The Cold War In Deborah Cadbury's The Space Race

From 1947 to 1991, the democratic, capitalist United States of America and the communist Soviet Union engaged in conflict for influence over the world. This conflict, also known as the Cold War, featured both nations attempting to prove their technological superiority over the other. The Space Race was a specific competition within the Cold War where the rivalling nations asserted their dominance over the other through a set of major aeronautic developments. Deborah Cadbury’s novel, Space Race: The Epic Battle Between America and the Soviet Union for Dominion of Space provides a collection of primary and secondary sources about the race and the political state of the time period. The Soviets had many early successes in the Race, the two most

On December 31, 1961, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the lead Soviet rocket engineer, published and article in Pravda under the pseudonym Professor K. Sergeev. The article, titled “The Soviet Land has Become the Gateway to the Universe”, provides a detailed description of the Soviets’ technological advancements in 1961. Following a brief introduction, Korolev argues that the strengths of Communism are the driving factor behind the Soviet Union’s swift advancements, stating “The bright dawn of Communism is lighting the way for the people of the Socialist world...Future generations of Soviet people will live under Communism” (Sergeev). By stating this before describing the year’s triumphs, Korolev enforces the notion that Communism is the base from which all successes can be built upon. After describing the advancement of Soviet technology, Korolev reinforces a similar message to the previous, writing “The attentiveness and daily concern of our Communist Party, the inspirational, selfless work of the Soviet people...are the great strengths which have made possible the unparalleled flight of our Soviet cosmonauts” (Sergeev). These bold claims, as well as the attempt to convey that Communism had allowed for these triumphs proves that high-ranking Soviet officials actively attempted to display the advantages of their ideology. Additionally, the use of a

Due to the large size and exaggerated red highlights of the hand, the viewers eyes are first drawn to it. Following further examination of the hand, the viewer is able to notice the worn down features of the hand, which is intended to represent the hard work of the proletariat. The spacecraft, which appears to be launching from the hand, is also red and has ‘CCCP’, the abbreviation of the Soviet Union in Russia, written on its side. Because the rocket appears to be launching from the hand, the poster attempts to portray the notion that the successes in the Space Race are a direct result of the hard work of the working class, and that the compliance of the people drives technological success; the caption of the image also attempts to prove this message as at addresses Soviet men directly, telling them that they should be proud of themselves for aiding in the Space Race, even if they had no direct connection to the developments. This idea of the infinite potential given to the proletariat of the Soviet Union runs parallel to a fundamental concept of the socialist-realism and a message which the Soviet government attempted to amplify during the Space Race: anyone is capable to achieving great things under a communist