Hello, hello, and welcome back to another article about...HISTORY! But not just any kind of history – one filled with controversies; today, we will be talking about the USSR in the 20th century. Interesting, right? Don't worry, though, I guarantee you this won't be your average, boring History class, but, instead, something a teeny-tiny bit different.

First and foremost, I'll start with something rooted in the present so that, together, we may make a couple of connections with the past. Surely you've heard about the Oscars, the Grammies, the Emmies! Right? C'mon! Well-known celebrities, your very own idols even, have been nominated at least once for these prestigious awards. It is, indeed, a true honour to be one of the nominees, let alone to be one of the winners. Such an experience is the highest validation in the life of any artist. But I derail. Let's not forget what we are here to talk about, namely: Russian history. Well, the two greatest dictators of the century: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( 1870-1924 ) and Iosif Vissarionovici Stalin ( 1878-1953 ), did not appear to be content with ruling an entire nation AND having two incredible cities named after them: Leningrad ( today's Sankt Petersburg/ Saint Petersburg ) and Stalingrad ( today's Volgograd ). No, no, no! They also created two awards which – you guessed it – were also named after them. Indeed! A century ago, an educated, good, and loyal Russian could be awarded such a prize.

The former was awarded for extraordinary accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology, starting from 1925. Interestingly enough, the awarding ceremony took place every year on the 22nd of April, on Lenin's birthday. In 1935, however, it became The Stalin Prize, because of the change in leadership, but the principles on which it was awarded remained the same. So no one could enjoy both prizes at the same time. More often than not, these prizes were awarded to foreign citizens rather than to citizens of the Soviet Union, in the hopes of establishing peace. It is, thus, no wonder that they were also called The Lenin Peace Prize ( on which Lenin's face was engraved ) or The Stalin Peace Prize ( on which there was no engraving ). The latter continued to be awarded until 1954, shortly after the dictator's death.

In my opinion, these prizes, given the period in which they were created, have a promising design, and the strategy itself, to bring foreigners closer to the soviets was really not bad at all. On the contrary! But what about you? What do you think about the prizes I presented? Or about these two state leaders in general? I promise to write more articles on the history of the USSR, but until then, I wish you all a very, very good day!

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editorial: Bianca Constantin

graphic design: Bianca Constantin

translation: Clara Pistol

DP (desktop publishing): Bianca Constantin