Regime and society in twentieth-century Russia : selected papers from the Fifth World Congress of Central and East European Studies, Warsaw 1995 (ICCEE)

This book contains fresh approaches to the interaction between regime and society in twentieth-century Russia. It offers new answers to familiar questions: \* How useful is 'totalitarianism' as a model to categorise authoritarian regimes? \* What chances existed for tsarism to establish itself as a constitutional monarchy? \* Were Trotsky and Lenin dictators in waiting? \* How did the Bolsheviks make the Lenin cult? \* What opposition did intellectuals offer in the Soviet regime? \* What is the nature of contemporary Russian constitutionalism? It is required reading for historians, political scientists, sociologists and everyone interested in modern Russia. Understandably it is the social, political and cconomic upheavals in the former USSR and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe that have attracted the lion's share of attention from the academic community and the general public alike during the last decade. It is, however, also necessary to take note of the important linguistic changes that have accompanied these upheavals. Most of the papers in this volume deal with Russian which, as one of the languages exposed longest to 'Sovietization', has undergone a particularly complex process of readjustment. If it is still carly to draw definitive conclusions, each contribution from its own individual standpoint helps to provide a preliminary understanding of the new language situation of post-Soviet Russia. The remaining papers examine the Russian and Ukrainian languages, the position of Komi-Permiak, and ask fundamental questions about language and society. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-9 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Politics of Ideocracy....Pages 13-24 Front Matter....Pages 25-25 Trotsky and the Duma....Pages 27-43 The Constitutional Monarchy in Russia, 1906–17....Pages 44-67 Constitutional Government in Russia....Pages 68-85 Front Matter....Pages 87-87 Lenin as Doctrinaire....Pages 89-106 Lenin’s Conception of Revolution as Civil War....Pages 107-117 The Origins and Intentions of the Lenin Cult....Pages 118-128 Front Matter....Pages 129-129 Soviet Economists in Opposition and Overseas....Pages 131-145 De-Stalinisation in the Moscow Art Profession....Pages 146-184 Precursor to Perestroika....Pages 185-206 History and Literature in Contemporary Russia....Pages 207-255 Back Matter....Pages 257-266 Eleven papers explore such areas as a new framework for analyzing totalitarianism, Trotsky and the Duma, Lenin's conception of revolution as civil war, Soviet economists in opposition and overseas, and history and literature in contemporary Russia. The conference was the first of the series held in eastern Europe, so contributors from the region are better represented than in previous years. Several thematic volumes are emerging from the conference. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) "Post-communist developments in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union do not follow any predetermined pattern. The authors, all of whom are leading experts in their respective fields, analyse the diversity of the experience of democratisation in a number of different settings and contexts."--Jacket Edited By Ian D. Thatcher. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Edited By Sue Bridger. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.