Soviet Generation Research Articles

Oral History of the "Temple of Science": A Collection of Interviews and Reminiscences of the Staff of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences

This article analyses You are going to the temple of science… (Moscow, 2021), a collection of interviews and memoirs by employees of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The collection was compiled by V. N. Kruglov, V. V. Tikhonov, and Yu. S. Filina. The author considers the heuristic potential of these texts and the peculiarities of their use in historiographical studies. The interviews are important for the historian of science for two reasons: they provide them with important details of the everyday academic life of the institution (the so-called “historiographical life”), which are difficult or impossible to obtain from other types of documents, and they help to clarify the details found in the office records. The interviews and memoirs of historians in this collection allow the historiographer to get acquainted with the process of a young Soviet historian’s entry into a scholarly corporation, to characterise the peculiarities of relations between members of the latter, to show the nature of production processes in Soviet humanities research institutes, to report on the peculiarities of the management of scientific institutes, etc. It is pointed out that the information in these texts should be treated with caution, that they are characterised by a certain subjectivity and reflect the mentality of researchers belonging to the late Soviet generation.

Пушкинский юбилей 1937 г. в судьбе фронтового поколения

This article is focused on to the participation of the young Soviet generation in the Pushkin Jubilee. In the judgments of teenagers, the poet was depicted as a hero and an absolute winner over the forces of reactionary forces of his time. Moreover, during the celebration, he was awarded the gift of an endless and happy life in unity with his people, whereas his persecutors and murderer were sentenced to eternal torment and shame. Transcendent motifs also defined the teenage reinterpretation of Pushkin as the returned living god of literature. The Pushkin cult became an important source of faith in victory and of the steadfastness of young Red Army soldiers in the war.

‘A New Prague Spring, but from Below?’ Socialist Dissent in the Last Soviet Generation and the Emergence of Solidarność in Poland, 1980–1981

This article examines the Young Socialists, a left-wing dissident circle of intellectuals from the last Soviet generation, and focuses on their contacts with Solidarność during 1980–81. These dissidents, located in Moscow and Minsk, interpreted the Polish strikes as the possible beginnings of a wider move to socialist reform in the Eastern Bloc. Using oral history and samizdat materials from the Russian and Polish archives and the former archives of Radio Free Europe, the article demonstrates how the Young Socialists’ interactions with Poland developed in the wider context of the transnational history of dissent in the Eastern Bloc at the turn of the 1980s. It argues that a combination of internationalist values and bloc-wide dissident solidarities caused socialist dissidents to view nationalist movements on the Soviet periphery and Eastern Europe as potential drivers of socialist reform on the eve of Perestroika.

Comprehension and understanding of the book “It was forever until it was over. The last Soviet generation”

The article discusses the book by A. Yurchak, in which he offers a scientific explanation of the causes and process of the completion of socialist culture and the death of the USSR. The author analyzes the central concept used in this explanation — “authoritative discourse”, showing that the latter is interpreted in two ways: within the framework of the semiotic approach outlined by John Austin, and the “dispositive” approach developed by Michel Foucault. Based on the analysis of the case from the book, the author offers his own reconstruction and concepts (“schemas”, “life world”, “sociality”) that can complement Yurchak’s research. A comparison of the latter’s explanation and the explanation of sociologist Leonid Ionin, carried out during the period of perestroika and reforms, made it possible to clarify Yurchak’s approach and methodology.

Presence of Queer Sexuality in Memories of Latvian Non-Homosexuals of the Soviet Era

The research aims to analyse oral history interviews of heterosexual people about their experience with homosexuals during the Soviet times. Eight interviews were selected for the analysis based on two criteria – the research participant belongs to the Soviet generation, and he/she has personally known homosexuals during the Soviet times. The paper presents interviews as a primary source, illuminating several challenges with obtaining the interviews and their interpretation. In addition, common narratives of communicative memories’ evidence and their influence on current views of homosexuals in Latvian society, including its historical metanarrative and historical record, which relies on the nation’s victimisation during the Soviet times, are analysed.

Heroism through the prism of reflections on the country and its future: assessments by generations

The phenomenon of heroism is multifaceted, and it can be viewed as representations of collective memory or through the lens of attitudes towards the country and its future. The theoretical foundation of this research is based, on the one hand, on a philosophical analysis of the semantic meanings of the concepts «hero» and «heroism», including variations in different cultures, and it defines the constants of the national semantics of heroism. On the other hand, it relies on the sociological theory of N. K. Mikhailovsky and the theory of social action, particularly the affective (borderline) theory. It also draws on the developments in creative and relational theories (M. Emirbayer, A. Mische), and relational sociology by P. Donati. The empirical part of the study involves the analysis of data from quota-based online surveys with a random sample, conducted by a group of sociologists and philosophers from the Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS, Tyumen State University, and Vernadsky Crimean Federal University at the beginning of 2023. The survey included 1350 respondents from eight federal districts of the Russian Federation. The research results showed that heroes and heroism remain predominantly associated with the Soviet past, when the names, faces, and destinies of heroes were known from childhood, and the entire era was considered heroic. Heroism was ideologically supported and socially constructed during that time. In the present, heroes are usually depersonalised and associated with a group, such as the military or professionals. Post-Soviet generations had difficulty naming a hero on their own, as for a long time there was no social demand for this type of personality and behaviour. Regarding contemporary Russia, half of the respondents expressed positive feelings of pride, hope, and love, while some felt concern, disappointment, and shame. Furthermore, the clustering of responses indicated that feelings towards Russia are variable and not exclusively dichotomous. Respondents could simultaneously express love, disappointment, and hope. As for the future, respondents were much clearer about their own personal future (70% or more) than about the future of the country. The Soviet generation was more optimistic about the country’s future compared to the post-Soviet generations. This, among other signs, may suggest that post-Soviet generations found themselves in a situation where there was not only no demand for heroic personalities but also the state did not articulate a clear vision of the country’s future. Therefore, they have formed their own view of their personal future, which is seen more clearly and independently of the state’s goalsetting, while heroes and heroism are primarily associated with the Soviet past.

M. Gorky’s correspondence with Kazan children

This article honors M. Gorky, the renowned proletarian writer, and considers his correspondence with Kazan schoolchildren and students of the Kazan Technical Plant in the 1920s and 1930s. So far, these letters have received little attention from researchers, but their value for raising young Soviet citizens in line with the new trends of Soviet education and state ideology is undeniable. Here, M. Gorky’s epistolary heritage and journalistic statements are analyzed, and 12 letters written to him by Kazan children are studied. The letters are available in the A.M. Gorky Archive of the A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (AG IWL RAS) and introduced for the first time into the scholarly discourse. The analysis shows that M. Gorky was always considerate and thoughtful towards his young addressees so that he became a mentor to the younger Soviet generation. The survey reveals that the children’s letters have a rich informational and source potential. They provide a better insight into the psychological and social image of the Soviet people in the 1920s and 1930s. The results obtained are relevant to future studies on the epistolary and journalistic heritage of M. Gorky and add considerably to our understanding of the historical and literary process of that epoch. The epistolary materials involved in the study should be of interest to anyone curious about the Soviet period.

Methodological aspects of generational differentiation: on the example of determining nutritional attitudes of Russian millennials

The article is devoted to the description of the original method of generational differences analysis. This method is called the maximum differentiation scheme. With the help of the scheme we investigated unique trends in the millennial generation (born 1982–2000), which were observed neither in the entire sample nor in the other two generations for three types of data collection methods (cross-sectional analysis, analysis of temporal changes and long-term analysis). To satisfy the mechanics of the scheme, in addition to millennials, the Soviet generation (born 1947–1967) and the reform generation (born 1968–1981) were used for systematic comparisons. The research was conducted using data from the Russian Target Group Index. Thanks to the scheme, the author showed that only the statement “I prefer vegetarian food” can be considered a truly characteristic attitude of millennials. However, the scheme has two important limitations: 1) it is not sensitive to trends that are not unique to a particular generation; 2) the scheme cannot be used as the only type of analysis and needs additional methodological procedures. Taking into account these limitations, the maximum differentiation scheme can be useful both as a unique type of preliminary analysis of generational differences, and included in a broader approach to working with age and period effects.

Religious Identity and Family Practices in a Post-Communist Society: The Case of Division of Labor in Childcare and Housework

This paper aims to analyze the way religious identification and practices influence family practices in the division of labor in childcare and housework in contemporary Lithuania. The analysis is based on a quantitative survey (n = 3000) representing the last Soviet generation born between 1970 and 1985. The sample was distributed across five groups according to religious identification and practices—devout religionists, somewhat devout religionists, traditional religionists, cultural religionists and secularists. Statistical data analysis showed devout religionists and secularists were applying equal childcare and housework division practices. Meanwhile, the other three groups were practicing more traditional types of childcare and housework division practice where the main role is played by women. The results also show that religious identity is not relevant in explaining the way couples share housework duties. The results show that religious identification may lead to diverse family practices regarding childcare and housework divisions: reflexive and practiced (non)religious identification leads to more egalitarian family practices.

Ramaz Kobidze – “From Prison to Prison”- about the "Stalinist Cohort"

Documentary prose with a direct description of the author's contemporaneous epoch-making problems, historical-political events or the development of public thought is always the subject of the reader's interest. Although for works of the documentary genre, to some extent, the subjectivism of the narrator is not foreign, at least its main dignity is the real beginnings.The book of memoirs "From Prison to Prison" by Ramaz Kobidze, one of the victims of the "Stalinist cohort" is very interesting.The author of the book pays special attention to the necessity of documentary prose before recollection. He considered it obligatory not only for writers, but also for state figures, to keep the last few years for the production of documentary-type works, namely memoirs. In his view, if a statesman did not leave a documentary-type work to his descendants, it would always be a cause of unrest, strife, and sometimes even civil war.From the title, a very interesting documentary based on Ramaz Kobidze's "From Prison to Prison" memoirs prepares the reader to get acquainted with and understand the work of the "Stalinist cohort", the victim of which was the author of the work as a member of the "Secret Anti-Soviet Youth Organization".In addition to the specific facts of political persecution in the Book of Memoirs, which not infrequently took place not only in the life of the writer, but also in the lives of his friends and relatives, they also provide you with inspiring images of cruelty and disorder typical of the Stalinist regime.Ramaz Kobidze's book of memoirs "From Prison to Prison" is an extremely interesting source for studying not a single important event of Soviet existence. It contains a number of cases of ideological pressure typical of the Stalinist regime, which zombified a large part of the intellectual community at the time, made them worthy representatives of the "Stalinist cohort." And they destroyed a large part of the Georgian intelligentsia, but the "Soviet generation intelligentsia" was trained, raised and handed over the future of the country.

“The New Man” On-Demand: A Student in Lithuanian Schools of the Late Soviet Years (1964–1988)

This article presents a socio-historical study that combines an analysis of the theoretical model of the “new man” in the late Soviet period (1964–1988) with an empirical study of personal experiences of people who were students at schools in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) during this period. The aim is to analyze how the teaching and learning process were organized during the late Soviet period in LSSR schools, how it was understood by the participants of this study, and what were the possible differences in the experiences of schoolchildren. Also, it is equally important to determine which of the schoolchildren’s experiences in this period could be qualified as “unifying experiences” that formed the mentality of the late Soviet period generation. These experiences are compared with the common Soviet vision of the “new man” education, which was also changing during the late Soviet period. While searching for the answer to how much of the theoretical “new man” model was adopted by this last Soviet generation in LSSR, we use a post-revisionist approach and focus on the narrative of everyday history – what it meant to be schoolchildren in Soviet schools. The research revealed that the formal institutionalization of collective life for schoolchildren through Pioneer or Komsomol organizations was ineffective in creating a collective community feeling between the young generation. During the late Soviet period in LSSR schools there were four main disciplinary practices: formal notices by writing or by word, unsanctioned physical punishments, preventive disciplinary practices, and informal shaming. The last informal disciplinary practice was considered by schoolchildren in todays perspective as the most effective means of discipline at schools. These practices reflected the model of monitoring each other in the adult Soviet society and formed the horizontal control system involving students, their parents, and teachers. The research revealed a preliminary informal social stratification of children in LSSR schools during the late Soviet period. It was not related to the vision of “the new man” education but encouraged an already existing division within the LSSR society. This was a complete departure from the ethical-moral visions of educating “the new man” in schools, which were based on the demolition of the established class division, enabling this “new man” to create a welfare of socialist society by their own hard work and heroic achievements.

Young and socialist at Moscow State University: Dissident subjectivities in the last Soviet generation

This article explores the everyday experiences of a group of students from Moscow State University’s history department who formed a dissident circle the year after their graduation. Later known as the Young Socialists following international reporting on their arrests in 1982, these future dissidents formed close bonds of friendship while living together in a dorm room. Informed by oral history, this study examines these young intellectuals as a window onto the sources for politically engaged subjectivities in the 1970s. It explores the impact of historical studies and Komsomol-led student culture while emphasizing the influence of Latin America as a field of study and source of political engagement, which fueled anti-capitalist discourses countering those of the imaginary West. This article introduces a new perspective on the last Soviet generation that shifts focus onto its committed socialists and dissidents.

ARCHAEOLOGIST S. G. MATVEEV: NOTES TO THE BIOGRAPHY

The article contains materials for the biography of the archaeologist Sergey Matveev, who in 1926 led the first Soviet archaeological expedition invited to the Votsk Autonomous region on the initiative of The scientific society for the study of the Votsk region. In addition to S. G. Matveev, the expedition was attended by A. P. Smirnov, a post-graduate student of the Institute of archeology and art studies, for whom the Udmurt theme will later become one of the key ones in scientific research. His work has been repeatedly analyzed in the archaeological literature. Unfortunately, biographical information about S. G. Matveev is very sparse: the dates of his life are unknown, and information about his place of work is contradictory. In various sources, Russian archival and museum collections managed to collect as yet little information about the scientist. They need to be systematized in order to get a first approximation of the personality of the archaeologist, who is the author of two scientific research programs on the archaeological study of the territory of Udmurtia. The first of them was set out in a letter to the Votsk regional Executive Committee during the discussion of plans for the work of metropolitan archaeologists in the region in 1926, the second a year later in 1927 when discussing research for subsequent years. Biographical information about S. G. Matveev is of interest for understanding the development of Udmurt archeology. It is significant in the context of the formation of the first Soviet generation of Russian archaeologists, including the fact that S. G. Matveev was a student of the outstanding Russian archaeologist V. A. Gorodtsov.

Electricity within: Islam, pre-Islamic traditions and secular forms of belief in contemporary Kyrgyz cinema

ABSTRACT Although post-Soviet Central Asian societies self-identify as Muslim, spiritual identity is a highly contested subject in the region and one influenced by Russian imperialism and Soviet atheist ideology. In Kyrgyzstan, a transnational Islamic movement, the Tablighi Jama’at Network (TJN) calling for a purification of Islamic practices, competes not only with the practitioners of ‘Soviet traditional Islam’ deeply rooted in Kyrgyz ethnic customs and traditional culture, but also with the proponents of the pre-Islamic beliefs of Tengriism, all against the background of deeply-ingrained Soviet notions of modernity. On the basis of a close analysis of two Kyrygz films, Ernest Abdyzhaparov’s Saratan. Village Authorities (2004) and Aktan Arym Kubat’s Centaur (2017), this article examines negotiations of spiritual identity in contemporary Kyrgyz cinema at the intersection of global and local Islam, pre-Islamic traditions, and Soviet-imparted spiritual secularism as a complex process navigated by the Soviet generation of filmmakers who are apprehensive of Islamic global movements and emerging dominant religious narratives as an ‘alien’ ideology aiming to suppress Central Asians’ cultural diversity and authenticity. Responding to Russo-Soviet ideological imperialism and Islamic fundamentalism, these artists negotiate their culture’s multiplicity and ambivalence while drawing on regional diversity and nomadic roots.

Древняя история и новая публицистика: о поисках нарратива в Советской историографии сталинского времени

The article discusses the features of the genesis and functioning of a special type of historical narrative in Soviet scholarship, which gained particular strength in the 1930s and gradually exhausted by the late 1940s. For convenience of characterization, the author focuses on Soviet works about ancient history and analyzes the main attitudes of their authors (“old” Marxists, scholars who coverted to Marxism, and the Soviet generation of historians), and the reasons and features of their appeal to the genre of historical and journalistic narratives about the past eras. This type of narrative is therefore associated with the formation and flowering of the Stalinist regime. The changes of the 1930s are all the more remarkable as we can compare the style of historians who wrote before and after this time. Using the examples of A. Tyumenev or B. Bogaevsky, the reader can see how respectful and loyal attitude to foreign scholarship was replaced by loud criticism of the limitations of “bourgeois” historians, in whose works Soviet historians certainly found features of “reactionary”. On the example of the books by N.I. Nedelsky and A.V. Mishulin, the author shows how historians who did not engage in scholarship before the revolution took the same path. In conclusion, the author gives the general characteristics of the genre, as well as an explanation of why it was doomed to gradual self-exhaustion, not only because it depended on external (political) but also because it was influenced by internal reasons.

Карьерные стратегии женщин-инженеров на предприятиях ракетно-космической отрасли: цели и возможности реализации

Статья посвящена исследованию восприятия карьеры работницами предприятий ракетно-космической отрасли «советского» и «постсоветского» поколений. Основная цель исследования — описать карьерные стратегии женщин-инженеров и их элементы: карьерные цели, шаги к их достижению, оценку достижений. Эмпирическую базу исследования составляют 33 полуструктурированных глубинных интервью с женщинами-инженерами: специалистами «советского» поколения и теми, кто начал свой трудовой путь после распада СССР. Проведенный анализ показал, что для старшего поколения женщин характерно восприятие карьеры исходя из понимания коллективных целей и своей личной роли в общем деле. Карьера для них воспринимается как успешный результат коллективных достижений. Для молодых инженеров характерны целенаправленные действия для повышения профессионализма и административного роста: карьера воспринимается ими через личностные достижения. В то же время представители обоих поколений считают, что в РКО существуют различные «неформальные» барьеры для женщин, и они проявляются сильнее для сотрудниц, мотивированных на должностное продвижение. Благодарность. Автор выражает благодарность, своему научному руководителю к. соц. наук, доценту НИУ ВШЭ Савинской Ольге Борисовне за ценные советы и комментарии в процессе подготовки статьи. Автор также благодарит всех респонденток, принявших участие в исследовании.

THE DIFFERENCE IN WORK ETHIC AND PERSONALITY BETWEEN SOVIET AND INDEPENDENCE GENERATIONS IN UZBEKISTAN DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD

The purpose of this study is to compare the difference in work ethic and personality between the soviet and independence generations in Uzbekistan during the transition period. For the research purposes employees were divided into two groups of generations. The first group was the, so called “USSR generation” or “Soviet generation” or “elder generation”, people who were born before 1984, raised, educated, and worked during the post Soviet Union. The second group was the, so called “Independence generation” or “young generation”, people who were born after 1984, raised, educated, and working after the collapse of the USSR and the Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan in September 1991. The research population consists of 240 employees working in the public and private sector of Uzbekistan. Two generations have answered the questionnaire about work ethic, personality and the demographic valuables. The research results were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 statistical program. Frequency analysis, descriptive statistics analysis, normality test, Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis, Spearman's rank correlation analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher r-to-z transformation were used during the data analysis. The results of the research study revealed there is no statistically significant difference in any of four components of Work Ethic (hard work, non-leisure, independence and asceticism) between generations. However, the results showed that Extraversion and Openness is significantly higher in the younger generation than in the older generation group.

THE REGIONAL ASPECT OF THE STUDY OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY IN THE 1950-1990S AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM: REPRESENTATIVENESS AND UNIQUENESS OF THE UPPER VOLGA REGIONS OF THE LATE USSR

The article raises the question of opportunities, prospects and directions in studying the regional aspect of the problem of transformation of Russian society in the 1950-1990s and the evolution of the economic system in the late USSR. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is connected with the ideas of Mikhail Beznin and Tat’yana Dimoni on the formation of state capitalism in the late USSR; Alexei Yurchak’s, on the last Soviet generation. It is argued that the Upper Volga region (Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Kalinin, Yaroslavl) of the late USSR as an object of historical research should be analysed simultaneously from two angles. On the one hand, it is indicated that these regions are suffi ciently typical and representative of the study of the late USSR in the political and socio-economic spheres. On the other hand, the uniqueness of the Upper Volga cluster of regions in terms of socio-cultural and mental characteristics, as well as geographical location, is emphasised. Particular attention is paid to the spatial localisation of the object of study. The role of the Upper Volga regions as large industrial and scientifi c-technical centres of Union-republican signifi cance, their importance in the militaryindustrial complex and the defence system of the USSR are examined. The formation of the infl uential layer of the political, economic and scientifi c-technical elite in the studied regions is noted. The unique characteristics of the status of the Upper Volga regions as centres of Russian statehood and national, cultural identity (the Golden Ring of Russia tourist route), their geographical proximity to Moscow are analysed.

Female engineers in Russia’s rocket-space industry

This article examines the career types for women in the high-tech sectors of the Russian economy – based on the example of the rocket-space industry – and why women choose to pursue an engineering-technical education, and subsequently a career in the rocket-space industry. The theoretical framework for the study consists of the works of foreign and Russian authors devoted to studying the concept and types of career, as well as the employment of women in engineering trades. The empirical base consists of 33 semi-structured interviews with female engineers, including professionals from the “Soviet” generation and those who started their career after the USSR’s collapse. A hypothesis was put forward that women from the Soviet generation considered “rocket-space industry engineer” to be one of the more demanded professions, its appeal being attributed to space’s “romantic” flare, to one’s desire to partake in something of national importance, while the current generation of engineers is more focused on pragmatic aspects, such as the prestige and high demand associated with an engineering education, the opportunity to work at a government enterprise which provides a set of social benefits. The study shows that this assumption was only partially correct. Among the reasons for why the Soviet generation of female engineers chose the profession, the most prominent were a genuine interest in space, the “romanticism” associated with the trade, the opportunity to partake in activity which benefits the country, and, finally, the “dynasty” aspect, which in a number of cases turned out to outweigh the desires of the respondent. Among the post-Soviet generation of engineers, the defining factor for choosing the profession was one’s aptitude for precise science, the opportunity to receive a higher education in engineering, the trade being in demand on the labor market, while the “dynasty” factor mostly turned out to be an incidental aspect. In our time women mostly take into account their own preferences when it comes to choosing an education path, and subsequently a field of activity. Meanwhile, as was the case with the elder generation, a company’s history played a rather significant role when it came to them choosing a place of employment. The most frequently chosen career type for both the elder and younger generations of engineers turned out to be the “qualification” type. Meanwhile a combination of “qualification” and “scientific research” career types also turned out to be rather popular, while the combination of “qualification” and “official” types turned out to be less prevalent among those employed at rocket-space industry enterprises. Such career types as “monetary” and “executive” proved to be uncharacteristic for the respondents.

Generation and gender factors of the structure of value orientations

A great interest in the study of the value orientations of a person is explained by their decisive role in explaining human behavior. Previous studies have shown that demographic factors influence people's value system. Over the past 20 years, several mass surveys have been conducted with wide geography. Their results showed that in the world there are processes of transformation in the structure of cultural values of different communities of people. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of generation and gender factors on value orientations. The study was based on Schwartz's theoretical model of cultural values. The survey was attended by 384 residents of Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk region (Russia). To collect empirical data, Schwartz's questionnaire in Russian was used. The study found that representatives of the Soviet generation are more oriented towards conservative values, and representatives of the post-Soviet generation more adhere to values reflecting their openness to experience. In this study, men differed from women in a greater commitment to the values of autonomy and power. Considering the values of generations in the context of the gender of respondents, it is found that hedonistic values and the desire for stimulation and power are represented by a U-shaped curve in men and an inverted U-shaped curve in women. This allows us to conclude that in Russia, conditions of economic stabilization lead to increased openness to experience and dominance among men. For women, these conditions make the desire for dominance and high social status less significant.