scholarly journals Book Review: Odintsov, M. I. Confessional Policy in the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War in 1941-1945 [Text] / M. I. Odintsov, A. S. Kochetova. – M. : Scientific & Political Book : Political Encyclopedia, 2014. – 317 p. – (History of Stalinism)

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-205
Author(s):  
Vadim Yakunin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals Stalin, the Politburo, and the Onset of the Cold War, 1945-1946

1988 ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Albert Resis
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
New Wave ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Communist Ideology ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Soviet Foreign Policy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cold War

The precise function that Marxist-Leninist ideology serves in the formation and conduct of Soviet foreign policy remains a highly contentious question among Western scholars. In the first postwar year, however, few senior officials or Soviet specialists in the West doubted that Communist ideology served as the constitutive element of Soviet foreign policy. Indeed, the militant revival of Marxism-Leninism after the Kremlin had downplayed it during 'The Great Patriotic War" proved to be an important factor in the complex of causes that led to the breakup of the Grand Alliance. Moscow's revival of that ideology in 1945 prompted numerous top-level Western leaders and observers to regard it as heralding a new wave of Soviet world-revolutionary messianism and expansionism. Many American and British officials were even alarmed by the claim, renewed, for example, in Moscow's official History of Diplomacy, that Soviet diplomacy possessed a "scientific theory," a "weapon" possessed by none of its rivals or opponents. This "weapon," Marxism-Leninism, Moscow ominously boasted, enabled Soviet leaders to comprehend, foresee, and master the course of international affairs, smoothing the way for Soviet diplomacy to make exceptional gains since 1917. Now, in the postwar period, Stalinist diplomacy opened before the Soviet Union "boundlesshorizons and the most majestic prospects."

scholarly journals “Myths Making”: Western View of Soviet/Russian Historical Memory (Book Review: Davis, V. Myth Making in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia: Remembering World War Two in Brezhnev’s Hero City [Text] / V. Davis. – London : I.B. Taurus, 2018. – 351 p.)

2020 ◽  
pp. 120-125
Author(s):  
Aleksey Popov ◽  
Oleg Romanko
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Public Consciousness ◽  
Western View

Introduction. The publication is a review of the monograph of British researcher V. Davis, dedicated to the Soviet and Post-Soviet memory of the Great Patriotic War in the hero city of Novorossiysk. Methods and materials. Based on a significant set of published materials and oral interviews, the author characterizes discourse, memorials, and practices related to the genesis and subsequent development of the “myth about Malaya Zemlya”. From the methodological point of view, the peer-reviewed monograph is written from the position of the popular direction of memory studies in the West and is characterized by interdisciplinarity, increased attention to the analysis of memorial discourse, visual representations and social practices, while completely ignoring the complex of archival sources on the research topic. Analysis and Results. The main conclusion of the author is that through its association with L.I. Brezhnev’s biography during his reign, the “malozemelniy myth” became an important part of not only local but also national historical memory. Generally, the reviewed book is a valuable contribution to the study of the collective memory of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet and Post-Soviet period, and the debatable nature of its individual provisions can serve as an incentive for the emergence of new studies. The main disadvantage of the book in terms of its scientific significance is the author’s desire to impose on the reader non-obvious political conclusions about the total mythology of the Soviet/Post-Soviet memory of the Great Patriotic War, as well as the permanent militarism of public consciousness in the USSR/Russia.

Work of the International Air Commission of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain in September 1941: Records of the Negotiations

2018 ◽  
pp. 1175-1187
Author(s):  
Karina A. Merzhanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Aviation Industry ◽  
Aircraft Industry ◽  
Aircraft Manufacturing ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Original Record

The publication introduces into scientific use and analyses a unique document on the work of the international aviation commission (Moscow, September 1941) that worked at the conference of representatives of the USSR, the USA, and England on the issue of military deliveries to the Soviet Union. The published document has been found when preparing ‘History of creation and development of the defense industry complex of Russia and the USSR. 1900–1963. Documents and materials.’ Presently the fifth volume of the series covering the period of the Great Patriotic War is being prepared. The document published here precedes the publication of that volume. The question of military lend-lease deliveries of planes to the Soviet Union considered by the commission was of great importance to Soviet aviation industry. Evacuation of aircraft manufacturing facilities led to a decrease in production. For a time the aircraft industry continued to work on mobilization stocks and lend-lease deliveries. The aviation commission of the Soviet Union was to secure the necessary quantity of warplanes from the USA and England, which for that end had to curtail their own arms contracts. The published document shows the process of negotiations and its result – how fully the Soviet delegation managed to solve the tasks set before it. In the introduction, the situation in Soviet and American aviation industry at the start of negotiations is analyzed. The published document is stored in the fonds of the Russian State Archive of Economy. It is a typewritten original record of negotiations of even date. It expands source base on lend-lease, shows how the Soviet delegation tried to obtain newest American and English military aircraft equipment, and allows to understand the nuances of interactions of the allies, to analyze their positions and approaches to negotiations.

Memory Makers of the Great Patriotic War

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-32
Author(s):  
Anne E. Hasselmann
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
War Memory ◽  
War Narrative ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
War Commemoration

In the wake of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet museum curators began to establish a museal depiction of the war. This article analyzes these early beginnings of Soviet war commemoration and the curtailing of its surprising heterogeneity in late Stalinism. Historical research has largely ignored the impact of Soviet museum workers (muzeishchiki) on the evolution of Russian war memory. Archival material from the Red Army Museum, now renamed the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, in Moscow and the Belarus Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk documents the unfolding of locally specific war exhibitions which stand in stark contrast to the later homogenized official Soviet war narrative. Yet war memory was not created unilaterally by the curators. Visitors also participated in its making, as the museum guestbooks demonstrate. As “sites of commemoration and learning,” early Soviet war exhibitions reveal the agency of the muzeishchiki and the involvement of the visitors in the “small events” of memory creation.

At the last pier

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-92
Author(s):  
O. Реrеsypkin
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
History Of

The article examines the history of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Syria and Lebanon, a brief history of Lebanon, the situation in the Middle East at that time, and, importantly, gives the author's own assessment of the diplomatic acts that took place against the background of the ongoing Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.

MATERIALS OF THE COLLECTION OF SOVIET UNION HEROES(THE CENTRAL STATE ARCHIVES OF MOSCOW): L.A. BUTKOV, THE PARTICIPANT OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-153
Author(s):  
Sergei S. Voytikov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central State ◽  
Military Operation ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Archives

The work introduces into scientific circulation the documents (autobiography and memoirs) from the personal file of L.A. Butkov, the Soviet Union Hero; his dossier being deposited inside the collection of Soviet Union Heroes (the Central State Archives of Moscow, F. P-8682). If the autobiography is an extremely formalized text, the memoirs mentioning the author’s hatred towards the Nazi invaders are written in easy language, reflecting the impressions of those ordinary fighters who, to a large extent, won the Great Patriotic War. The title of the Soviet Union Hero was awarded to the company commander of the 164th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 55th Guards Rifle Division of the 56th Guards Army senior lieutenant L.A. Butkov on May 16, 1944, for his distinction in the Kerch-Eltigen military operation. The company was the first to land on the shore occupied by the enemy and managed to hold the bridgehead, ensuring the successful landing of the entire division. During the battle, the company commander personally destroyed the machine gun with the gunners and 11 more enemy soldiers. The documentary collection, which holds L.A. Butkov’s file, was collected after the war by the Institute of Party History of the MC and MGK VKP(b), headed by the director of the Institute G.D. Kostomarov

scholarly journals The Soviet Press of the Great Patriotic War about the French Squadron “Normandie-Niemen“

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Galina N. Kaninskaya ◽  
Natalya N. Naumova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Air Force ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Alliance ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Military

The article is devoted to the participation of French pilots of the Normandy squadron in battles on the Soviet-German front as part of the Red Army in 1943-1945. After the defeat of France at the first stage of World War II (1940), the occupation of its territory by Germany and the organization of the Resistance movement “Fighting France” in London by General Charles de Gaulle, the pilots joined him expressed a burning desire to fight the enemy in the skies over Soviet soil. Their participation in the ranks of the Soviet Air Force was a unique event in the history of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (1945-1945). The article analyzes the information of the Soviet press during the war years about the French squadron “Normandie-Niemen”, which fought in the Soviet Air Force on the Soviet-German front. It is shown that Soviet readers during the Great Patriotic War could get a very complete and reliable idea of the military exploits of French pilots, find out the names of heroes, get acquainted with the military everyday life of officers, appreciate their patriotism and sincere friendly feelings for the Soviet Union and its people. Along with stories about the air battles of the Normandy, the articles of Soviet correspondents contained information about the history of France, how the pilots reacted to the defeat of their country, how and where they fought in the first stage of the Second World War. The press of the war years gave brief sketches of the everyday life of French fighters on Soviet soil, about the curious events that happened to the pilots of the squadron. On the example of newspaper publications 1943-1945. about the military alliance of our and French pilots, you can get an idea of how the cooperation of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition developed and strengthened.

Victory Day in Modern Odessa: A Conflict Between Two Concepts of Memory

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
Ирина Юрьевна Ямпольская
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Symbolic Action ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
History Of

Формирование идентичности в современной Украине связано с выработкой отношения ко многим аспектам истории, прежде всего истории советского периода. Важнейший момент - отношение к Великой Отечественной войне. В 2014-2015 гг. после резкого ухудшения российско-украинских отношений в рамках декоммунизации была создана новая официальная концепция праздника. Отношение к реформированию Дня Победы является тестом на лояльность не только для политиков и рядовых граждан, но и для целых регионов, которые различаются по уровню пророссийской ориентации. Консервативная оппозиция, оказавшаяся включенной в процесс реформирования, но не имеющая возможности противодействовать ему открыто, часто выражает свою точку зрения через символические действия. Так, в Одессе «низовым» символическим высказыванием является подчеркнутое следование традиционным и «пророссийским» формам ритуальности, связанным с Днем Победы: игнорирование новой даты проведения праздника (на мероприятия, организованные центральной властью 8 мая, приходят значительно меньше одесситов, чем на традиционные мероприятия 9 мая); внимание к запрещенной символике (красным знаменам, советским воинским символам, советским военным песням, георгиевским лентам); демонстрация портретов ветеранов войны, что является следованием формату «Бессмертного полка» (формат возник как деидеологизированный, но в современной Украине воспринимающийся как «пророссийский»); использование в различных формах «нежелательной» лексики, например, выражения «Великая Отечественная война» вместо «Вторая мировая война» и др. The formation of identity in modern Ukraine is connected, in particular, with attitudes towards many aspects of its history, primarily the history of the Soviet period. The most important of these is the attitude towards the Great Patriotic War, the term used in former republics of the Soviet Union to refer to WWII. In 2014-2015, after the sharp deterioration in Russian-Ukrainian relations, a new official conception of Victory Day was developed as part of the process of de-communization. One’s attitude towards the reform of the holiday became a test of loyalty not only for politicians and ordinary citizens, but also for entire regions of the country, which, as is known, differ in their level of pro-Russian sentiment. The conservative, pro-Russian opposition to the reform process, which was drawn into it but was unable to oppose it openly, often expresses its point of view through symbolic action. In Odessa, for instance, the grassroots symbolic expression of this attitude is an emphatic adherence to the traditional and “pro-Russian” forms of the ritual associated with Victory Day. This includes ignoring the new date of the holiday, May 8 (many fewer Odessa residents turn out for the events organized by the central government on that date as compared to their participation in old-style events on May 9); the use of forbidden symbols such as red flags, Soviet military images and songs, and St. George ribbons (a traditional mark of remembrance of those who died in WWII); parading with portraits of war veterans, following the model of the “Immortal Regiment” (a patriotic society with its own special practice of street marching; while this practice began in Russia as ideologically neutral, in modern Ukraine it is perceived as “pro-Russian”); and the use of “undesirable” vocabulary, for example, use of the expression “Great Patriotic War” instead of “World War II.”

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