Monday, September 14, 2009

Parallels


Had Soviets on the brain lately.

This is interesting. The photo above is of Ivan Burylov, a bee keeper.

Seeking the appearance of democracy, the Soviet Union held elections, but only one Communist Party candidate appeared on the ballot for each office. Fear of punishment ensured that nearly all Soviet citizens “voted” by taking their ballot and ceremoniously placing it into a ballot box. In 1949, Ivan Burylov, a beekeeper, protested this absurd ritual by writing the word “Comedy” on his so-called secret ballot. Soviet authorities linked the ballot to Burylov and sentenced him to eight years in camps for this crime.

1 comment:

BillyHW said...

But Hilary, didn't your high school religion teacher tell you that Communism was a lot like early Christianity?