Russia After Lenin: Politics, Culture and Society, 1921-1929 (Education; 71)

Following the Russian Revolution, the cultural and political landscape of Russia was strewn with contradictions. The dictatorship, censorship and repression of the Communist party existed alongside private enterprise, the black market and open debates on Socialism. In Russian Society and politics 1921-1929 Vladimir Brovkin offers a comprehensive cultural, political, economic and social history of developments in Russia in the 1920's. By examining the contrast between Bolshevik propaganda claims and social reality, the author explains how Communist representations were variously received and resisted by workers, peasants, students, women, teachers and party officials. He presents a picture of cultural diversity and rejection of Communist constraints through many means including unauthorised protest, religion, jazz music and poetry. In Russian Society and Politics 1921-1929 Vladimir Brovkin argues that these trends, if left unchecked, endangered the Communist Party's monopoly on political power. The Stalinist revolution can thus be seen as a pre-emptive strike against this independent and vibrant society as well as a product of Stalin's personality and communist ideology. Book Cover Half-Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Illustrations Abbreviations Acknowledgments Introduction Revolutionary identity RUSSIAN SOCIALISM THE BOLSHEVIK VALUE SYSTEM UTOPIAN VISION, 1917 SMASHING THE BOURGEOIS STATE NEP SOCIETY The intelligentsia The masses Political discourse Chapter 1 Extracting socially alien elements POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTELLIGENTSIA OPERATION “THE LIVING CHURCH” THE “FORMER” PEOPLE Chapter 2 The Culture of the New Elite 1921–5 Ascetic knights and drinking pals OLD HABITS AND NEW TASTES EDUCATING THE NEW PARTY CADRES DISSIDENT VOICES Chapter 3 Bolshevik actions and peasants’ reactions, 1921–5 Face the village, face defeat WHO KNEW WHAT PEASANT CONCERNS STRATEGIES OF COPING Representations The Peasant Union movement ELECTIONS, 1925 Chapter 4 Propaganda and popular belief AGITPROP: ERADICATING ALIEN INFLUENCE POTEMKIN VILLAGES ON THE IDEOLOGICAL FRONT ANTI-RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGNS58 POPULAR RELIGIOSITY Chapter 5 The Komsomol and youth A transmission belt that snapped REPRESENTATIONS RURAL CELLS: HOOLIGANISM AND DRUNKENNESS WORKERS: VODKA, SEX, AND DEFIANCE Vodka Sex Defiance STUDENTS: POVERTY, “DECADENCE,” AND DISSENT Poverty “Decadence”97 Dissent Chapter 6 Women: false promises, dashed hopes, and the pretense of emancipation RURAL WOMEN: STAYING OUT OR GETTING INVOLVED?6 FACTORY WOMEN: FROM COMPLAINTS TO PROTEST A NEW SOVIET WOMAN: DATING, FASHIONS, AND FOX-TROT BOLSHEVIK WOMEN Chapter 7 Towards showdown in the countryside, 1926–8 RURAL PARTY: ADAPTATION, DEFIANT REJECTION, AND INTERVENTION Adaptation Defiant rejection Intervention RADICALIZATION, 1926 ELECTIONS, 1927 BOLSHEVIK DILEMMAS, 1928 Chapter 8 The proletariat against the vanguard NEW BOSSES, OLD PROBLEMS, 1921–5 WAS THERE AN NEP IN INDUSTRY? NEW RADICALISM, NEW LABELS, 1926–9 Chapter 9 The Bolshevik old guard and the upstarts, 1924–9 THE NEW COMMUNISTS POLITICAL OPINION The leftist heresy The right wing deviation THE CRISIS OF BOLSHEVISM Chapter 10 Conclusion BOLSHEVIK CULTURE RECASTING SOCIETY REPRESENTATIONS SOCIAL REALITY CONFIDENTIAL DISCOURSE SHOWDOWN THE CULTURE OF SOVIETISM Notes Bibliography Index Following the Russian Revolution, the cultural and political landscape of Russia was strewn with contradictions. The dictatorship, censorship and repression of the Communist party existed alongside private enterprise, the black market and open debates on Socialism.
In Russian Society and politics 1921-1929 Vladimir Brovkin offers a comprehensive cultural, political, economic and social history of developments in Russia in the 1920's.
By examining the contrast between Bolshevik propaganda claims and social reality, the author explains how Communist representations were variously received and resisted by workers, peasants, students, women, teachers and party officials. He presents a picture of cultural diversity and rejection of Communist constraints through many means including unauthorised protest, religion, jazz music and poetry.
In Russian Society and Politics 1921-1929 Vladimir Brovkin argues that these trends, if left unchecked, endangered the Communist Party's monopoly on political power. The Stalinist revolution can thus be seen as a pre-emptive strike against this independent and vibrant society as well as a product of Stalin's personality and communist ideology. In Russian After Lenin, Vladimir Brovkin offers a comprehensive cultural, political, economic, and social history of developments in Russia in the 1920s. By examining the contrast between Bolshevik propaganda claims and social reality, Brovkin explains how Communist representations were variously received and resisted by workers, peasants, students, women, teachers, and party officials. He presents a picture of cultural diversity and rejection of Communist constraints through many means including unauthorized protest, religion, jazz music and poetry. Brovkin argues that these trends endangered the Communist Party's monopoly on political power and argues that the Stalinist revolution can be seen as a preemptive strike against this independent and vibrant society