We’re starting this volume of the Regimes Museum Journal with a special issue: a student feature, with contributions from two freshmen from Chapman University. These two young scholars investigated issues relating to the Stalin era: one discusses the doctrine of Socialist Realism and its impact on composer Nikolai Myaskovsky’s works, while the other explores parallels between McCarthyism and repressive techniques used in the USSR. Also included in this issue is a special edition of 'Look Into the Archive' curated by our resident historian, Ralph Pickard. This fascinating article illustrates medals awarded to Soviet military personnel during the Cold War, and the information one can glean about these individuals’ lives and careers based on these medals.