Soviet Writings Research Articles

Smyrniw, Walter Ukrainian Science Fiction: Historical and Thematic Perspectives (review)

SEER, 94, 3, july 2016 518 Smyrniw, Walter. Ukrainian Science Fiction: Historical and Thematic Perspectives. Peter Lang, Bern, 2013. 388 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Selective chronological bibliography. Index. €82.00: £61.00 (paperback). Walter Smyrniw’s monograph makes the case for Ukrainian science fiction as a culturally distinct branch of the international sci-fi family. Despite taking as his epigraph Einstein’s remark that ‘imagination embraces the entire world’, Smyrniw’s parameters are more cautious. Rather than an exhaustive history, he aims at outlining ‘the representative and the most imaginative Ukrainian science fiction [...] by writers residing in Ukraine and abroad’ (p. 9). After warning that ‘there is no single, viable definition of science fiction’, Smyrniw opens with a history of the genre worldwide. Unusually and intriguingly, he neglects well-known texts for obscurer works which were ‘firsts’ in their field, like Bishop Godwin’s 1638 The Man in the Moone (the first off-world utopia), or Denis Vairasse’s 1679 Histoire des Sévarambes (the first utopia set in Australia). In later chapters, Smyrniw locates other such ‘firsts’ in Ukrainian fiction — Vasyl Berezhnyi’s novella about an alien base discovered on the Moon is described as a ‘great leap forward for Soviet Ukrainian science fiction’ (p. 176); given the context, one wonders whether it might have been a ‘giant leap’ for Ukrainian novelists, too. Smyrniw relies on writers — such as Kingsley Amis and Ray Bradbury — rather than academics for theoretical commentary, ignoring Fredric Jameson and barely citing Darko Suvin. Each of the eighteen chapters explores a particular theme of twentieth-century Ukrainian scientific fantasy, including utopias; aliens; robots, androids and cyborgs (painstakingly differentiated and separately discussed); space travel; and technology. We gradually realize — though never explicitly told — that by Ukrainian science fiction Smyrniw means science fiction in the Ukrainian language. Ukrainian-born authors writing in Russian need not apply. This excludes Mikhail Bulgakov (The Fatal Eggs or Adam and Eve); Sigizmund Krzhizhanovskii’s odd dystopian fantasies; and, very disappointingly, mainstream science fiction writers such as the great (and comparatively widely translated) Anatolii Dneprov. In his keenness to refute what he calls the ‘myopic perception’ (p. 111) abroad of Ukrainian science fiction as an offshoot of Soviet writings, Smyrniw ruthlessly excludes other Russian influences, echoes and encounters. Concepts widespread in modern Slavic culture, such as Solov´ev’s man-godhood, Vernadskii’s noosphere or Federov’s ideas about immortality and resurrection, inevitably emerge in the texts discussed. By failing to credit their Russian origins, this book misses an opportunity to compare the common sources of Russian and Ukrainian imagination. Smyrniw’s determined exclusion of Russian authors clashes with his marked openness to Western influences on his field, by authors like H. G. Wells, Karel Čapek, Jules REVIEWS 519 Verne or Percival Lowell (the man behind the myth of Martian canals). Yet it feels like a major concession when Smyrniw mentions Ivan Efremov’s hugely influential novel Andromeda Nebula (and only because it is referenced by an Oles’ Berdnyk character). Conversely, Smyrniw is at his best discussing the stifling of Ukrainian writers by Soviet ideology and censorship. Chapter seven compares two space travel novels from the early 1930s, one by the pro-Soviet Volodymyr Vladko (Argonauts of the Universe), the other by the Catholic writer Myroslav Kapii (The Land of Blue Orchids), in a convincing case study of narrative deformed by ideology. Kapii’s Mars mission boasts an international crew, a Ukrainian astronomer, and a landing site near Kiev, whereas Vladko’s Venusian expedition ignores or belittles any characters (including Venusians) who are neither Soviet nor Russian. Vladko’s novel appeared in several editions and languages; Kapii’s simply lapsed into obscurity. Smyrniw stresses such continuity gaps in Ukrainian science fiction, where later authors like Berdnyk or Berezhnyi fail to recognize or benefit from the influence of predecessors like Kapii (apparently, ‘the progenitor of space voyages in Ukrainian science fiction’, p.123) because their work remained unavailable or unknown. He is particularly keen to dethrone writers like Vladko or Iurii Smolych (‘almost invariably hailed as the patriarch of Ukrainian science fiction’, p. 135) who owe their legacy to popularity with Soviet critics and over-representation in Russian translation. Smyrniw corrects the record by...

On the Hegelian roots of Lukács’s theory of realism

This article attempts two things. First, it aims to reassess the literary criticism that Georg Lukacs produced in the 1930s while he was living in the Soviet Union in light of his earlier, and much-esteemed, The theory of the novel. Second, in order to carry out this reassessment, it examines the place of Hegelian aesthetics in Lukacs’s theorization of realism in the 1930s criticism, in relation both to contemporary Soviet writings on the subject and to his own earlier, ostensibly Hegelian work. I argue that, at least in terms of the place of art in the historical dialectic, the later work is more consistent with Hegelian philosophy than The theory of the novel.

L'occupazione nazista della Bielorussia: Collaborazionismo e Resistenza nella storiografia

The article examines how different issues of the Second World war and the Nazi occupation of Belarus were presented and treated in the Soviet historiography, Western historiography of the Cold War period, and post-communist Russian and Belarusian historiographies. The special focus of the analysis is on the representation of such controversial issues as resistance, Soviet partisan movement, and cooperation by some Belarusian people, at that time Soviet citizens, with the German occupation authorities. The article highlights the main themes and terminology used in Soviet and Western writings in the 1950s - 1980s and demonstrates how often ideological bias and particular political situation of the period in which history is written affects the views and approaches that historians take in their studies. Furthermore, it analyzes the main changes that occurred in historiography after the collapse of communism and examines how the same issues: war-time collaboration and resistance, were discussed in the post-Soviet period, in the 1990s - beginning of the 2000s, by Western, Russian and Belarusian scholars.

The military strategy of the Soviet Union: a history

Armed revolution and civil war gave birth to the Soviet Union, world War II propelled it to global pre-eminence, and the Cold War contributed to the Soviet Union's demise. Given Marxism-Leninism's idological preoccupation with war and threats of war, it is understandable that the spectre of war should play a vital role in the life and fate of the Soviet state.This study of Soviet military strategy is based upon the twin pillars of Soviet political-military actions and Soviet writings on the subject of military strategy. Thanks to the policy of glasnost, it incorporates Soviet materials hitherto unavailable in the West. It aims to be not simply a retrospective account of what was, but to form part of the context for what will be in the future.

Soviet-American Dialogue on the New Deal.

The study of U.S. history has flourished in the Soviet Union during the last several years, with much research being published in Soviet journals. Since those journals have very limited circulation in the West and since few U.S. scholars read Russian, the Soviet vantage point on American history, which often differs considerably from the view of U. S. scholars, has been mostly inaccessible. In this volume, the first in a series, scholars from both nations have cooperated to rectify part of that deficiency by examining one of the most significant decades in American history, the 1930s.Eleven essays by Soviet historians that were originally published in Soviet journals have been translated into English; eight American historians have responded with commentary on those essays; and the Soviets have written brief rejoinders. The volume thus presents a unique opportunity to learn the contours of Soviet writings on the New Deal, to take account of their preoccupations and conclusions, and then to read the appraisals of noted U.S. scholars.

Changing soviet objective depths: A reflection of changing combat circumstances

Abstract : Historically, Soviet ground forces have focused on the enemy's force rather than on terrain. The author finds that the changing nature of the battlefield is causing the Soviets to alter the manner in which missions and objective depths are assigned to tactical and operational formations. Recent Soviet writings indicate that the changing landscape in Central Europe and increased battlefield lethality suggest an increased emphasis on terrain. Keywords: Objective depths, Offensive planning norms, Future ware, Surprise, Objectives, Terrain.

Introduction

It has been a decade now since the appearance of Russell Bartley's English-language collection of Soviet writings on Latin American history.1 In his introduction to that book, Bartley noted that in the past, few U.S. historians studying Latin America would have taken seriously the contention that Soviet scholarship on the region could be valuable in any real sense. Bartley added, however, that such U.S. Latin Americanists would soon reevaluate their position. Indeed, by 1978, when Bartley's book appeared, Latin America had become a significant academic and intellectual concern of Soviet historians,2 and their articles and books were increasingly well known in Latin America, the United States, and Western Europe.

The Soviet military on SDI

Abstract : Numerous Western analysts have suggested that all American assessments of SDI should proceed not only from a consideration of American intentions, but also from the outlook of Soviet perceptions. Since 23 March 1983, the prevailing tone of Soviet military writings on SDI has been overwhelmingly negative. Myron Hedlin has concluded that this harsh reaction to a U.S. initiative still years from realization suggests both a strong concern about the ultimate impact of these plans on the strategic balance, and a perceived opportunity for scoring propaganda points. Indeed, the present review of Soviet writings since President Reagan's so-called Star Wars speech has yielded both objective Soviet concerns and regressions to psychological warfare. This, in turn, has necessitated a careful effort to separate rhetoric from more official assessments of SDI. While there has long been dispute in the West over the validity of Soviet statements, they have time and again been subsequently confirmed in Soviet hardware, exercises, and operational behavior. Some Western analysts will nonetheless contend that the Soviet statements under examination in this study are merely a commodity for export.

The Russian Church under the Soviet Regime, 1917-1982

A two-volume history of the modern Russian Orthodox Church based on published sources, official Soviet writings, samizdat materials, unpublished biographies and extensive personal interviews with Russian church leaders and recent emigres.

Introduction

With one exception, the materials included in this volume originally appeared in Soviet publications during the early 1980s (the one exception, selection 4, was published in 1977). An earlier collection of Soviet writings on social structure, which I edited jointly with Wesley Fisher,1 acquainted Western readers with some of the principal Soviet studies in this field of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although in most respects the final years of the Brezhnev regime and the period immediately thereafter (the years in which the selections which follow originally appeared) hardly strike most observers as particularly "innovative," the professional literature in sociology in this period—and social stratification and mobility research, in particular—developed an intellectual momentum of its own. The result is that, while staying largely within the boundaries laid down in the formative period of Soviet sociology (as represented by the studies included in the earlier collection referred to above), the more recent studies included here have gone beyond the earlier ones in a variety of ways. To put it more directly, we may observe here both a basic continuity and a partial break with the limits of earlier studies. The remainder of this introduction will provide a few illustrations of this theme.

China's Soviet Watchers in the 1980s: A New Era in Scholarship

What are Chinese scholars writing about internal developments in the Soviet Union? Are they positive or negative in their assessments of each stage of Soviet history, from the early leadership of Lenin to the recent accession of Gorbachev? What are the consequences that changing Chinese attitudes are likely to have for Sino-Soviet relations? After a quarter-century of the Sino-Soviet split, foreign observers no longer need to grasp at tiny straws of information, or to rely solely on a small number of official documents and authoritative articles. The study of new, published sources can add substantially to our understanding of international perceptions in the socialist world, and can bring us nearer to the elusive goal of learning about debates on foreign policy in communist-led countries. Academic journals and books from the late 1960s in the Soviet Union, and from 1979 in China, present an impressively detailed and intriguingly lively literature on the problems of socialism in the other country. Having previously examined Soviet writings on China, I will introduce Chinese publications on the Soviet Union in this article.

Soviet writings on Jewish press freedom: A descriptive bibliography

Soviet writings on Jewish press freedom: A descriptive bibliography

A History of Post-War Soviet Writing: The Literature of Moral Opposition

A History of Post-War Soviet Writing: The Literature of Moral Opposition

Soviet Islam and World Revolution

The relationship between Soviet Islam and the Islamic revival outside the U.S.S.R. is neither unidimensional nor definitionally antagonistic. Although bogged down in a costly civil war in Afghanistan, the Soviet leaders have tried to maintain a public stance of tolerance toward Islam. Recent Soviet writings reflect a new sophistication, which demonstrates unblinkered consideration of Islam as both a social and a political force. The quiescent state of Islam in the Muslim regions of the U.S.S.R., where indigenous populations practice a nondoctrinal, heavily ritualistic religion, further makes it unlikely that the Soviets are following aggressive policies in Southwest Asia because they fear Islamic fundamentalism at home.

Soviet writings on Irish history, 1917–80: a bibliography

In 1969 the late Dr Eoin Mac White published a ‘Guide to Russian writing on Irish history, 1917-1963’. Dr Mac White, a professional diplomat who combined with his work a close and scholarly interest in many aspects of Irish-Soviet relations, hoped at some stage to expand his guide into a ‘fuller and more historiographical study’. He doubted, however, if he would be able to find time for such a project, and in the meantime he thought the growing volume of Soviet writing on Irish history ‘should be better known both for its own intrinsic interest as well as an addition to the bibliography of Irish history’. Dr Mac White’s forebodings, unhappily, were borne out; he suffered an untimely death in a motor-car accident in 1972, and to this day the continually expanding Soviet treatment of all aspects of Irish history has remained uncatalogued. This bibliography is intended to repair that omission; it attempts to record all books and journal articles dealing wholly or in substantial part with Irish history published in the U.S.S.R. in Russian or in any other Soviet language between 1917 and 1980. Compared with Dr Mac White’s compilation it lists over sixty additional items (out of a total of 162): an indication, perhaps, of the expansion of Soviet scholarly interest in Ireland over the past decade or so, and in itself some justification for undertaking an exercise of this kind.

A History of Post-War Soviet Writing: The Literature of Moral Opposition. By Grigori Svirski. Translated and edited by Robert Dessaix and Michael Ulman. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1981 [originally published London: Overseas Publications Interchange, 1979, under the title Na lobnom meste]. 456 pp. Photographs. Paper.

A History of Post-War Soviet Writing: The Literature of Moral Opposition. By Grigori Svirski. Translated and edited by Robert Dessaix and Michael Ulman. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1981 [originally published London: Overseas Publications Interchange, 1979, under the title Na lobnom meste]. 456 pp. Photographs. Paper. - Volume 41 Issue 4

Marxism-Leninism and the scientific-technological revolution: Some recent Soviet writings

Marxism-Leninism and the scientific-technological revolution: Some recent Soviet writings

Soviet Views on Strategic Nuclear Weapons: Orthodoxy and Modernism

Beukel, E. Soviet Views on Strategic Nuclear Weapons: Orthodoxy and Modernism. Cooperation and Conflict, XIV, 1979, 223-237. A controversial question in deterrence theories is Soviet perception of strategic nuclear weapons. Various research communities and political groups state very divergent theories and opinions, which are substantiated by quotations from Soviet public writings. In the present paper views given in the Soviet press are analyzed. It is shown that these professed views are rather divergent and follow an orthodoxy-modernism dichotomy. Since there is no public debate among the advocates of the different views, Soviet writings have to be regarded with caution. Certain writings may support very different conclusions about the Soviet perception of strategic nuclear weapons.

Some Russian publications on Libya

Until recently Soviet writings about Libya have been relatively few. While works on North Africa did refer to Libya, it was usually mentioned in a general way. This is true, also, of the marginal interest displayed towards the subject in the rather infrequent articles in the various Russian-language periodicals. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, a growing number of books specifically dealing with Libya have appeared in Russian, thus reflecting this country's rising importance as a rich oil producer increasingly involved in Arab and African affairs. Not unexpectedly, a good part of Soviet publications on Libya emphasize its economy. ' One of the most informative of these was written by N. A. Arsharuni, who has also published a study entitled Osnovniye Sotzial'no-ekonomichyeskiyeproblemi stran Syevyernoy Afriki (The basic socio-economic problems of the countries of North Africa) (Moscow, Nauka Press for the Institute of Oriental Studies in the Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1976, 160 pp.). This deals with Libya along with Tunisia and Algeria but, inexplicably, not Morocco. A separate work discussing Libya alone, written by the same Arsharuni, is Inostranniy kapital v Livii (1911-1967gg.) (Foreign capital in Libya, 1911-1967) (Moscow, Nauka Press for the Institute of Oriental Studies in the Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1970, 132 pp.). Based on sources in several languages, including a few in Arabic, this monograph approaches its main subject in three chronologically arranged chapters: Italian rule, 1911-1943; BritishFrench administration, 1943-195 1; and the expansion of foreign capital in Libya after the Second World War (until 1967; it is not quite clear why the author concludes at this point). Arsharuni sees as his main task to describe 'imperialist' governments, to penetrate Libya and dominate it. One gets the feeling that much of this is familiar, so almost immediately one turns to the pages that examine the economic policies of the independent Libyan Government (pp. 114-26). Here the author concludes that this government, although well-intentioned, has had to adapt all its planning to the still-prevailing 'colonial economy'. According to his figures, most state investments and credits were granted to such sectors as agriculture and fisheries, while industry was neglected. Several general works on Libya also stress the economic aspects. One of these is I. A. Gyenin's Liviya (Libya) (Moscow, Government Press for Geographical Literature, 1956, 40 pp.). Illustrated by a map and well-selected photographs, the booklet acquaints the reader with Libya's main characteristics at that time, chiefly its agriculture, industry, commerce, transportation and finances. More detailed is Arsharuni's Liviya (Libya) (Moscow, Misl' Press, 1965, 142 pp.). Except for a brief historical introduction, this work primarily describes and analyses Libya's economy, which is illustrated by numerous tables. A lengthy chapter examines the country's oil industry, its development and prospects (pp. 98-118). Here, again, Arsharuni discusses the involvement of the foreign oil companies and their hold on Libya's economy. This is relevant, of course, but the reader cannot but regret that the author has not thought it appropriate to consider the impact of the oil industry on the Libyans themselves. The neglect of such a crucial aspect is partly offset by the chapter on the situation of the working masses (pp. 119-140), and this could well be the most important contribution of this book.2 The number of Libyan workers in the oil industry rose very swiftly: 1959 4,600; 1960 6,300; 1961 8,300; 1963 11,000. This brought about an unprecedented flow of villagers and tribesmen to the centres of the oil industry to such an extent that the local authorities were forced to compel at least some of these workers to return to their villages. While Arsharuni estimates that the 'feudal' ties of these workers to their original background are still potent, he

U.S. History and Historiography in Post-War Soviet Writings, 1945-1970: A Bibliography.

U.S. History and Historiography in Post-War Soviet Writings, 1945-1970: A Bibliography.