scholarly journals “Khrushchev Constitution”: The path of a new constitutionalism

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Anas G. Gataullin ◽  
◽  
Dinar R. Zaynutdinov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Thaw Period ◽  
Post Soviet Period ◽  
Draft Constitution

Introduction. Scientific research on the process of preparing and developing the draft Constitution of the USSR in 1964 began to appear only in the post-Soviet period. In Soviet times, this topic was banned, and the project itself, being in the archive, was not available for research. The study of the “Khrushchev Constitution” only started in the post-Soviet period. Since the constitutional reforms carried out in the last decade (2008, 2014, 2020) caused a heated discussion in the scientific community, the study of the draft Constitution of the USSR in 1964 is gaining new relevance, allowing us to look at the process of development of domestic constitutionalism more comprehensively. Theoretical analysis. The study on the development of Russian constitutionalism results in new theoretical material that can be used in Russian state building. The purpose of the publication is to summarize the experience of constitutional design of the Khrushchev Thaw period. The tasks of the research: finding the reasons for the emergence of a new need to develop the Basic Law; defining the attitude of Soviet society to the institution of the presidency; analyzing the content of the draft Constitution of the USSR in 1964. Еmpirical analysis. The end of the era of Stalinism and the beginning of the Khrushchev Thaw period required a conceptual revision of the foundations of the constitutional order in the Soviet state. During the reign of N. S. Khrushchev, there were clear trends towards decentralizing economic management and public administration, and a return to the idea of “socialist legality” became relevant. To solve these problems, the creation of an appropriate legislative base was required, which was supposed to proceed from the Basic Law of the country. However, the existing Constitution of the USSR in 1936 could not provide support for a broad liberalization of the state-party system. As a result of the challenges of the new era, the idea of adopting a new Basic law, called the “Khrushchev Constitution”, arose. Results. This article examines the development of Soviet constitutionalism during the reign of N. S. Khrushchev and concludes that the draft Constitution of the USSR of 1964 made a significant contribution to the formation of the constitutional image of the Soviet state until its collapse. In addition, the content of the “Khrushchev Constitution” allows us to emphasize its much greater democratic potential, in contrast to the USSR Constitutions of 1936 and 1977.

THE POST-SOVIET STATE AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ISLAM IN KABARDIN-BALKARIA

Kavkazologiya ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 233-245
Author(s):  
A.A. TATAROV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
The North ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Religious Actors ◽  
Post Soviet Period

Since the 1990s, the North Caucasus has experienced various conflicts between state and religious actors, sometimes with dreadful consequences. A comprehensive perspective on these outbursts of conflict is often constrained by the sole focus on the revival and internal dynamics of Islam in the post-Soviet period. The changes in the Russian state since the 2000s, which were in the nature of recentralization and strengthening of the state’s monopoly over violence and the state’s control over organizations, can be considered as an important factor influencing the legal existence of opposition groups or organizations. The case study of Kabardino-Balkaria, traditionally a stable republic of the North Caucasus, contributes to understandings of how the transformation of the state in Russia since the late 1990s influenced the development of religious conflict and the institutionalization of Islam.

scholarly journals BOURGEOIS TENDENCIES IN THE SOCIAL LIFE AND MENTALITY OF THE SOVIET SOCIETY OF THE 1950S TO 80S.

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Mikhail А. Beznin ◽  
Tatyana M. Dimoni ◽  
Anna S. Stoletova
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
State Archive ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Post War ◽  
State Library ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
High Level

The article raises the question of a signifi cant trend in the socio-economic development of post-war Soviet society. As a study of the formation of bourgeois trends, the authors note class restructuring, a change in the organisation of labour, the formation of entrepreneurial skills, including in the sectors of the «ghost» and «shadow» economies, and the desire for a high level of consumption. Among the mechanisms of the formation of bourgeois trends, a signifi cant role was played by the position of the state, which, on the one hand, made efforts to stimulate interest in material security (including through the promotion of advanced workers, the formation of a new consumer culture), and on the other hand, restrained the processes of material differentiation according to ideological concepts of social justice. The article was prepared on the basis of materials from the Russian State Archive of Recent History, the Russian State Archive of Economics: documents from the Communist Party bodies, reviews of law enforcement agencies, letters from citizens, as well as basing on study of the results of sociological surveys of the 1960s and the 1980s. (Some of those were recovered from the former special security service of the Russian State Library). The authors come to the conclusion that by the end of the Soviet period as a result of ongoing processes, ideological cliches about a socially homogeneous society had signifi cantly outlived their usefulness.

scholarly journals Some features of democratization of the state-political system in the Republics of the North Caucasus in the post-soviet period

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
M. M. Aibatov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Caucasus Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Post Soviet Period

This article reveals the features and main trends of the process of democratization of the statepolitical system in the North Caucasus republics in the post-Soviet period. It is noted that the state-political systems of the North Caucasus republics are characterized by both democratic and authoritarian tendencies. The author emphasizes that in recent decades, the opportunities for democratic change of the political elite in the North Caucasus region have been significantly limited, which is primarily due to changes in legislation at the Russian and regional levels, primarily related to the actual abolition of direct national elections of heads of republics and municipalities. The national republics of the North Caucasus are characterized by a high concentration of power in the hands of top officials, which is due to the poorly established work of government bodies with appeals from citizens, the inefficiency of public chambers, the underdevelopment of the middle class, the unstructured civil society, and the lack of an effective multi-party system that can form a real opposition.

scholarly journals Nomenclature as a social institution of Soviet society (to the discussion in the journal «Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya»)

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
Victor E. Smirnov
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Comprehensive Development ◽  
Economic Construction

The polemical style of the article is due to the appearance in the sociological literature of ideas that emphasise the enduring nature of the existence of the nomenclature as a class, inherent in both the Soviet and modern Russian state. Also, no less controversial are the ideas that reduce the function of the nomenclature exclusively to a certain mechanism for the nomination of cadres, based on the increased responsibility of party organisations for the ideological and economic policies carried out by economic bodies. The article offers a sociological and cultural-historical explanation of the nature and essence of the nomenclature as a social institution and social group inherent exclusively in the Soviet statе. The author emphasises the concrete-historical nature of this phenomenon, conditioned by the specific ideological, economic, political and social conditions of the Soviet state at the dawn of its formation and formation. The article reveals the main function of the nomenclature as a social institution, the main purpose of which was to implement and develop a new system of relations, principles and ideals of Marxism, embodied in the Soviet project. It is argued that the implementation of this goal was carried out by solving two main tasks: first, the comprehensive development of the productive forces, which was realised through the organisation of a planned economic system and the mobilisation principle of economic construction. Secondly, the preservation of the principles of interaction, the ideals and values of communist ideas, not only as a matter of course, but also, if possible, as a matter of fact. This was carried out through an ideological monopoly, which was based on a certain interpretation of Marxism and a system of agitation and propaganda built on it. The success of the nomenclature in solving these problems is emphasised. However, the article is not an apologetics of the Soviet nomenclature, since it shows the reasons for not only the «rise», but also the «fall» of the nomenclature as a power-management structure of the Soviet society. The main conclusion of the idea presented in the article is to prove the transitory nature of the existence of the nomenclature as a social institution, due to the specific economic, ideological, political and social conditions of the Soviet state, with the fall of which such a social group as nomenclature also went into oblivion. It is argued that in the new Russian state, built on completely different economic and ideological principles, the need for such a social institution has disappeared.

scholarly journals Activities of the state Authorities of the Russian Federation on the Formation of Historical Representations of student Youth in the Post-soviet Period

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
A. B. Shatilov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Period ◽  
Historical Science ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
Historical Education ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Education Of Students ◽  
Post Soviet Period

The article is devoted to the analysis of the dynamics of the Russian state policy in the feld of historical education of students since 1991 The process of forming historical ideas is studied in the context of changing ideological accents in the federal government’s policy and the global political situation In particular, it is noted that under the influence of political and socio-economic transformations, the historical priorities of the Russian government have gone from radical liberalism to moderate patriotism and “soil” conservatism These trends are reflected in both professional historical science and historical journalism.

scholarly journals The form of state in the historical and legal research of the Soviet period

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 20-33
Author(s):  
T. F. Yashchuk
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Soviet History ◽  
Soviet State ◽  
Legal Science ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Law

The subject of the article is the application of the concept of the form of state in the Soviet historical and legal science.The purpose of the research is to confirm or disprove the hypothesis that the understanding of the form of the state in the Soviet history of law was not discrete, it changed under the influence of political transformations and had a significant impact on the modern theory of the state.The methodology. The method of periodization was used to highlight the Soviet period of historical and legal science, the chronological method was used to determine the upper and lower boundaries of the Soviet period. The narrative method made it possible to describe the historiographic process. The historical-comparative method was required to compare individual concepts.Results, scope of application. The concept of the form of the state that was used in the historical and legal science of the Soviet period has been determined. The form of the state in Soviet science included two elements initially: the form of government and the form of statehood. The third element has been added since the 1960s – the political regime. The institutionalization of the history of state and law as a science took place by the end of the 1940s. While historians of the old school were working, the main topics included the early stages of the development of the state. Then after the change of generations the priority place was taken by the problems of the Soviet state. By the end of the Soviet period a more harmonious allocation of topics had developed. In Soviet historical and legal science the form of the state of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods was considered separately. The form of government of the Russian state in the pre-revolutionary period was defined as a monarchy. Several types of monarchy were distinguished: early feudal, estate-representative, absolute. The republican form of government was recognized for the Soviet state. Its class and social essence changed with the development of socialism. Organizational forms changed accordingly. When studying the polity, the main attention was paid to the federation. Its complex origin was noted, because the Russian Federation (RSFSR) was part of the federation of the USSR. The Soviet federations were built according to the nationalterritorial principle. The issue of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation remained debatable. Most researchers considered the RSFSR a state with autonomous entities. The development of the territory of the state as a whole has hardly been studied. Major administrative-territorial reforms carried out in the 1920s-1930s were considered in isolation from national-territorial construction. Generalized works on the territorial development of the state appeared only at the end of the Soviet period. Issues of the political regime of the feudal and bourgeois state were addressed in the study of direct democracy in the ancient Russian state, estate representative bodies, state power during the period of absolutism. Political liberalization was noted during the bourgeois reforms of the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. The democratic nature of the Soviet political regime was not questioned, therefore, the problems indicating trouble, crisis phenomena in the Soviet state were not identified.Conclusions. The understanding of elements of form of the state in the Soviet history of law was expanding. It changed in accordance with the changes in the Soviet governance. The main approaches to understanding the form of the state are accepted by contemporary Russian science.

scholarly journals Reasons and Nature of the Accession of Kazakhstan to the Russian Empire (Historiography of the Problem)

2021 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
A.A. Alinov ◽  
М.А. Demin
Keyword(s):  
Russian Empire ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Historical Science ◽  
The Past ◽  
Russian State ◽  
History Of ◽  
Approaches To Study ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Post Soviet Period

The article is devoted to the analysis of historical concepts developed by Soviet, Russian and Kazakhstan historians on one of the most debatable issues in the history of Russian-Kazakh relations, regarding the reasons and nature of Kazakhstan's accession to the Russian Empire. Soviet historians have done a lot to accumulate a factual base for studying Russian-Kazakh relations. However, following predetermined ideological theses narrowed the problems of research and obscured the complexity and inconsistency of the phenomena under consideration. In the post-Soviet period, Russian historical science uses the latest methodological approaches to study the phenomenon of empire, requiring neutral assessments taking into account various aspects of imperial construction and imperial practice. Onedimensional damning characteristics began to give way to issues of historical experience of the Russian Empire, explaining how, in conditions of confessional diversity and multinational composition of the population, it managed to maintain stability for many centuries. In the 1990s in Kazakh historiography, the concept of "voluntary entry" of Kazakhstan into Russia was radically revised with an emphasis on exposing the colonial essence of Russian transformations in the region. Over the past two decades, Kazakh historical science has been gradually moving away from unilateral radical assessments and political conjuncture, more balanced and justified characteristics of the accession of the Kazakh Steppe to the Russian state appear.

scholarly journals Influence of Western Political Theories on the Process of Forming a Party System in Russia in the Post-Soviet Period

2020 ◽  
pp. 267-277
Author(s):  
V.V. Ryabov ◽  
G.E. Kozlovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Party System ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Party Building ◽  
Political Reality ◽  
Modern Development ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Soviet Period

In the post-Soviet period of its political development, Russia faced an acute shortage of its own theoretical developments of party building and was forced to turn to the experience of Western technologies. These appeals were not always constructive. Often, foreign theories were only beautiful models that had nothing to do with Russian political reality. Not all of these Western borrowings have been useful for the political experience of Russia. Despite the fact that interest in many theories has already faded, their trace in the modern development of domestic political science can still be found today. Many concepts have been modified or rejected already in the course of the development of the political situation itself. The historiographic analysis of this issue indicates a certain selection of theoretical sources that were most in demand by the then political reality. The purpose of this article is to clarify the impact of these Western political theories on the formation of political parties in Russia in the last decade of the twentieth century.

scholarly journals The Kalderash Gypsies of Russia in Industrial Cooperation of the 1920s–1930s

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandr V. Chernykh
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
Special Support ◽  
Economic Interaction ◽  
Economic Reality ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Post Soviet Period

At the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, in line with the state economic policy of the time, which was aimed at industrialisation and cooperativisation, and also as part of the implementation of measures to promote a settled way of life for nomadic Gypsies, the Kalderash Gypsies became actively involved within cooperatives and started establishing artels (Gypsy production cooperatives). This article analyses the issue of Gypsy artels, their manufacturing activities, the reasons why they flourished, their decline and their subsequent repression. The study is based on documents from the central and regional archives of the Russian Federation. The historical experience of that period was especially important for the Kalderash community—the establishing of artels helped them to adapt to the emerging economic reality of Soviet society. Indeed, during the following decades artel cooperative associations remained the main form of production and economic interaction with enterprises and organisations. As such, artels existed until the 1980s and then continued to exist within the new economic conditions of the post-Soviet period. Later on, the state never provided special support towards the creation of the Gypsy production associations and took more severe measures to implement its policy. The experience of these cooperatives has also remained a vibrant part of historic tales and been firmly instilled in family oral histories. The historical experience of that period is therefore important for understanding and building a modern policy towards the Gypsy population and solving their social and economic issues.

“History Misappropriation or Compreension?” (Russian Lihuanian Studies in the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Century)

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 219-236
Author(s):  
Andrey Yu. Dvornichenko
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Medieval History ◽  
Scientific Paradigm ◽  
Russian State ◽  
History Of ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

The abundant Russian historiography of the medieval history of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian-Russian State) has become in the last decades the centre of the discussions and is often subject to groundless criticism. This historiography was not very lucky in the Soviet period of the 20th century either, as it was severely criticized from the Marxist-Leninist position. When discussing Russian historiography the author of this article is consciously committed to the Russian positions. There are no reasons to consider this historiography branch either Byelorussian or Ukrainian one, as that was really Russian historiography, - the phenomenon that formed under the favorable specific conditions of Russian Empire before the beginning of the 20th century. The said phenomenon can be studied in different ways: according to the existing then main trends and schools or according to their affiliation with specific universities of Russian Empire. But according to the author of this article the best way to study the issue is in accordance with the main concepts of history. And then the pre-revolutionary historiography appears as an integral scientific paradigm that turns out to be the most divaricate branch of the Lithuanian studies of the time. It created, in its turn, the most vivid and objective historical picture that can still serve as the basis for the studies of Lithuanian-Russian state.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document