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. Humanities Book Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 3 Copyright 4 Dedication 5 Contents 6 Illustrations 9 Abbreviations 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction Revolutionary identity 14 RUSSIAN SOCIALISM 16 THE BOLSHEVIK VALUE SYSTEM 18 UTOPIAN VISION, 1917 21 SMASHING THE BOURGEOIS STATE 23 NEP SOCIETY 26 The intelligentsia 27 The masses 29 Political discourse 30 Chapter 1 Extracting socially alien elements 32 POLITICAL PARTIES AND INTELLIGENTSIA 33 OPERATION “THE LIVING CHURCH” 39 THE “FORMER” PEOPLE 42 Chapter 2 The Culture of the New Elite 1921–5 Ascetic knights and drinking pals 50 OLD HABITS AND NEW TASTES 50 EDUCATING THE NEW PARTY CADRES 61 DISSIDENT VOICES 65 Chapter 3 Bolshevik actions and peasants’ reactions, 1921–5 Face the village, face defeat 70 WHO KNEW WHAT 71 PEASANT CONCERNS 73 STRATEGIES OF COPING 79 Representations 79 The Peasant Union movement 80 ELECTIONS, 1925 83 Chapter 4 Propaganda and popular belief 94 AGITPROP: ERADICATING ALIEN INFLUENCE 94 POTEMKIN VILLAGES ON THE IDEOLOGICAL FRONT 97 ANTI-RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGNS58 106 POPULAR RELIGIOSITY 111 Chapter 5 The Komsomol and youth A transmission belt that snapped 120 REPRESENTATIONS 120 RURAL CELLS: HOOLIGANISM AND DRUNKENNESS 121 WORKERS: VODKA, SEX, AND DEFIANCE 125 Vodka 125 Sex 129 Defiance 132 STUDENTS: POVERTY, “DECADENCE,” AND DISSENT 138 Poverty 138 “Decadence”97 139 Dissent 141 Chapter 6 Women: false promises, dashed hopes, and the pretense of emancipation 146 RURAL WOMEN: STAYING OUT OR GETTING INVOLVED?6 146 FACTORY WOMEN: FROM COMPLAINTS TO PROTEST 154 A NEW SOVIET WOMAN: DATING, FASHIONS, AND FOX-TROT 157 BOLSHEVIK WOMEN 162 Chapter 7 Towards showdown in the countryside, 1926–8 168 RURAL PARTY: ADAPTATION, DEFIANT REJECTION, AND INTERVENTION 168 Adaptation 169 Defiant rejection 170 Intervention 173 RADICALIZATION, 1926 174 ELECTIONS, 1927 177 BOLSHEVIK DILEMMAS, 1928 181 Chapter 8 The proletariat against the vanguard 186 NEW BOSSES, OLD PROBLEMS, 1921–5 186 WAS THERE AN NEP IN INDUSTRY? 192 NEW RADICALISM, NEW LABELS, 1926–9 196 Chapter 9 The Bolshevik old guard and the upstarts, 1924–9 204 THE NEW COMMUNISTS 205 POLITICAL OPINION 213 The leftist heresy 214 The right wing deviation 218 THE CRISIS OF BOLSHEVISM 221 Chapter 10 Conclusion 226 BOLSHEVIK CULTURE 226 RECASTING SOCIETY 227 REPRESENTATIONS 228 SOCIAL REALITY 229 CONFIDENTIAL DISCOURSE 232 SHOWDOWN 234 THE CULTURE OF SOVIETISM 235 Notes 238 Bibliography 268 Index 276 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