The ‘Armed Thaw’: Cultural War under Peaceful Coexistence A Comparative Study between the 1950s and Today

Abstract

This article proposes a comparative study of the Soviet Thaw, initiated by Nikita Khrushchev after the 20th Congress of the Party, and contemporary Russia, with a special emphasis on the international relations between Russia and the United States. Attempts have been made to draw some parallels between the Khrushchev’s Thaw and President Putin’s parade diplomacy.  This paper provides a detailed analysis of parade diplomacy and neo-Stalinist tendencies hovering over the country today. It also dwells upon the role of the carnival within Russian propaganda, shedding a new light on the Kremlin’s actual strategy.