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Possibly the coolest and most spooky Cold War artifact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJAJUJ41PBI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJAJUJ41PBI It's the video

Possibly the coolest and most spooky Cold War artifact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJAJUJ41PBI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJAJUJ41PBI It's the video on board the Glomar Explorer of a burial at sea ceremony of Soviet sailors found in the half of the submarine they managed to bring to the surface. Supposedly this was Top Secret until a copy was given to Yeltsin in 1991 or so.

Udik 7y ago
I don't find it very spooky. Moving though, considering it's a solemn burial of the bodies of enemy soldiers. And if really it was top-secret, it's not even propaganda. Better times than ours. And how cool is the Soviet anthem?
- CalChris 7y ago
  It's a kick ass anthem but I like the Pet Shop Boys Go West better, especially the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNBjMRvOB5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNBjMRvOB5M
  - Udik 7y ago
    It's indeed a great song and video, and it is based on the Soviet anthem :)
  - samstave 7y ago
    I prefer Moskau https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=paiQRSpg4Aw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=paiQRSpg4Aw
  - sien 7y ago
    Apparently the Anthem of the Soviet Union is arguably a reworking of Pachabel's Canon as well: The song was written by Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and the group's lead singer Victor Willis. The melody is based on the State Anthem of the Soviet Union composed by Alexander Alexandrov, which was itself a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_West_(song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_West_(song)
- jacquesm 7y ago
  > enemy For one to determine that soldiers are 'enemy soldiers' would there not have to be a state of declared war?
  - mikeash 7y ago
    That seems a bit too restrictive. I’d hate to tell a Vietnam vet that “Charlie” wasn’t technically the enemy since war was never formally declared. Or tell someone stationed at a base in Afghanistan right now that the people firing mortars into the base aren’t really enemies.
  - adventured 7y ago
    You must always be at declared war with your enemies? And why would it need to be "declared" - which is a subjective premise from nation to nation. Throughout recorded history nations have fought proxy and covert wars against their perceived enemies with no declaration. Ask Iran if they're at war with the US (maybe kinda sorta). Then ask them if the US is an enemy (definitely). The same would go for Iran and Israel. There's no confusion there, you can clearly have enemies without a declared war. The instant prior to the declaration of war the other side wasn't an enemy? Logically it's not a sound concept.
    - jacquesm 7y ago
      I note that the ceremony very carefully avoided using words such as 'enemy' so I don't think it is appropriate to use them in this thread either. The ceremony was about as respectful as it could have been absent other Russian representation.
      - arcticbull 7y ago
        You should always respect your enemy! Failing to do so is a good way to lose a fight.
  - chrisseaton 7y ago
    No? Why do you think that? Ask a Vietnam War veteran, or a Korean War veteran, if they fought any enemy soldiers at any point. War was not declared in those cases either. And these are obviously not soldiers in the first place - they're sailors.
- dogma1138 7y ago
  At least as far as western warfare goes burying enemy soldiers, even with full honors is something that isn't that uncommon; even directly in the aftermath of a battle especially if the enemy showed considerable resistance and heroism.
- qychtkd 7y ago
  I’d say the Soviet anthem is one of the best there is. They missed it so much it was brought back as the Russian national anthem after Yeltsin. Red Army Chorus has some good tracks like it. Very catchy and “patriotic” if you are in line to fight western imperialism.
  - TomMarius 7y ago
    I'm always sad how such a beautiful song had to be destroyed by such evil.
    - coldtea 7y ago
      It wasn't destroyed.
      - TomMarius 7y ago
        Huh? Connection with the Soviet Union and especially the Red Army surely destroys it for most, if not all, people I know. This song is most often described as "beautiful, but turn it fucking off because it reminds me of my dead family" around me. What is it, if not destroyed? Merely playing it in my headphones because of its beauty made me despisable in the eyes of my former classmates. Even I can't stop thinking about all the evil the Soviets did to my family while listening to it.
        coldtea 7y ago
        >* Huh? Connection with the Soviet Union and especially the Red Army surely destroys it for most, if not all, people I know. * Those people are shallow. It's one of the most beloved anthems globally. Go check the comments in renditions of the anthem in YouTube. Nobody cares if it was connected to USSR or not, the same way people can admire Gagarin and not care about the USSR connection. Not to mention that there are worse things to be connected to than USSR -- USSR had several stages, including a more open stage (with many social firsts) in the NEP era, and a more or less conventional and more open post-60s part, it wasn't just stalinism and suppression all the way.
- rossenberg79 7y ago
  > Better times than ours. Not sure why it’s necessary to make a slight against our times? Even Osama Bin Laden was given a proper burial at sea, and he wasn’t even a soldier, he was a damn criminal. We didn’t even use photos of his remains for propaganda.
  - toomanybeersies 7y ago
    Osama Bin Laden was given a burial at sea so that he had no burial site, and photos of his remains weren't released because they could just as easily be used as propaganda against the USA.
snthd 7y ago
Buried in a shipping crate.
lordleft 7y ago
"...As long as men the nations are suspicious of each other instruments of war will be constructed and brave men will die as these men have died in the service of their country. Today we honor these six men there shipmates and all men who give their lives in patriotic service. May the day quickly come when men will beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not rise up against nation - neither shall it be war anymore."
- staticautomatic 7y ago
  Only the dead have seen the end of war.
Waterluvian 7y ago
The speech is so sobering and self-aware. I wish I saw more of this side when I studied the cold war in high school. There was always a bit of, "wow people from the past were so blind and naive."
- lsc 7y ago
  Huh. your experience is really different from mine. To me, the fact that we survived seems like a huge accomplishment; learning about the cold war and how we did not all die violated everything else I learned in history (and, for that matter, in everything I learned about human nature from high school.) I remember the first political news, perhaps, that I really remember mattering (and understanding that it mattered) was the fall of the Berlin wall. I mean, I was like nine, so I didn't fully understand why it mattered, but I understood that it did matter. But, I've always been into history, and I read a lot about it later. Whenever I read about the period I'm overcome with just how quickly humanity developed restraint. If we had any war in the second half of the 20th century that was at all like either of the major wars in the first half of the 20th century, humanity would be no more. If we had leaders of major powers in the second half of the 20th century who were as brutal and stupid as the leaders of the first half of the 20th century, we would not exist. In just a few years, we went from expending all of our power, pouring every last ounce of effort and ingenuity into killing the enemy to the firing of MacAurther. It's amazing, and really life-afferming in a lot of ways. Whatever you think of human nature, the fact that when faced with the actual choice, our leaders hesitated is huge. They resisted. rationality won out, and we continue to exist in this increasingly unlikely world.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

Udik 7y ago

I don't find it very spooky. Moving though, considering it's a solemn burial of the bodies of enemy soldiers. And if really it was top-secret, it's not even propaganda. Better times than ours. And how cool is the Soviet anthem?

CalChris 7y ago
It's a kick ass anthem but I like the Pet Shop Boys Go West better, especially the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNBjMRvOB5M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNBjMRvOB5M
- Udik 7y ago
  It's indeed a great song and video, and it is based on the Soviet anthem :)
- samstave 7y ago
  I prefer Moskau https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=paiQRSpg4Aw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=paiQRSpg4Aw
- sien 7y ago
  Apparently the Anthem of the Soviet Union is arguably a reworking of Pachabel's Canon as well: The song was written by Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and the group's lead singer Victor Willis. The melody is based on the State Anthem of the Soviet Union composed by Alexander Alexandrov, which was itself a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_West_(song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_West_(song)
jacquesm 7y ago
> enemy For one to determine that soldiers are 'enemy soldiers' would there not have to be a state of declared war?
- mikeash 7y ago
  That seems a bit too restrictive. I’d hate to tell a Vietnam vet that “Charlie” wasn’t technically the enemy since war was never formally declared. Or tell someone stationed at a base in Afghanistan right now that the people firing mortars into the base aren’t really enemies.
- adventured 7y ago
  You must always be at declared war with your enemies? And why would it need to be "declared" - which is a subjective premise from nation to nation. Throughout recorded history nations have fought proxy and covert wars against their perceived enemies with no declaration. Ask Iran if they're at war with the US (maybe kinda sorta). Then ask them if the US is an enemy (definitely). The same would go for Iran and Israel. There's no confusion there, you can clearly have enemies without a declared war. The instant prior to the declaration of war the other side wasn't an enemy? Logically it's not a sound concept.
  - jacquesm 7y ago
    I note that the ceremony very carefully avoided using words such as 'enemy' so I don't think it is appropriate to use them in this thread either. The ceremony was about as respectful as it could have been absent other Russian representation.
    - arcticbull 7y ago
      You should always respect your enemy! Failing to do so is a good way to lose a fight.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  No? Why do you think that? Ask a Vietnam War veteran, or a Korean War veteran, if they fought any enemy soldiers at any point. War was not declared in those cases either. And these are obviously not soldiers in the first place - they're sailors.
dogma1138 7y ago
At least as far as western warfare goes burying enemy soldiers, even with full honors is something that isn't that uncommon; even directly in the aftermath of a battle especially if the enemy showed considerable resistance and heroism.
qychtkd 7y ago
I’d say the Soviet anthem is one of the best there is. They missed it so much it was brought back as the Russian national anthem after Yeltsin. Red Army Chorus has some good tracks like it. Very catchy and “patriotic” if you are in line to fight western imperialism.
- TomMarius 7y ago
  I'm always sad how such a beautiful song had to be destroyed by such evil.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    It wasn't destroyed.
    - TomMarius 7y ago
      Huh? Connection with the Soviet Union and especially the Red Army surely destroys it for most, if not all, people I know. This song is most often described as "beautiful, but turn it fucking off because it reminds me of my dead family" around me. What is it, if not destroyed? Merely playing it in my headphones because of its beauty made me despisable in the eyes of my former classmates. Even I can't stop thinking about all the evil the Soviets did to my family while listening to it.
      - coldtea 7y ago
        >* Huh? Connection with the Soviet Union and especially the Red Army surely destroys it for most, if not all, people I know. * Those people are shallow. It's one of the most beloved anthems globally. Go check the comments in renditions of the anthem in YouTube. Nobody cares if it was connected to USSR or not, the same way people can admire Gagarin and not care about the USSR connection. Not to mention that there are worse things to be connected to than USSR -- USSR had several stages, including a more open stage (with many social firsts) in the NEP era, and a more or less conventional and more open post-60s part, it wasn't just stalinism and suppression all the way.
rossenberg79 7y ago
> Better times than ours. Not sure why it’s necessary to make a slight against our times? Even Osama Bin Laden was given a proper burial at sea, and he wasn’t even a soldier, he was a damn criminal. We didn’t even use photos of his remains for propaganda.
- toomanybeersies 7y ago
  Osama Bin Laden was given a burial at sea so that he had no burial site, and photos of his remains weren't released because they could just as easily be used as propaganda against the USA.

snthd 7y ago

Buried in a shipping crate.

lordleft 7y ago

"...As long as men the nations are suspicious of each other instruments of war will be constructed and brave men will die as these men have died in the service of their country. Today we honor these six men there shipmates and all men who give their lives in patriotic service. May the day quickly come when men will beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not rise up against nation - neither shall it be war anymore."

staticautomatic 7y ago
Only the dead have seen the end of war.

Waterluvian 7y ago

The speech is so sobering and self-aware. I wish I saw more of this side when I studied the cold war in high school. There was always a bit of, "wow people from the past were so blind and naive."

lsc 7y ago
Huh. your experience is really different from mine. To me, the fact that we survived seems like a huge accomplishment; learning about the cold war and how we did not all die violated everything else I learned in history (and, for that matter, in everything I learned about human nature from high school.) I remember the first political news, perhaps, that I really remember mattering (and understanding that it mattered) was the fall of the Berlin wall. I mean, I was like nine, so I didn't fully understand why it mattered, but I understood that it did matter. But, I've always been into history, and I read a lot about it later. Whenever I read about the period I'm overcome with just how quickly humanity developed restraint. If we had any war in the second half of the 20th century that was at all like either of the major wars in the first half of the 20th century, humanity would be no more. If we had leaders of major powers in the second half of the 20th century who were as brutal and stupid as the leaders of the first half of the 20th century, we would not exist. In just a few years, we went from expending all of our power, pouring every last ounce of effort and ingenuity into killing the enemy to the firing of MacAurther. It's amazing, and really life-afferming in a lot of ways. Whatever you think of human nature, the fact that when faced with the actual choice, our leaders hesitated is huge. They resisted. rationality won out, and we continue to exist in this increasingly unlikely world.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]