Soviet Period Research Articles

Non-political propaganda directions of the Stalingrad (Volgograd) regional branch of the All-Union Society "Znanie" (1948-1980)

The object of the study is the non-political propaganda of the Volgograd (Stalingrad) branch of the All-Union Society "Znanie" (Knowledge) during the Soviet period of the organization's existence (1948 - to the end of the 1980s). The subject of the study was such areas of work of the regional branch of the society "Knowledge" as propaganda in the field of education, pedagogy, disease control, healthy lifestyle. The source base for this study was archival documents of the Center for Documentation of the Modern History of the Volgograd region (CDNIVO), namely, minutes of meetings of the organizing committee of the regional branch, annual reports on the main activities of the regional branch, minutes of the work of various sections within the department, minutes of the meeting of the Presidium of the Board of the regional branch, minutes of meetings of the Plenum of the Board of the regional branch, lecture plans, etc. These documents are of particular value, since today they are the only sources that cover the work of the Volgograd branch of the All-Union Society "Znanie". The principles of historicism, subjectivism, and system analysis of regional archival sources of the Center for Documentation of the Modern History of the Volgograd Region were applied in the methodology of the work. The novelty lies in the fact that for the first time an analysis of the work of the regional office is being carried out, especially since the narrower and non-core areas of work of the Znanie society are affected. The results of the study allow us to conclude that the Volgograd regional branch of the Znanie Society has implemented quite important tasks in matters of education, disease prevention, organization of cultural leisure for city residents, for this the society used various methods of work: parent lectures, radio lectures, national universities, meeting evenings, printing articles in periodicals, etc. Attention to the sections of pedagogy and psychology, medical knowledge, literature and art increased. The audience coverage of the above sections also grew, thousands of residents of the city passively or actively participated in the life of these sections.

Tbilisi, Baku, and Yerevan: Neoclassicism and Imperial Signification in the Caucasus

Contrary to urban histories of the Caucasus that have tended to take an individual capital city and chart urban development from the Persian imprint and the Russian imperial legacy to the Soviet reconstruction, this article takes a comparative look at three national capitals, Baku, Yerevan, and Tbilisi, in order to argue for their similarities as well as their distinctness. It puts forth that the markers of the “national monumentality” and “capitality” of these three cities were set in place in the period of Russian imperial rule and that the central cores of Yerevan, Baku, and Tbilisi remained relatively unchanged into the Soviet era. This argument stresses that the impact of both the historiography of the Soviet urban revolution and the nationalizing historiography that continues to idolize genius figures like Armenian–Soviet architect Alexandr Tamanyan has led to an under-appreciation of the many imperial traces remaining in the Soviet-era cities. The article proceeds by using the architectural evidence, alongside travel accounts authored by those very familiar with imperial urban settings that describe Baku, Tbilisi, and Yerevan in some detail in these periods, to shed light on the changing dynamics of these locations (or lack thereof) into the Soviet era. Imperial travelers are supplemented by literary sources, as well as a spotlight on the example of Tamanyan and his centrality to movements like the World of Art group of neoclassicist architects in St. Petersburg. It is argued that it was neoclassicism that united the urban approaches in Baku, Tbilisi, and Yerevan under the Russian and Soviet periods of rule and that this violent rupture from the Persianate past continues to dominate these cities today.

Комизм в фотографии и графике Литвы 1970–1980-х

The article analyses the material of a series of comic photography exhibitions held from 1973 to 1981 in Vilnius. The author of the article considers the phenomenon of the interaction between Lithuanian photography and caricature in the context of Soviet culture and reveals the similarities and differences in the approaches to creating a comic effect emerging from documentary images. Comic photography demonstrates the ability to detect the unpredictable, standing out against the stable concepts of everyday life, or to see irrational signs accompanying a person in life. A drawing is born on a blank sheet; like a photograph, it is based on a real fact but has the freedom of interpretation in time and space, in building projections. It is emphasized that from the point of view of the audience’s reception, in a photo the very moment of shifting meanings is present, while in a caricature this stage is already overcome and the audience sees the result. For the artistic culture of the Soviet period, it was important to move away from standard thinking and applied purpose. This was especially significant for caricature and photography, which for a long time were in the service of ideology.

‘북방텍스트’에 나타난 에벤키족의 샤머니즘과 생태사상

The aim of this paper is to examine the shamanic worldview of the Evenki people among Siberian shamanism and the ecological ideas associated with it in the literary texts of Siberian ethnic minority authors. Siberia is perceived as a place where shamanism originated. However, as Eliade’s theory of shamanism has been recognized as a representative research methodology, empirical research on the origin and specificity of Siberian shamanism has been stifled, and the concept of shamanism has become ambiguous, resulting in a distortion of the origin and nature of Siberian shamanism. The shamanism of Siberian ethnic minorities is a religious phenomenon that has become embedded in the archetypal structure of their emotions, psychology, and consciousness in the process of interacting with the surrounding natural environment and human and social environment, as a holistic way of life that includes rituals, rituals, myths, moral ethics, and ecological life philosophy, as well as artistic systems. During the Soviet period, shamanism and the traditions and customs of Siberian ethnic groups were increasingly usurped by social reform and Russification policies under atheistic socialism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, writers from ethnic minorities who sought to see their culture through their own eyes, rather than relying on the findings of Western or Russian researchers, emerged and produced literature that expressed their traditional shamanic worldview. It can be said that conditions have been created for the study of Siberian shamanism to be illuminated by literature. This paper examines literary texts about the Siberian Ebenki people to explore the shamanic worldview and ecological ideas of this Siberian ethnic minority.

UNITED CITIES OF THE MOSCOW REGION: THE RESULT OF EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT OR ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFORMATIONS

Using the example of the Moscow region and based on the analysis of various information, including data from cellular operators, we studied a poorly explored phenomenon of absorption of some cities (towns) by others. The objectives of the article included the development of an approach to the study of united cities (towns), including an assessment of the preservation of their self-sufficiency as autonomous centers, as well as the identification of factors and stages of integration.It is revealed that in the Soviet period the unification of cities (towns) in the Moscow region occurred as a result of the evolutionary development of neighboring centers and their merger. In recent decades the inclusion of cities (towns) into neighboring centers is mainly the result of artificial amalgamation during the current stage of municipal reform. Based on the example of the three largest takeover cases of recent times (Khimki - Skhodnya, Balashikha - Zheleznodorozhny, Podolsk - Klimovsk), and using the data of cellular operators, we analysed the borders, population numbers and the system of external relations of the population. It is shown that all united cities (towns) under consideration continue to be independent centers (in terms of population size and density, and their role as local centers of labor gravity).The study of the absorbed cities (towns) of the Moscow region made it possible to identify the stages of their integration. It is revealed that after formal administrative subordination, the united center goes through the stages of infrastructural and socio-cultural merger, ending with the stage of complete absorption. It is shown that under the influence of a number of factors (geographical proximity, population size, economic structure, etc.), merger processes can accelerate or slow down.A methodology proposed in the article is aimed at forming an approach to the study of absorbed cities (towns). The latter disappear from the field of view of official statistics and specialists, despite their continued functioning as independent centers for a long time.

Constancy and Breakthrough as Opposing Vectors of Empire Construction

In the present article the author addresses the issue of the correlation of the principles of constancy and breakthrough as dominant temperamental features of Russian pre-revolutionary and Soviet societies. Stating the formation in society of the attitude to the perception of national history in the unity of all its constituent historical periods, he draws attention to the need to realize their distinctive singularity, which makes it possible to understand the patterns of their change and comprehension of the qualities that make up their historical advantages and successes. From this point of view, the main difference between the Soviet society and the pre-revolutionary one is seen in the fact that the pre-revolutionary represented a kind of civilization and an empire of Permanence, whereas the Soviet, in contrast to it, was a civilization and an empire of Breakthrough. Attention is drawn to the fact that the preservation of the achievements accumulated during the Soviet period should be considered, fi rst of all, not as the preservation of its “Treasures” and riches, but as the preservation of the “Capital” of the Soviet era, in other words, such qualities of society that are capable of producing wealth, and in their functioning constantly expanded and reproduce them

Nicholas Roerich: Loud Silence

The article is devoted to the artist and thinker N. Roerich, whose work not only covers the Russian and Soviet periods of our history, but according to its internal logic breaks up into two stages – national and cosmopolitan. If the “early” Roerich turned to the Ancient Slavic theme, to the study of the spiritual roots of Russia, for which he was accused of “leavened patriotism”, in the more mature period of his activity he became an apologist for universal values. According to A. Benoit, he made the transition to broad humanity. However, the author of the article shows that Roerich moved not just to universal values, challenging the opposition of the West and the East, antiquity and modernity, science and religion, but sought to assert universal cosmic values that undermined the idea of human exclusivity. Roerich's synthesizing thinking dissolved not only cultural, but also ontological differences. The success of Roerich's ideas in the Soviet and post–Soviet period of our history, according to the author of the article, indicates not the political reasons – Roerich's own attempts to synthesize Buddhism and communism – but the more fundamental shifts at the anthropological level. The crisis of Christianity, man’s rejection of the church conciliar consciousness, that is the rejection of the usual forms of subjectivity and at the same time the need for these forms, give rise to the phenomenon of a new mysticism. The popularity of Roerich's ideas is the wrong side of a society that organizes external life, but does not offer the completeness of the organization of a person's inner life. The author shows the anthropological fl aws of the phenomenon of new mysticism and reveals the meaning of universal values in terms of “spiritual subtraction”.

“Creating Sensation”: Public Background of Nikolai Fedorov’s “Works” Publication in the “Philosophical Heritage” Series (1970–1980)

The publication of “Works” by Nikolai Fedorov as part of the academic series (library) “Philosophical Heritage” in 1982 and the processes accompanying it was one of the mysterious pages in the history of domestic philosophical book publishing, as well as a landmark and resonant event of science and culture, society and state of the late Soviet period. One can single out three main stages in the history of Fedorov’s book: preliminary information campaign in scientifi c and literary publications (1970–1980); organization of publication, behind-the-scenes struggle to get the book out of print and its subsequent public promotion (1979–1981); the public response caused by the book, the reaction to its appearance of the policymakers and higher academic authorities (1982–1983). This article is the fi rst in a thematic series and examines the information campaign of 1970–1980, aimed at popularizing and updating of Fedorov’s legacy in Soviet society: its socio-political and spiritual-cultural context, periodization, meaningful ideological orientation, theoretical inspirers and participants, the main results achieved.

Dan Healey: 'Russian Homophobia from Stalin to Sochi' (2016) Book Review

Investigative, lucid, and fiercely self-aware, Dan Healey’s 2016 book Russian Homophobia: From Stalin to Sochi represents a much-needed and comprehensive queer history of how Russian state homophobia has shaped queer men’s subjectivies in the soviet and post-soviet period. Healey’s primary contention is that Russian homophobia is not some predisposition inherent in Russian society, but has its historically-specific origins embedded within the politics of the 1930s. This serves as an urgent rebuke to the Kremlin’s contemporary ‘politics of homophobia’ that falsely render LGBTQ+ lives un-Russian, and same-sex relations as an ideology implanted forcefully and artificially onto ‘traditional’ Christian Russia from the West.

The Study of Jadidism in Soviet and Russian Historiography

The article provides an overview of the history of the study of Muslim reformism, known in the scientific literature as Jadidism, in the works of Soviet and Russian researchers. At first, it included only the reform of Islamic education, and later it began to be understood as a broader movement of “Muslim enlightenment” aimed at reforming the entire Muslim society. The study of the history of Jadidism in Russia began in the 1920s. Soviet scientists through the prism of the Marxist theory of the development of socio- economic formations. In the post-war years, Soviet historians and social scientists wrote critically about Jadidism. During the years of Khrushchev’s “thaw”, scholars tried to reconsider the essence of Jadidism in the socialist context of historical research through the reinterpretation of Islam as a specific Tatar national cultural heritage, called “mirasism”. A new stage of Russian historiography in matters of Jadidism began in the post- Soviet period, when Jadidism began to be seen as a social movement of Russian Muslims aimed at forming a nation of the European type. In general, it can be said that studies in Russian and Soviet historiography on the history of Jadidism in the Crimea, the Volga-Ural region, Central Asia and the Caucasus are distinguished by different methodologies and conceptual approaches, while works on the history of the Jadid movement in the Volga-Ural region are more complete. Despite the fact that there is no common understanding of the phenomenon of Jadidism in the Volga-Ural region, nevertheless, scientists of different directions (historians, philologists, Islamic scholars) have done a lot of work in studying this issue. In this regard, the history of Muslim reformism in the North Caucasus, in particular in Dagestan, is practically not studied. As well as there is no special work on this region.

Censorship of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan

Relevance. The relevance of this article is condtioned upon the study of the mechanism of censorship of the Soviet Union as a factor of distortion of the historical reality of Kazakhstan during the Soviet period and the need in the conditions of independence of Kazakhstan to restore its authentic history. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to study the mechanism of censorship of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan. Methodology. The leading method to study this problem is the ideographic method, which allows reconstructing the phenomenon of censorship in the Soviet period and to investigate it comprehensively, studying the mechanism of censorship simultaneously in the Soviet Union as a whole, and in Kazakhstan as one of its republics, in particular. Both in the theoretical and empirical part of the study, analysis and synthesis were used as necessary general scientific methods. To organise the information obtained during the analysis of archival documents, the method of systematisation was used. Results. The article suggested a classification of censorship by the type of information to which it is applied; the penalties applied to "violators" of censorship in the USSR are determined; 578 documents from four archival collections of Russia and Kazakhstan containing data on the period of development of Soviet censorship in Kazakhstan are selected and examined; the main directions that fell into the hands of archival sources are established under the censorship of the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan. Conclusions. The materials of the article can become the basis for further research in the field of history, political science, etc., devoted to the study of censorship in Kazakhstan, both exclusively during the Soviet Union, and when comparing various historical stages. The results obtained in the course of the study can be used in universities of Kazakhstan in the preparation of classes in history, political science, etc. Keywords: total control; totalitarian regime; prohibition; state ideology; archival data

Историческая память как категория конституционного права

Introduction. Historical memory is an integral part of national identity and defines the core values and principles of life in society. Legal norms in the text of the Constitution of Russia that consolidate the concept of historical development of the Russian state and establish new obligations of the state to honor the memory of defenders of the Fatherland, to ensure the protection of historical truth and to prevent belittling the significance of the people’s feat in defense of the Fatherland allow us to talk about the formation of a new category in the constitutional law – the category of historical memory. Theoretical analysis. General theoretical understanding of legal categories allows us to highlight such features as abstraction, universality, generality, objectivity, content, consistency. All these qualities are inherent in constitutional categories; their features also include a high degree of axiology and fundamental character, which, due to the properties of the Constitution as a basic political and legal act, define the relationship between the state, an individual and society as a whole. Empirical analysis. The analysis of the formation of national memory in pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods shows that the concept of historical memory was commonly ideological in nature. The concept of national history was absent in Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted on December 12, 1993. The 2020 Amendments to the Constitution were also intended to correct this gap and include provisions aimed at creating the concept of historical memory Results. The concept of historical memory, as it is presented in the current version of the Constitution, is aimed at: establishing the idea of continuity in the development of the Russian state; justification for unity of the state, formed as a result of a thousand-year history; conditionality of spiritual and moral values by tradition; indication of the special role of the state in protecting historical memory.

On the question of the establishment of modern Ukraine: How all the territories were brought together

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the aggravation of the socio-political situation in the world, as a result of which there is a need for a comprehensive historical analysis of the borders of Ukraine, defining its sovereignty, boundaries, and territorial integrity. The purpose of the study was to investigate the establishment of Ukraine in its modern borders. The leading approach to this problem is the historical and genetic method, which helped to comprehensively consider the topic under study by identifying and analysing the most significant events in the history of Ukraine, which had a predominant influence on the establishment of the territory of the modern Ukrainian state. General research methods were also used – analysis and synthesis, and special ones: systematisation, periodisation and chronological method. A consistent study of the emergence of Ukrainian statehood and the unification of Ukrainian lands has been conducted; the main historical periods of the establishment of the territorial borders of Ukraine have been identified and considered; the borders of the Ukrainian state at different historical stages have been described; the territorial distribution of Ukrainian lands in the Soviet period has been assessed; the prerequisites for Ukraine's declaration of independence have been established. The practical significance of the study of the unification of Ukrainian territories together and the establishment of modern borders of Ukraine lies in the possibility of using the materials of the study in teaching the history of Ukraine in secondary and high schools, including extracurricular activities, and in general courses on the history of Ukraine in universities. The main provisions and conclusions can serve as a basis for further scientific work in the field of studying the history of Ukraine in general and its territories and historical borders, in particular

Soviet Portrait Painting in China in the 1950s–1960s

Realistic portraiture occupies a special place in the history of Russian art. It had a huge impact on the fi ne arts of China, especially in the Soviet period, since realism and objectivity of the real world were closely intertwined in it, aesthetic perception was presented through artistic images and focused on reality and people. These artistic ideas and techniques suited the interests of the Chinese audience, allowing them to pay even more attention to the charm of modern life. This paper gives an interpretation of the study of Soviet realistic portraiture in China’s art history of the 1950–1960s, both from the side of history and from the side of research methods, and examines the serious infl uence and role of the realistic portrait of the Soviet period on Chinese painting.

The Musavat Azerbaijan Policy Towards Kurds: Parallels With Post-Soviet Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Policy

The three censuses conducted in Azerbaijan during the post-Soviet period (1999, 2009, and 2019) reveal a significant decline (more than 300 percent) in the number of Kurds in the country over 20 years (1999-2019). This trend is consistent with Azerbaijan’s policies towards indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities. In this context, the situation parallels the experiences of other ethnic groups residing in Azerbaijan, including the Talysh people, Lezgins, Avars, and others. The primary objective of the present article is to examine the underpinnings of Azerbaijan’s policy towards indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, with a specific focus on the Kurdish case. In terms of timeframe, the authors specifically chose the period of the first republic of Azerbaijan (1918-1920). This decision is based on the recognition that, when investigating the ethnic policy of Azerbaijan within this timeframe, the researcher is not necessarily obligated to address whether Azerbaijan could pursue an independent policy separate from the center (Moscow). This specific question gains relevance in the subsequent 70 years, covering the Soviet period, but does not apply to the years 1918-1920. When examining the issue, priority was given to the historical-comparative method by the authors. Accordingly, in selecting the temporal starting point for the examination, the period when Turkism was in action as a viable ideology in Azerbaijan was deemed pivotal.

On the way to the Kingdom of Reason: Irrational Rationality of the Early Soviet Period

The authors take a deep dive into the correlation between rational and irrational in both Enlightenment philosophy and classical Marxism, which is embodied in Russia in the form of Marxism-Leninism. The cult of Rationalism prevailed during the first years of Soviet power, which was expressed in V.I. Lenin’s academic works and was implemented into political practice. However, the established rationality resulted in the Mythology of Reason and mystification of science, which, like magic, “is capable of everything”. This kind of rationalism penetrated deeply into different forms of mass consciousness and gave birth to the irrational Kingdom of Reason, based on which all spheres of life within Soviet society were supposed to be transformed.

Devintojo dešimtmečio lietuviško kino negalių patirtys, įžvalgos ir refleksijos kritikos diskurse

The narrative of the Lithuanian cinema development attempts to present the Soviet period in a coherent way, focusing on the impact of the Soviet system. However, a broader range of reasons for the malaise of Lithuanian cinema can be found in the criticism of the Lithuanian film cultural field participants. The object of this study is the critical thoughts on the Lithuanian film industry, production, and culture in the 1980s, as captured in the press. Various representatives of the film world and other cultural spheres were involved in the reflection on the poor state of Lithuanian cinema. They gave a radical negative description of the cinema condition and offered different points of view about its reasons. Even though the incompleteness of the thoughts testifies the critical discourse’s dependence on the Soviet system, the argumentative criticism offers a more diverse approach to the Lithuanian cinema in the 1980s.

Опыт зарубежных стран по ускоренному социально- экономическому росту и его возможное использование для России

Socio-economic development is a vital strategy for the Russian Federation. In the 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by approximately 20 %. The average GDP in EU countries has increased by halve for the same period. The US GDP has doubled while some post-socialist European countries have demonstrated a 2.5-time increase, not to mention developing countries (3-5 times) and China (12.7 times). Between 2013 and 2022, Russia’s GDP per capita stayed the same, probably because of the Crimea population. The gross fixed capital formations decreased slightly, and the volume of retail trade turnover and real income of the population went down more sharply. Compared to the Soviet period, Russia has been losing in all indicators of international ratings. Life expectancy, which is one of the main social indicators, keeps decreasing with every decade. In fact, it has been seven years since Russia’s population started to decline. Part one of this article examines the outstanding experience of China, Japan, and South Korea, which have transited from seemingly hopeless backwardness to stable economic and social growth in 30-40 years. However, these countries are so unique in their cultural and historical development that their experience cannot be applied to Russia directly. Part two examines the phenomena of Reaganomics in the USA and Thatcherism in the UK, which allowed each of these countries to overcome a decade of stagnation and crisis to resume socio-economic development based on science, technology, and innovations. Part three examines some cases of large countries that have demonstrated high growth rates over the past ten years despite complex situations in the global economy. The objective was to define the specific strategies these countries appealed to in order to combat the existing negative trends in economic development. The conclusion sums up the useful experience Russia can draw from the abovementioned cases. The author introduces a strategy for accelerated and sustainable socio-economic development of Russia though 2035.

Dynamics of Old Industrial Regions of the Upraise and Falling of Russian Economic Cycles

The specifics of Russian economic cycles, in particular, is that their course differs markedly in different regions, resulting in increased asymmetry in regional development. The paper studied of the influence of historical and sectoral factors, which determine the economic specialisation of the region, and the features of the sectoral structure of the regional economic in growth of the old industrial regions of Russia. Thus, the author concluded the nature of their dynamics mainly determines the sectoral factor and revealed a significant number of promising economic specialisations is a characteristic of the old industrial territories in virtue of the historical features of the industry growth in the Soviet period and the external position of economic activity. The outcome is that it is necessary to conduct a selective regional policy aimed at overcoming the limitations of the resource, organizational, and institutional nature of the development of old industrial regions.

Our zona: the impact of decarceration and prison closure on local communities in Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT How does the closure of prisons impact local communities where the prison is sited? The paper compares three prison closures in northern and central Kazakhstan through field observations, interviews, and focus groups at the sites. We find that respondents unanimously opposed closure by appealing to the apparent good performance of the prison. Beyond the economic loss incurred by closure, respondents reported a loss of communal identity, as well as prestige connected to the presence of the military at the colony. The paper analyzes these responses by examining the logics by which the prisons came to be opened in the Soviet period as well as investigating how the relationship between punishment, economy, and society in Kazakhstan has changed since that time.