Totalitarian Political System Research Articles

دور القيادة الكاريزمية في ترسيخ النظم السياسية الشمولية - دراسة نظرية مع التركيز على أنموذج قيادة (عبدالكريم قاسم) الكاريزمية(1958-1963)

Charismatic leadership is one of the political leadership patterns, and it is a key variable in building and dismantling political systems. The relationship of the charismatic leadership with the political system differs according to the charismatic leader's orientations and policies towards the political system. Inspirational charismatic leadership - moral charisma - plays a positive role in building the political system and institutions, and contributes to building and consolidating a pluralistic democratic political system. While the arrogant, charismatic leadership - the immoral charisma - which overrides the private interest of it and its clique contributes to the consolidation of totalitarian political systems through the personalization of the political system and institutions and the preference for the policy of force and violence over other policies, the charismatic leadership model (Abdul Karim Qasim) represents a type of charismatic leadership with an orientation military , who played a key role in consolidating a semi-totalitarian political system in Iraq during his rule between (1958-1963). This system is ended through a mock trial in which Qasim was accused of treason and sentenced to death. Thus, the way was paved for a totalitarian political system in Iraq that was more violent and harsh at the hands of a group of nationalists and Baathists representing a charismatic and arrogant leadership.

Transition of television in the Republic of Moldova during 1978-1988 years

The years 1978-1987 were marked by the dramatic transition from a totalitarian political system to a more democratic society, which significantly impacted also the television of the Republic of Moldova. However, broadcasting from the end of the years ‘70, and the beginning of the ‘80s, continued to take place under the same conditions of fierce censorship, typical for the previous periods. The editorial policies of the visual were focused mostly on reflecting the ,,communist education” of the people, of the communist party propaganda, and the endless transmission of reportages about the socialist contest ,,from Congress to Congress”. Starting from the second half of the ‘80s, when the „Perestroika”, and „Glasnost” - transparency and democratization policies officially were announced, the changes in the mass media become more visible and significant. In the beginning, several new broadcasts appeared, where the ways of building a new model of socialism were been discussed: - „democratic socialism”, „developed socialism”, „socialism with a human face” and other inventions of communist ideology. Yet, more and more unusual phrases sounded for the Soviet viewer in the broadcast, such as „general-human values”, „pluralism of opinions”, „democratic system” and so on. New visions and ideas of transforming the community, of radical political, social, and economic changes were debated in society. In the end, they brought about the collapse of the Party-State, the disappearance of the centralized state television, and the arrival of a new competitive system of audiovisual.

Ideological impact on social behavior: theoretical and methodological aspects (Continuation)

In this article, the author attempts to analyze the key components of radical ideological constructs that directly or indirectly justify ways to solve social problems in a radical and, as a rule, illegitimate way. Among such ideologies, researchers include anarchism and socialism, which are discussed in detail in this article.The English political philosopher W. Godwin is considered the pioneer of anarchism, and the first researcher who called himself an “anarchist” and introduced the term “anarchism” into circulation was the French socialist P.-J. Proudhon. Each country in Europe, North or South America and Asia has its own publicists, writers, public figures who defend anarchist views, anarchism has a long history in Russia, where the classics of anarchism grew up – M.A. Bakunin and P.A. Kropotkin.The author analyzes the theoretical core of anarchism, which is formed by a number of radical political constructions – anti-statism, natural order, anti-clericalism and a free economy. At the same time, it is noted that all anarchists categorically assert that both power and private property are the cause of all human misfortunes, and, as a rule, they identify themselves with the “poor and oppressed”. They call for a revolution on behalf of the “exploited masses”, as a result of which both capitalism and the state will be wiped off the face of the earth, actively promote “ anarchy and anarchist tactics”. By anarchist tactics is meant such a merciless violent struggle that will sweep away in its path all the institutions of slavery of the old system and all their representatives and defenders in order to create a new, free system, for the spirit of destruction is at the same time a creative spirit.The article also examines in detail the origins, essence and fundamental components of the socialist ideology, the radical varieties of which include Marxism and communism.The author substantiates the position that, in general, the ideology of socialism is close to the ideology of communism. However, the communist ideal is more radical: the communists advocate the complete socialization of production, the complete rejection of private property (in all forms) and the centralized distribution of benefits, which takes place within the framework of a specially organized form of government – the commune. Under communism, absolute equality of people must be established, a kind of ideal society must be established, where everyone will work to the best of their abilities and receive everything they need from society. It is this aspect of communism that is the pipe dream of its supporters, leaving it a social utopia, while the ideology of socialism put forward more specific and achievable goals.The fundamental economic, social and political reasons are analyzed, due to which the practical implementation of the ideology of socialism – the “socialist experiment” of the 20th century ended in complete failure. It is shown that it is the socialist ideology that significantly simplifies the transition to a totalitarian political system.

The Ugly Mirror Avots

Latvia was under communist rule for almost half a century. The imposed regime brought not only deportations, imprisonments, grief, and fear, but also the pain of lost independence. The vision of the dreamland taken away, of prosperous and thriving Latvia, was kept alive through personal memories in many Latvian families. The spirit 232233Defence Strategic Communications | Volume 11 | Autumn 2022DOI 10.30966/2018.RIGA.11.8Defence Strategic Communications | Volume 11 | Autumn 2022DOI 10.30966/2018.RIGA.11.8of Latvianness that survived under the socialist regime and a longing for essential freedom were the main driving forces of the nation that stood against the enforced communist plan. Now, as the European Union faces threats of war, the story of regained independence offers a new perspective. It proves that the spirit of freedom does not cease to exist with the fact of occupation. Despite strict censorship and the control of communication channels in totalitarian political systems, it nevertheless finds its voice. This article looks back at the events of the 1980s that led to the restoration of independence in Latvia and investigates the role of the press, in particular the youth magazine Avots, paradoxically financed by the Communist Party. Could Soviet authority be undermined through artistic expression, and how could the magazine’s covers subvert official ideology? Moreover, could art and design have any impact on politics and foster events to shape the future of a nation?

Excluding the Jew Within Us - Jean-Luc Nancy

Reviewed by: Excluding the Jew Within Us by Jean-Luc Nancy Jean Axelrad Cahan Excluding the Jew Within Us. By Jean-Luc Nancy. Translated by Sarah Clift. Cambridge, MA: Polity, 2020. 60 pages. $15.95 (paper). Understandably, the question of what went wrong in the twentieth century, with (among other things) two global wars and totalitarian political systems, will not let go of us Westerners. In the present work, the internationally renowned French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy engages with this problem. Like a Picasso sketch, the book outlines an answer with disarming simplicity—the achievement of such simplicity in both art and philosophy rests on decades of study and practice. Nancy obtained his doctorate under the supervision of Paul Ricoeur and is strongly influenced by the psychoanalytic approach of Jacques Lacan. He has written on an exceptionally wide array of topics including the philosophies of Kant, Hegel, and Heidegger, the nature of pluralist politics, contemporary globalization, and film. Several works were written in collaboration with his friend Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, another pre-eminent postwar French thinker. Nancy is perhaps best known for La Communauté désoeuvrée (1986), usually translated as The Inoperable Community. [End Page 431] Reaching across the Atlantic to both North and South America, Nancy seeks the sources of enduring antisemitism: what course did the "anathemas of John Chrysostom, the diatribes of Luther, the rantings of [The Protocols of the Elders of Zion] and the ideology of Mein Kampf" take, such that antisemitism is still alive and well from Pittsburgh to Toulouse (vii)? What explains this "stupefying continuity with, and continuation of, a disease and a derangement that has belonged to the West since its very inception" (viii)? In order to understand this stupefying continuity, Nancy begins by discussing the Arendtian notion of the banality of evil and the case of Heidegger. Heidegger was at once the great philosopher leading us to critiques of biologism, technologism, and other corruptions, and one who—as is apparent from the Black Notebooks—fell into "a passive acceptance of stereotypes that emerge from the unfathomable depths of hatred" (11), just like millions of other people. What was it about "the very genesis of the West" that permitted or created not merely the emergence of hatred of the Jew but its "intimate incorporation"? Here, Nancy begins to apply psychological or psychanalytic concepts: incorporation as he understands it is a "capacity for absorption that is itself fed by a powerful energy" (13). He compares the incorporation of hatred to the incorporation of a technological device, let us say a smartphone: after an initial self-conscious effort, the usage becomes virtually automatic, or as Nancy prefers, banal. Skepticism begins to seep cautiously into our reading: is this a viable comparison? The habit of using a technical device seems more like the acquisition of a skill, like baking bread, than the adoption of a belief or set of attitudes, however uncritical. There remains an element of assenting judgement, of conscious position-taking, even in the spewing of the most foolish opinions. In conjunction with the case of Heidegger, Nancy also introduces Lacoue-Labarthe's concepts of "historial" and "spiritual" antisemitism. Lacoue-Labarthe's own analysis of antisemitism appeared most famously in the book Heidegger, Art and Politics: The Fiction of the Political (1986). To say that antisemitism is both historial and spiritual is to say that it is broadly civilizational (a term Nancy is reluctant to use) or cultural—antisemitism is rooted in [End Page 432] the cultural origin(s) of Western civilization. Such a broad civilizational approach, Nancy believes, contrasts strongly with that of the standard authorities, among whom he includes the Critical Theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, the historian Leon Poliakov, and the philosopher Hannah Arendt. We might note here that this list is quite outdated: an enormous amount of both empirical and theoretical work has been done since the studies written by these authors were published. Be that as it may, Nancy proceeds to give an exposition of his own civilizational approach, one which I would call a psycho-metaphysical one; it is an approach on two levels, those of psychology and ontology, running as it were concurrently. According to Nancy...

Between Fear and Fascination: The Soviet Union in the Modern Age

The article deals with the formation of Soviet power, the Soviet Union, the influence of the ideology of Marxism, Leninism and Stalinism on the processes associated with industrialization, national socialism, nationalism, war and peace, humanism and fascism, which were a response to the economic and political domination of the United States and Europe. In the context of comparative analysis, special attention is paid to the phenomenon of Bolshevism as a real challenge of the 20th century. Considering that without the October Revolution and the Civil War in Russia there would be no war ideologies in Europe, without the experience of a multinational empire there would be no ethnic cleansing, without the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II there would be no communist rule in Eastern Europe and etc. The article also examines the prerequisites for the formation and transformation of the totalitarian political system and regime of the USSR, against which the revival of democracy and market economy began in Europe.

Disputes regarding the sacral dimension of marriage in Poland from 1945-1948

Poland in the latter half of the 20th century was a place where the Christian vision of the world struggled with the Marxist vision and the totalitarian political system that stemmed from it. The civil law that regulated entering into marriage and its consequences was one of the key areas of dispute. This paper presents the origin of the conflict started by the act of 25 September 1945, which introduced new regulations, contrary to the centuries-old tradition based on the Christian axiology. Civil relationships and the permissibility of divorce were their main points. The Church responded with a pastoral letter – the first one since the end of the war – defending the sacramental nature of marriage. It emphasised the unique dignity of the marriage of the man and the woman, based on mature love, which leads to creating a family and building a community.

The need of research on the language of protest in Poland during the period of communism — government-independent press in Cracow

In the 1980s illegal press played a very important role in the fight for political changes in Poland and was also one of the most important tools against official government language. This press was a part of a bigger picture of the language self-defence in totalitarian political system. Professor I. Kamińska-Szmaj from University in Wroclaw characterised this phenomenon very adequately in her books. Cracow — according to the newest historical research — was the second largest independent press movement center in Poland. In Cracow between 1976–1990 there were a few hundred different kinds of independent press circulations, therefore it is a priceless source for language and press research. This article is describing a variety of possibilities and perspectives in this very interesting linguistic research field, which is still very little known and rarely described.a

« Qu'est-ce que la vérité ? » Réponses romaines au problème des « fausses nouvelles »

Citing examples from Antiquity like the trial against Jesus Christ and the politics of Caligula, the article analyses the dangers of legislation against “fake news “. Being a limitation to free speech and the first step to a totalitarian political system, the author is against such kind of legislative activism.

The tension between “risk” and “guilt” in the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s exploration of responsible life

This article discusses the two definitions for a responsible life and action that the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer provides in his book Ethics, which suggest that accepting Schuld – taking on guilt, debt, or an obligation – seems to override the risk involved in responsibility. A comparison of Stellvertretung, Schuldübernahme, and Zurechnung of the German codified civil law and their dogmatic intricacies shows that Bonhoeffer adopted jurisprudential thought into his theology of acting responsibly through taking on Schuld in accordance with Jesus Christ, the incarnated God who once existed in human reality and acted on the cross as Stellvertreter for humanity. Embracing elements of the sub-constitutional German civil law tradition of the bourgeois liberal-democratic movement of the 19th century served Bonhoeffer to emphasize, as part of his resistance to a dehumanizing totalitarian political system, an independent private space of freedom that is removed from the public sphere.

Sociology, politology and public policy in development and mutual relations in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland

Public policy, as the youngest of the political sciences, began to take shape in the early 1950s in the field of political science, particularly in the United States, under the influence of empirical research in the framework of the so called Policy Analysis. The use of sociological methods in this research was one of the factors that shifted political science toward public policy theory, while sociological inspiration was also present in the theoretical plane of this shift (for example, the influence of J. Dewey on H. Lasswell, etc.). Alongside, the American school, in Germany Politikfeldanalysen developed in a partly different direction, and the French politique publique with the strongest influence of sociology. Some attention has already been given to comparing these “national schools” in the development of public policy and its theory in these “classical” countries. The present study compares the course of the interaction between political science, sociology, and public policy in three Central European countries – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland – where these relations were able to develop only following the establishment of democratic social order in the early 1990s. Both in the Czech and Slovak Republic, during totalitarian political system political sciences ceased to exist and when back in 1990s they were restored, sociologists participated as well, which, in turn had positive impact on the start of public policy within the framework of political sciences. In Poland, however, the politology cal science survived in a format under influence of ideology, but it did not established a framework to give rise to public policy, that was here replaced by other sciences.

Russian liberal thought and the formation of the modern theory of political parties

The report highlights the little-explored aspects of the Russian liberal theory of political parties in the second half of the XIX – 30s of the XX centuries: the stages of its development, the philosophical foundations, and the innovative ideas of its main representatives. Analyzing the works of Russian liberal thinkers, the author used the methods of philosophical research, as well as approaches used in historical and political sciences, and also general scientific methods, such as logical and classification methods. The author distinguishes three stages in the development of the Russian liberal theory of political parties in this period: 1) 1858-1889; 2) 1889-1917); 3) 1917-1930s, which differ by subject of study (Russian or Western parties) and research tasks (preparing the conditions for the transition from authoritarianism to democracy or fighting against the totalitarian Communist system). The author notes the heterogeneity of the philosophical foundations of the Russian liberal theory of political parties, which included neo-Hegelianism, positivism, and even elements of Marxism. Among the most important achievements of Russian liberals, the author notes the study of the social nature and functions of party elites (Ostrogorski) and determining the place and role of the ruling parties in authoritarian and totalitarian political systems (Chicherin, Miliukov).

Some European roots of the personality cult phenomenon – the attempt of comparative approach

The aim of this article is an attempt of comparative approach to the personality cult phenomenon, which formed the distinctive feature of three totalitarian political systems developed in Europe after the first world war, namely Italy during the rule of Benito Mussolini, Nazi Third Reich and the Stalinist Soviet Union. And so, after some general presentation of personality cults centered on three leaders of these totalitarian political systems, four general questions had been analyzed. These were as follows: some so-called “cult products”, some methods used in the cult’s propaganda, some functions of the cult of personality and finally some attitudes of totalitarian political leaders toward the cult of personality.

„THE SILK ROAD“, ТHE EURASIAN PROJECT AND „GREAT EURASIA“ (GEOPOLITICAL READING)

The research is carried out through the prism of geopolitics and reveals the "logic" and the essence of „The Belt and Road Initiative“. It outlines its basic ideas and goals. The study justifies and proves the (hypo)thesis that despite the apparent "leadership" of the economic events, the political and geopolitical aspects (vectors) of the project are linked to the economy. The economy does not function on its own way, but is formulated, supported by policy and used for political purposes, i.e., the project in its deep essence is political. The political nature of „The Belt and Road Initiative“ is expressed in the following: it is an attempt to find in internal policy a mechanism to preserve the political power of the Communist Party and to continue the existence of the dominant political system - the totalitarian (one-party) political system in the PRC. The geopolitical task is to find the „place“ of modern China in the global world. The goal is to restore the central ("middle") location of China in the 21st century world. „The Silk Road“ is one of the directions for its realization and the means for its achievement are complex - the „most obvious“ are the actions in the economic sphere, but equally important are the military, diplomatic, cultural factors and impacts. In conclusion, it is argued that „The Belt and Road Initiative“ will be realized as an optimal, reasonable balancebetween the „desired“ and the „possible“ and will be specified in the adoption of the formula „Great Eurasia“, i.e., in the transformation of China into a regional (regional-global, global-regional) center, the „middle empire“ of the Eurasian super-continent, the largest and most powerful geopolitical and geo-economic power center in the future „multipolar“ or more likely „bipolar“ („West-Sea“ - „East-Еarth“) world from the middle and the end of the 21st century.

Kafkijanska istraga

The main purpose of this paper consists of showing in which way the modes of investigation are presented in the literary work of Franz Kafka "In der Strafkolonie". The main methods of the paper are the hermeneutical and the phenomenological. The literary work of art shows, in the sense of Gadamerian hermeneutics, the meaning growth in comparison to non-literary investigation procedure. It also comes out that the investigation has its birthplace in fear and doubt. Every ideology of totalitarian regimes has its birthplace in the fear of the presence of the second or third, which puts into question the bare existence of such systems. Kafka's work shows us that every kind of ontological monism is impossible and that it leads to some kind of totalitarian political systems.

Prerequisites and Establishment of the Relations between Romania and the European Communities (1960-1970s)

The author investigates the preconditions and establishment of the relations between Romania and the European Communities throughout the 60’s and 70’s of the twentieth century. It is argued that despite Romania’s becoming a totalitarian political system, the policy of distancing from the USSR contributed to the formation of a positive image of Romania in the EEC countries and the intensification of relations between the SRR and the countries of the Community. As a result, Romania became the first member of the GATT among the Eastern European states and has access to the financial resources of the IMF and IBRD and has been included in the Community General System of Preferences.
 Keywords: Romania, European Community, European integration

Pamėgdžiojamoji ir atavistinė žiniasklaidos politikos kryptis: Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos atvejis

Straipsnyje, vadovaujantis Karolio Jakubowicziaus išskiria­momis penkiomis teorinėmis pokomunistinės žiniasklaidos politikos kryp­timis, nagrinėjami probleminiai Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos (nuo 1987 m. iki 1996 m., kai buvo priimtas Visuomenės informavimo įstatymas bei Lie­tuvos nacionalinio radijo ir televizijos įstatymas) pokyčiai žlugus sovietinei totalitarinei politinei sistemai. Subyrėjusi Sovietų Sąjunga atnešė didelių pokyčių visose visuomenės gyvenimo srityse. Jie patvirtino žiniasklaidos teorijoje įtvirtintą apibrėžtį, kad keičiantis politinei santvarkai neišvengia­mai kinta ir iki tol egzistavusi žiniasklaidos sistema. Sovietmečiu valdžios įrankiu buvęs Lietuvos radijas ir televizija taip pat turėjo keistis. Pagrin­dinis straipsnio tikslas – išanalizuoti, kokią pokomunistinės žiniasklaidos politikos kryptį rinkosi Lietuvos radijas ir televizija žlugus sovietinei komu­nistinei sistemai. Straipsnyje naudoti interviu, autorės atlikti su Domijonu Šniuku1, ku­ris 1989 metų vasario 13 d. tapo Lietuvos Sovietų Socialistinės Respublikos (LSSR) Valstybinio televizijos ir radijo (RTV) komiteto prie LSSR Ministrų tarybos pirmininku, o nuo 1990 metų kovo iki 1990 metų birže­lio 19 d. ėjo Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos generalinio direktoriaus pareigas.Taip pat su Juozu Neverausku2 – nuo 1982 metų minėto RTV komite­to pirmininko pavaduotoju, nuo 1995 metų sausio 17 d. iki 1996 metų gruodžio 13 d. laikinai ėjusiu Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos generalinio di­rektoriaus pareigas, su Dalia Kutraite3, kuri nuo 1997 metų sausio 21 d. iki 1997 m. vasario 18 d. laikinai ėjo Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos genera­linio direktoriaus pareigas, su Algirdu Kaušpėdu4 – 1990 metų gegužę – 1993 metų sausį Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos generalinio direktoriaus pava­duotoju televizijai ir su Nerijum Maliukevičiumi5 – 1989 metų – 1992 metų Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos generalinio direktoriaus pavaduotoju radijui.

Violence as a human condition: Recent contributions from the German social sciences

Raume der Gewalt by Jorg Barberowski; S Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt, 2013, 272 pages, 19.99 [euro], cloth ISBN 978-3-10-004818-9 Topologie der Gewalt by Byung-Chul Han; Verlag Matthes und Seitz, Berlin, 2011, 192 pages, 19.90 [euro], cloth 978-3-88221-495-6 Vertrauen und Gewalt. Versuch uber eine besondere Konstellation der Moderne by Jan Philip Reemtsma; Hamburger Edition, Hamburg, 2013 [2008], 576 pages, 20.00 euro], cloth ISBN 978-3-86854-270-7 'Cats scratch, dogs bite, men kill' (Ruth Kluger) The phenomenon of violence still presents a unique challenge to social theory. Recent discourses on terrorism open new fields for conceptualising the phenomenon. However, it is still the experiences of the 20th century which continue to shape theoretical reflections on violence: the two world wars, the totalitarian political systems of Stalinism and National Socialist Germany, the German concentration camps and Soviet Gulag, Hiroshima and Nagasaki--the list is by far not exhaustive. Ruth Kluger, a survivor of the German concentration camp system, offers a short and lapidary account of these excesses of violence. In a conversation with Jan Reemtsma, she stated that, 'Cats scratch, dogs bite, men kill' (Reemtsma, 2013[2008], p. 15). Her statement expresses both the factuality and the incommensurability of violence in human experience. Violence is beyond explanation, and perhaps there is nothing to explain in the first place. In Kluger's statement, violence becomes a human condition. The three books under review here address the idea of violence as a human condition. All of them start from the observation that violence has far from disappeared from human experience. Yet this observation poses a problem. It is not easily reconciled with the foundational norm of modernity that violence should no longer be a part of social life. Each in its own way, the three books try to make sense of this observation and the problems which it poses for social theory. Broadly speaking, the authors reflect on three main questions: first, why does violence persist in spite of the central promise of modernity that it should disappear from our societies? Second, how do social theory and everyday practice interpret and deal with this incongruity between expectation and experience? Third, what are the specific forms of violence in (late) modernity and the more generic insights they offer about the phenomenon? The authors tackle these three questions to various degrees, from different individual and conceptual vantage points. In this review essay, I discuss their insights, reflect on the challenges violence poses to social theory, and, at the same time, outline some generic reflections on violence based on these books. All of the three books which I discuss were originally published in German, and only Reemtsma's has so far been translated to English. The three books draw to a considerable degree on sources in German language, some of which have not been translated to English either. For this reason, all of the translations of direct quotes from German to English are my own. The history of the 20th century certainly points towards a specific German experience of violence. Indeed, this history is important for the analyses of the books by Barberowski and Reemtsma. For the former, it also figures as an explicit autobiographical reference to family history. However, my aim with this review is not to suggest that there is a specific 'German' approach to theorizing violence. Rather, I seek to render accessible these authors' reflections to an English language readership. The German social sciences have a long and rich tradition of social theory on violence. Jorg Barberowski's Raume der Gewalt (Spaces of violence) explores violence as a spatial concept. A historian and philosopher whose research focuses on Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, particularly for the Stalin era, much of his empirical material relates to German and Soviet history. …

Rock Music Censorship in Czechoslovakia between 1969 and 1989

This work is centered on media coverage of rock music in its broader ideological and political sense, with an emphasis on the institutional frame of Communist media propaganda in the period of normalization, i.e., the final phase of the totalitarian political system that was in control in Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1989. Rock music was indeed a “problematic” genre for Communist cultural policy because it, allegedly, promoted the destabilization of Communist ideological and aesthetic norms. To counteract this, Communists started using propagandist campaigns to manipulate media portrayal of rock music and its protagonists through developing wide range of censorship mechanisms.

MODEL OF SAMIZDAT AND THE CASE OF THE SPREAD OF SECRET PACTS OF RIBBENTROP–MOLOTOV

The aim of the paper is to present the theoretical model of samizdat. With regard to this model, samizdat, which emerged in Lithuania in the 50’s of the 20th century and persisted nearly until the collapse of the soviet system, is construed as a new phenomenon of the underground press. Samizdat was one of the categories of the underground press, which was distinguished by a unique mechanism of spreading. With the reference to the insights of Aleksandr Daniel the first half of the paper discusses principal differences of samizdat from other categories of the underground press (“texts of personal usage”, “coterie”, partisan press and proclamations). Contrary to other underground press, the publishers of samizdat controlled only preparation and distribution of only the primary edition (generally small), and subsequent circulation of the publications took place in the circle of the readers. Therefore, the major role in samizdat was played by the readers, who multiplied and distributed the publications on their own initiative and without the awareness of the publishers.Pursuing to substantiate the presented theoretical model, the second half of paper scrutinizes Abstractthe history of the spread of one document – secret pacts of Ribbentrop–Molotov – in samizdat. The method of “one case analysis” revealed reasonability of the theoretical model and expedience of its use. The spread of the secret pacts of Ribbentrop–Molotov in the 70’s–80’s may be considered a typical model of samizdat. Moreover, the spread of the documents revealed a unique peculiarity of the renewal of samizdat: since samizdat was circulating in numerous directions and in a diversity of circles of readers, it was practically impossible for the soviet authorities to stop the spread of a text, which reached samizdat. Such elemental mistake predetermined vitality and efficiency of such underground press in the soviet society.Exchange of information through the principle of samizdat was determined by the heritage of the totalitarian political system – the society was so polarized that usual forms of the underground press become ineffective. In the meanwhile, samizdat opened new possibilities for the spread of the uncensored ideas in the post-totalitarian system, which could assist in overcoming mistrust prevailing in the society and its disunity.