ebooks Family Bonds: Free Blacks and Re-enslavement Law in Antebellum Virginia by Ted Maris-Wolf in History

Description

In 1950 the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China signed a Treaty of Friendship; Alliance; and Mutual Assistance to foster cultural and technological cooperation between the Soviet bloc and the PRC. While this treaty was intended as a break with the colonial past; Austin Jersild argues that the alliance ultimately failed because the enduring problem of Russian imperialism led to Chinese frustration with the Soviets.Jersild zeros in on the ground-level experiences of the socialist bloc advisers in China; who were involved in everything from the development of university curricula; the exploration for oil; and railway construction to piano lessons. Their goal was to reproduce a Chinese administrative elite in their own image that could serve as a valuable ally in the Soviet bloc's struggle against the United States. Interestingly; the USSR's allies in Central Europe were as frustrated by the "great power chauvinism" of the Soviet Union as was China. By exposing this aspect of the story; Jersild shows how the alliance; and finally the split; had a true international dimension.