relations were being created Nikita Khrushchev made his first visit to the United States the first by a Soviet leader as the space race progressed and achieved Milestones before the U.S space program the Soviet Union showed that it could be on par if not ahead of the United States in both scientific and technological advancement so let's look at some of the Spheres where this made an impact to start with as we've already alluded to the Space Program had an enormous positive impact on the confidence of the Soviet state and its people there was a tangible result to the work of the Soviet Union not just the utopian and propagandist promises for the future which had been a fixture since the 1920s the Socialist system had not only put Sputnik into space before the Americans but they put the first man in space too this was seen as the Soviets emerging from the darkness of stalinism and a huge step towards the promised arrival of communism as described by Peter Vale and Alexander Guinness quote for the Soviet person the cosmos was also the symbol of total Liberation Stalin had been unmasked solzhenitsyn had been printed transistor radios were finally available there was talk about initiative and critique traveling to the cosmos seemed The Logical conclusion of the process of Liberation and at the beginning of a period of freedom the Space Age eclipsed The soundless Cult of Personality replacing the mustache with not just the achievements of the space program but those who fulfilled the missions the men who went into space the cosmonauts images and monuments of Stalin were removed and replaced by symbols of achievement in space statues of Gagarin Tereshkova leonov and corollov appeared and streets were renamed in their honor the Space theme even extended into the world of Soviet products including cigarette brands named after Leica and Sputnik Soviet bureaucracy reported an increase in patriotic feelings in the wake of successful missions to space although we should probably be cautious in determining if these were genuine increases or mere propaganda reports but an example of one of these reports if you choose it to believe its authenticity or not comes from a secretary of the Party Committee on a call Hawes who wrote now in our Collective Farm the time is ripe at the height of haymaking time laying halage and preparing the grass flower the farmer's toil with unprecedented increase the victory in space inspires them to new labor achievements of course as you might expect Soviet success didn't only have a domestic impact but an international one as well genuine worry in the United States began as Sputnik was seen as a clear sign that the Soviet Union had gained a technological advantage with not only scientific implications but military ones as well a Rand Corporation report on the reaction of Americans to the early successes of the Soviet space program showed that quote the American public was badly shaken by the sudden Soviet success in being first to launch an earth circling satellite vehicle government officials executive and Congressional demanded immediate action to offset the Soviet Technical and propaganda success it was also understood that the R7 semiyorka rocket that was used to launch Sputnik could double as an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear payload but it wasn't just Soviet success American failures at this time seemed to highlight a gap for example while the Soviets landed lunic 2 on the surface of the Moon becoming the first man-made object to do so the American attempt to replicate this Pioneer 4 missed the moon entirely by about 37 000 miles no matter that lunac 2 was destroyed by the force of its impact the fact that it arrived at all was still seen as a victory this helped to generate a fear that the Soviets also had the upper hand in getting to the Moon first which would allow them to militarize it now we know with the benefit of hindsight that these fears never materialized into anything in fact the exploration of space became one of the shiny examples of cooperation between the two otherwise rival superpowers and it wasn't just a byproduct of Dayton in the 1970s either even before the launch of Sputnik came the first attempts at coordination with the start of the international geophysical year which ran from July of 1957 to December of 1958. the igy looked to
spark International Space cooperation by creating an organization that included 60 000 scientists representing 66 different nations including those from the United States and the Soviet Union continuing this Spirit of cooperation in 1959 saw the United Nations create the committee on the peaceful uses of outer space it was established as a forum for all nations but especially the US and the USSR to share information regarding space information and discoveries this committee was subject to The Winds of politics mind you and under the Eisenhower Administration it saw little participation from the United States but President Kennedy looked at it differently he congratulated Khrushchev in 1961 following the Soviet launch of a probe intended to go to Venus wishing the Soviet Union quote Success in another chapter of man's exploration of the universe Khrushchev responded to Kennedy with gratitude and quote wishes for success in the new stage of the exploration of the cosmos and this shift away from hostile competition was even reflected in Kennedy's First State of the Union Address quote together let us explore the Stars specifically I now invite all nations including the Soviet Union to join with us in developing a weather prediction program in a new communication satellite program and in preparation for probing the distant planets of Mars and Venus probes which may someday unlock the deepest secrets of the universe today this country is ahead in the Science and Technology of space while the Soviet Union is ahead in a capacity to lift Vehicles into orbit both nations would help themselves as well as other nations by removing these Endeavors from the bitter and wasteful competition of the Cold War these are no small words given the context of the time at which they were spoken during Kennedy's tenure as president the UN committee increased its activity and explored possible avenues for cooperation in space although the Cuban Missile Crisis caused a chill in relations it did not take long for the superpowers to sign the first memorandum of understanding on space exploration in the summer of 1963. this envisaged cooperation on the use of weather and communication satellites as well as a joint geomagnetic survey this even helped lead to the launch of the echo 2 satellite in January of 1964 where the Soviet Union helped NASA test the passive communication ability of the satellite even through the 1960s the level of competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was largely cordial with leaders from both sides congratulating the other on respective successes this eventually led to the Joint soyuz Apollo program symbolizing a level of cooperation in space that was in stark contrast to the competition on Earth now the Soviet cosmonauts themselves became icons not only in the Soviet Union and in other socialist countries but around the world including the capitalist West cosmonauts on their return from space would have to put their media training to use as they were sent on massive tours at the globe within four months of Yuri gagarin's flight he had traveled to Brazil Bulgaria Canada Cuba Czechoslovakia Finland Great Britain and Iceland between 1961 and 1962 he visited 22 different countries even being greeted by over 3 million people on a visit to Calcutta in India schedules for cosmonauts were so hectic in fact that they would often need to decline both private and public meetings and there were frequent complaints from the cosmonauts themselves that their PR duties were preventing them from Cosmonaut duties they became one of the chief propaganda tools for the Soviet system portrayed as icons and Role Models the cosmonauts themselves struggled with this with Gagarin once confessing that quote it is awkward to be seen as a super ideal person it's as if I always did everything right but like anybody else I make many mistakes I have my weaknesses one shouldn't idealize a person one should take him just as he is in real life it's annoying when I am portrayed as a sugar boy who is so sweet that it's nauseating but these misgivings had to be put aside as the global Heroes were made into exemplary models of the ideal new Soviet man in August of 1962 Khrushchev stated that hero cosmonauts are people who even now already embody the wonderful traits of the member of the Communist Society High intellectual culture moral Purity and perfect physique their deeds are driven by the love for motherland sense of public duty and Noble ideals of communism Gagarin was made to be the epitome of all of this in the words of one of his fellow cosmonauts Yuri personified the whole generation of Soviet people whose childhood was signed by the war an Indian journalist said the first cosmonaut was chosen ideally to represent the Soviet man before the nations of the entire world his perfect features Pleasant look his charming smile and even his short height which stresses his youthful stature everything makes the most favorable impression on anyone who meet him saw him in cinema or on television and the Soviet propaganda machine was happy to propagate this carefully nurturing an image of a normal guy a handsome young family man who was well cultured liked to read and he was honest he was also a man who excelled at his job which just so happened to be Mastery of space keep in mind for many consumers of Soviet propaganda this was something new different from that militaristic saber rattling and threats that many had become used to it was an image that conveyed youthfulness energy and change this was the perfect background for Khrushchev to further his own messages of Reform to not only the Soviet Union but to the world at the 22nd party Congress in October of 1961 he described cosmonauts as quote not merely a conqueror of outer space not merely a hero of Science and Technology but first and foremost he is a real living Flesh and Blood new man who demonstrates in action all the invaluable qualities of the Soviet character which Lenin's party has been cultivating for decades so we keep saying that the Soviet space propaganda was successful and it was especially with children space exploration was popular so popular to the point that the soviet-born playwright Svetlana boyim said Soviet Children of the 1960s did not dream of becoming doctors and lawyers but cosmonauts or a force came to worse geologists Boys Around the World looked up to Gagarin and soon after a female role model also presented in Valentina Tereshkova cosmonauts became Idols the biggest celebrities of the era the Soviet education system glorified cosmonauts as Heroes calling on Soviet youth to follow similar paths every Pioneer Palace even in rural towns had future Cosmonaut clubs where meetings with Scientists were arranged and children were encouraged to build model aircraft and Rockets the cosmos became the perfect tool to encourage children to pursue interest in science and technology a part of the Soviet mandate since the creation of the country propaganda images of children meeting with cosmonauts became a recurring theme in newspapers magazines and as murals in schools in Pioneer palaces and this process was not just limited to the USSR the intercosmos program created by the Soviet Union in 1967 was designed to help other nations with their own space programs and missions through intercosmos 14 non-soviets became cosmonauts bringing interest and excitement about space travel to various other nations of the world I won't speak too much about intercosmos because I want to do more on the subject as part of its own video but for those of you who remember the film goodbye Lenin the Cosmonaut featured in that movie is Sigmund Jan who went to space via the intercosmos program great movie by the way but lots of murals and model clubs weren't the only evidence of space exploration fueling interest in The Sciences journals saw their circulation drastically increase for example the journal Science Life saw a circulation increase from 150 000 copies in 1957 to 1.75 Million by 1965. technology for youth saw its circulation increase from 250 000 in 1955 to 1.2 million by 1964. these are enormous increases but this increase in interest wasn't just in existing journals or forums new ones appeared such as science and religion this journal engaged in popularizing Soviet scientific achievements while simultaneously attacking religion planetariums also became very popular as a forum for hosting lectures films and other educational events centered on space exploration by 1973 there were more than 70 planetariums operating in the USSR mobile planetariums were even developed buses equipped with telescopes and loudspeakers would travel to factories plants and Farms promoting the successes of Soviet scientific achievement they also gave the opportunity for Citizens not from the scientific Community to use a telescope and wait there's more space exploration had an impact in the cultural sphere as well now it isn't like space and sci-fi literature didn't already exist in pre-revolutionary Russia and in the Soviet Union the 1908 novel red star and the 1912 novel engineer many both written by Alexander bogdanov are among the early Classics of Russian science fiction After the Revolution came poems like Vladimir mayakovsky's 150 million Vladimir krilovs we will find another shining path to our planet and Mikhail garasimov's let's raise a palace of world freedom in the canals of Mars Rose to prominence they were joined by novels like Alexi tolstoy's novel Elita about the export of proletarian Revolution to Mars to join in the fight against slavery Elita was turned into a 1929 film the first space film made in the Soviet Union so space wasn't new in the Soviet cultural landscape but by the 1950s as the Space Race captured headlines in real life there was a corresponding increase in space themes from Soviet film and literature Evan ephraimov's 1957 Andromeda nebula a space age tale as well as the stories of arkadi and Boris strugotsky are true Classics of Soviet sci-fi on the Silver Screen films like 1959's the sky is calling in 1961's the planet of storms proved extremely popular 1972 saw the release of Taming of the fire a fictionalized account of the life of Sergey kerolov the head of the Soviet space program and it became tradition to show the film every April 12th the anniversary of gagarin's flight into space other popular films inside the Soviet Union included Moscow Cassiopeia and boys in the universe but internationally it was films like Solaris and stalker from one of the greatest directors of all time Andre tarkovsky that gained the most claim all of this paints a strong positive spin on the effects of the Soviet space race but there was also a negative effect directed at religion for those of you who may have missed our episodes looking at Soviet policies towards religion and Faith a very brief summary would be to describe it as not in favor Marxist Dogma saw it as the remnant of an unjust past and as something incompatible with Communism science and progress as such there were massive government-led attacks against organized religion Khrushchev used the success of the space program as a weapon against religion and religious belief Soviet propaganda emphasized cosmonauts who were Godless Communists as storming Heaven Soviet achievements were viewed through a prism of the victory of a materialist and atheist worldview over religion the cosmonauts themselves were extensively used in anti-religious propaganda and campaigns often attributing a comet supposedly made by Gagarin during his flight that quote I see no God up here for those of you familiar even in passing with Soviet propaganda posters you will recognize the Bagan yet poster now we would be remiss if we didn't mention that these space-based anti-religion campaigns didn't last long and although it's difficult to assess how effective they might have been in general it's widely understood that many Soviet citizens didn't see a contradiction between religion and space exploration Khrushchev may have hoped for a knockout blow against the religious but it just wasn't to be by the late 1960s and into the 1970s the enthusiasm of Soviet Society towards space and space related subjects began to fade in 1969 after the near tragic end of the soyuz 5 Mission where Boris volinov almost died during re-entry there were attempts to conceal the near fatal incident despite this details and rumors leaked out causing some embarrassment also in 1969 during a welcoming reception for the returning Cruise of soyuz 4 and 5 at the Kremlin there was an attempted assassination of Landon Brezhnev by a disgruntled army officer who fired on the wrong car killing the driver and wounding several cosmonauts as a result of this incident Soviet leaders never participated in the welcoming ceremonies again removing some attention from the space program this combined with a diminishing number of successes including a failure to go to the Moon as well as the increasing stagnation of the Soviet Union overall turned the once enthusiasm for the Soviet space program into cynicism people began to question if the cosmonauts were even doing anything themselves and if it wasn't just the work of the engineers and the rockets that they were benefiting from there is a story of Gagarin having a meal with a small group of Kom small activists not long after the 1967 fatal crash of soyuz won in which gagarin's friend and colleague Vladimir kamarov was killed at the dinner one of the compsamal members kept interrupting Gagarin saying that all the work of the cosmonauts is being done by Soviet space technology and that being a cosmonaut was an easy way to become a hero of the Soviet Union it was recounted in the story that Gagarin teared up asking and what about kamarov who burned up what do you say about that and then leaving the table incidentally Gagarin himself was the backup Cosmonaut for the study was one Mission if kamarov had not been fit at launch time the Soviet space program continued through the 1970s and the 1980s right up to the collapse of the Soviet Union and perhaps even Beyond depending on how you want to view Sergey krikolov the last Soviet citizen but despite its continuance it never had the same impact as it did in that first decade inward focus on the ills of the Soviet system and a lack of huge successes to show for the Investments being made tarnished the once lustrous jewel in the Soviet Crown despite this it's important to recognize those early Soviet achievements and the impact that they had on the USSR and indeed the world we hope you've enjoyed this episode and to make sure you don't miss our future work please make sure you subscribe to our Channel and have created an entire propaganda campaign centered on the Glorious achievements of the progressive Bell button please consider supporting us on patreon at patreon.com the cold war or through 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2022-11-07