The Cow & The Third Son by Platonov

Show Notes: This week, Matt and Cameron dive into metaphors for communism and explorations of grief in “The Cow” and “The Third Son” by Andrei Platonov. Coming of age during the Russian Civil War, Platonov became an official member of the Communist Party in 1920—though he quickly became critical of the party, especially as it began to unveil its plans for industrialization in the New Economic Policy, and was soon expelled. These conflicting feelings are well-represented in his very strange works so get some snacks, be nice to your cow, and tune in! Major themes: Animals As People, Naturalistic Communism, Denouncements. 01:55 - As much as it paints me to admit it, this may not actually be true. 12:54 - I meant to say that it fetched a higher price when it was younger. 24:10 - Here’s a handy little frame of reference for how much 100 rubles translates to in real money over the years. Our links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠All links⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠PATREON⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠ Socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ The music used in this episode was “soviet march,” by Toasted Tomatoes. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.