Yuri Knorozov

Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570 is centered around three Spaniards and their approach to Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula. Clendinnen weaves a tale of forced conversion, colonial power struggles, and mass torture, but she contextualized these horrors in a way that the rationales of the Spaniards do not get lost. However, the Maya side of the story gets lost with only one Maya figure, the resistance leader Nachi Cocom, emerges as an individual. The Catholic religion and its doctrine proved to be the largest shaping force on the three primary figures featured in the Ambivalent Conquests. Franciscan Diego de Landa, mayor Diego Quijada, and bishop Francisco de Toral and of the three Landa stands above the others, an overwhelming and terrifying figure of religious converting. He would pursue even the smallest offenses or sin to their end no matter what the price, and would challenge any worldly or heavenly authorities to make his case. From the start the Spaniards believed it in their destiny to master the Indians that they did not need to hold a human converse with them (Clendinnen 20). The Spaniards’ were superior in warfare techniques from the use of military equipment, Spanish life, and superb discipline under fire. They also had the psychological superiority with the use of horses and great dogs trained for war (33). Contrary to the Maya, the Spaniards fought to kill not to take hostage. The governing of the land started out resembling the…

Whether by choice or to circumstance, Soviet Russia’s Cold War generations were born to a nuclear bomb, raised under the constant threat of war, and seemed doomed to die of the stagnation caused by their own government, until they were emancipated by a life force that was as formidable as unlikely a savior. This paper discusses the role of the Beatles and their music in the cultural, political and social unification of successive generations of Cold War Russians, and how contemporary Russia has…

Worth-watching historical movie If anybody thinks historical films are all about boring and wasting time, this movie would change their mind. Bridge of Spy was based on a true story of U-2 incident in 1960. A Soviet spy, Rudoft Abel, was arrested, and James Donovan, an insurrance lawyer at that time, was chosen to be his defender. Francis Gary Power, a pilot of US army, was arrested by the Soviet Union after failing his misson. In the meantime, the young Frederic Pryor, an American college…

On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first ever satellite into space called Sputnik 1. One month later on November 3, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik II while also carrying a dog named Laika which was also the first animal to go up in space. At this point into the space race the Soviet Union were way ahead of the United States. Which also brought more competition and tension into the space race. The first man to travel to space was Yuri Gagarin. History was made on April 12,…

Luna 2 wasn’t just launched into space, it was launched to the moon, it was not only the first probe to reach the moon it was the first probe to also hit the moon. This milestone quickly debunked the myths of it being impossible to reach the moon. Soon after reaching the moon the Soviets stepped up their game and put a man in space. After a long few months of experimenting with monkeys in space they finally did what was thought to be the impossible. In April of 1961 the soviet cosmonaut Yuri…

Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate was delivered during a transformative time for both Soviet leadership and the American approach to foreign relations. Reagan’s initial presidential stance advocated for a firm, forceful presence meant to deter Soviet advances and aggression against American freedom. Weapons upsurge and military expenditure rose drastically during Reagan’s early years, in efforts to protect Americans in the event of a nuclear altercation with the Soviets. However,…

Its purpose was to detect cosmic rays while in orbit; unfortunately the satellite failed to ignite on its fourth stage in its launch process and never made it to orbit. During the time of Explorer 2, the Soviets were also at work with Luna 2, this probe became the first to hit the moon but after 33.5 hours into flight the signals were dead. The US then created another satellite, the fourth satellite by America, and the first satellite to be solar-powered. They created the Vanguard 1, the first…

other accomplishments. “The road to the stars is open.” (Sergei Korolev, 1957) Matter in fact the USSR feared that if America learned of his identity he would be assassinated, so until his death very few knew his name, fewer knew his face; he was truly the “Invisible Man”. Though over the years he began to suffer from health problems from the years of stress. Before his death, he undertook his biggest challenge; developing the N1 rocket. Unfortunately he was pressured heavily to convert its…

news as well, chief engineer of the Soviet space program, Sergey Korolyov, had died in January of 1966. This was huge since it would mess with the morale of every other worker of the Soviet space program. Of course both sides faced a multiple number of difficulties and challenges and it would definitely effect with the outcome of this “competition”. The U.S.A against the USSR had worked its way to become a everyday and household debate between people all over the world, it was an event that…

Union launching Sputnik, the United States may have never feel threatened to "catch up" to the Russians and therefore there would have never been satellites or astronauts launched into space or to the moon. The United States decided to launch their own satellite, Explorer 1. It was launched on January 31st, 1958. Explorer 1 was developed by the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Soviets and the Americans would go back and forth between…