Kyiv as Regime City: The Return of Soviet Power after Nazi Occupation (Rochester Studies in East and Central Europe, 16)

Kyiv as Regime City charts the resettlement of the Ukrainian capital after Nazi occupation, focusing on the efforts of returning Soviet rulers to regain legitimacy within a Moscow-centered regime still attending to the warfront. Beginning with the Ukrainian Communists' inability to both purge their capital city of "socially dangerous" people and prevent the arrival of "unorganized" evacuees from the rear, this book chronicles how a socially and ethnically diverse milieu of Kyivans reassembled after many years of violence and terror. While the Ukrainian Communists successfully guarded entry into their privileged, elite ranks and monitored the masses' mood toward their superiors in Moscow, the party failed to conscript a labor force and rebuild housing, leading the Stalin regime to adopt new tactics to legitimize itself among the large Ukrainian and Jewish populations who once again called the city home. Drawing on sources from the once-closed central, regional, and local archives of the former Soviet Union, this study is essential reading for those seeking to understand how the Kremlin reestablished its power in Kyiv, consolidating its regime as the Cold War with the United States began. Martin J. Blackwell is Visiting Professor of History at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Charts the resettlement of the Ukrainian capital after Nazi occupation and the returning Soviet rulers'efforts to retain political legitimacy. Kyiv as Regime City charts the resettlement of the Ukrainian capital after Nazi occupation, focusing on the efforts of returning Soviet rulers to regain legitimacy within a Moscow-centered regime still attending to the warfront. Beginning with the Ukrainian Communists'inability to both purge their capital city of'socially dangerous'people and prevent the arrival of'unorganized'evacuees from the rear, this book chronicles how a socially and ethnically diverse milieu of Kyivans reassembled after many years of violence and terror. While the Ukrainian Communists successfully guarded entry into their privileged, elite ranks and monitored the masses'mood toward their superiors in Moscow, the party failed to conscript a labor force and rebuild housing, leading the Stalin regime to adopt new tactics to legitimize itself among the large Ukrainian and Jewish populations who once again called the city home. Drawing on sources from the once-closed central, regional, and local archives of the former Soviet Union, this study is essential reading for those seeking to understand how the Kremlin reestablished its power in Kyiv, consolidating its regime as the Cold War with the United States began. Martin J. Blackwell is Visiting Professor of History at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. "Drawing on the once closed local, regional, and national archives of the former Soviet Union, Kyiv as Regime City charts the resettlement of the Ukrainian capital after the end of Nazi occupation and the returning Soviet rulers' efforts there to retain legitimacy within a Moscow-centered regime still focused on the front. Beginning with the Ukrainian Communists' inability to either purge their capital city of 'socially dangerous' people or prevent the arrival of 'unorganized' evacuees from the rear due to new wartime laws designed to shore up the ranks of the Soviet military, this book chronicles how a socially and ethnically diverse milieu of Kyivans reassembled after many years of violence and terror. While the Ukrainian Communists successfully guarded entry into their privileged, elite ranks and monitored the masses' mood towards their superiors in Moscow, the party's failed attempts to conscript a labor force and begin housing reconstruction would later lead to the Stalin regime adopting new tactics to legitimize itself among the large Ukrainian and Jewish populations who once again called the city home. This is essential reading for those seeking to understand how the Kremlin operated as the Cold War with the United States of America began"...Provided by publisher Frontcover Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Glossary and Abbreviations Note on Transliterations Introduction Part One: Resettlement 1 “The Capital Is Being Settled All Over Again”: Resettlement from Fall 1943 to Fall 1944 2 “There Was No Real Battle against Illegal Entry”: Resettlement from Fall 1944 to Fall 1946 Part Two: Reassembly 3 “People Are Going for the Party Who Are Forcing Us to Be Justifiably Careful”: The Reassembled Elite 4 “A Textual Implementation of the Law . . . Was Not Carried Out”: The Reassembled Masses Part Three: Relegitimization 5 “The State’s Dignity Is Higher Than His Own Dignity”: The Relegitimization of Soviet Power 6 “Tashkent Partisans” and “German Bitches”: Relationships with Soviet Power Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index