Introduction

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Kligman ◽  
Katherine Verdery
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Mass Action ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Party State

This introductory chapter provides a background of the collectivization of agriculture in Romania. The collectivization of agriculture was the first mass action, in largely agrarian countries like the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and Romania, through which the new communist regime initiated its radical program of social, political, cultural, and economic transformation. Collectivizing agriculture was not merely an aspect of the larger policy of industrial development but an attack on the very foundations of rural life. By leaving rural inhabitants without their own means of livelihood, it radically increased their dependence on the Party-state. It both prepared and compelled them to be the proletarians of new industrial facilities. Moreover, it destroyed or at least frayed both the vertical and the horizontal social relations in which villagers were embedded and through which they defined themselves and pursued their existence.

scholarly journals PRIORITIES OF PARTY-STATE BODIES OF THE USSR IN FINANCING AND PLACEMENT OF ENTERPRISES OF TIMBER PROCESSING COMPLEX IN THE FIRST FIVE-YEAR PLAN (1928-1932)

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-78
Author(s):  
I.V. Zykin
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Paper Industry ◽  
Forest Industry ◽  
Mechanical Processing ◽  
Deep Processing ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Party State

In the Soviet Union, with the beginning of the first five-year plan (1928-1932), it was planned to carry out on a large scale the reconstruction and construction of forest industry enterprises, bringing them closer to the sources of raw materials. Large production facilities in the fields of mechanical processing and deep processing of wood were to appear in different regions of the country, but primarily in the European North and the Ural. Active industrial development of the northern and eastern regions of the country led to increased interest of researchers, including on issues of capital investments and new construction in the forest industry. However, many aspects have been unaffected or considered superficially. This updates the appeal to the problems of financing and placement of enterprises in the forest industry. The basic theory is the concept of modernization. The novelty of the study is that for the first time an analysis of the indicators of the first five-year plan and statistical data on the forest industry has been undertaken, and the peculiarities of the placement of enterprises of the industry have been summarized. Conclusions were drawn about the plans of the party-state bodies of the Soviet Union to develop the spheres of mechanical processing and deep processing of wood, including the combination of enterprises, the approach of new industries to forest areas and waterways in the northern, north-eastern and eastern regions of the country. However, due to economic, technological, natural and resource reasons, during the first five-year plan, the emphasis on financing of the forest industry shifted to the development of forests and the construction of mechanical wood processing plants. Many indicators of the plan have not been implemented, a number of large projects, especially in the pulp and paper industry, have not been implemented.

scholarly journals c) Cuba: A Sui Generis Case Study (Communist Proxy)

2021 ◽  
pp. 309-317
Author(s):  
Jason García Portilla
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Legal Tradition ◽  
Roman Catholicism ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Institutional Influence ◽  
Latin American Countries

AbstractThe anti-clerical elements of the Revolution helped Cuba succeed in various indicators (e.g. education quality and coverage, equality, health). The Cuban regime seized, dismantled, and limited the institutional influence of Roman Catholicism on these areas of public life. However, a strong cultural influence of a highly syncretised Roman Catholicism persists in Cuba even if its institutional influence has been curbed. Also, the Communist regime, by adopting Marxism, “threw the baby out with the bathwater” through persecuting all types of religion, including Protestant liberals. Finally, the Cuban regime conveniently turned to Rome to legitimise itself after the collapse of the Soviet Union and to silence Protestantism with a corporatist strategy. The socialist legal tradition had an effect opposite to its claims (e.g. lack of freedom, corruption), even if its anti-clerical element was an advantage. Comparing the Cuban experience to other Latin American countries with leftist dictatorships (e.g. Venezuela) helps understand their failure to achieve the Cuban indicators (e.g. education). The crucial factor in this regard is whether or not the power and influence of the Roman Church-State are reduced.

The Cultural Roots of Estonia's Successful Transition: How Historical Legacies Shaped the 1990s

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Bennich-Björkman
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Institutionalism ◽  
Civic Culture ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Cultural Roots ◽  
Elite Networks ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Legacies ◽  
Point Of Departure

This article investigates the cultural roots of Estonia's surprisingly successful transitions in the 1990s. Taking the point of departure in historical institutionalism, two layers of political cultural legacies are identified as particularly crucial in preparing Estonia for the democratic government installed after independence. First, the article argues that even in a Baltic context, Estonia stood out as a hotbed for social initiatives and elite networks during Communist times. Second, to understand why such liberalisation within the authoritarian Communist regime started earlier in Estonia than elsewhere in the Soviet Union, there is a need to acknowledge the importance that the historical experiences of the inter-war republic played. Estonia then developed a civic culture that partly survived even during the Päts regime from 1934 to 1939. These experiences surfaced once the yolk of Stalinism was lifted in the 1950s and shaped Estonia under Communism into a society of “collective mobilization” where democratically inclined counter-elites could form.

Žurnāla „Inostrannaja Literatura” rezonanse Latvijas literārajā telpā politiskā atkušņa laikā

2021 ◽  
pp. 137-146
Author(s):  
Zanda Gūtmane
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
New Historicism ◽  
Foreign Literature ◽  
Nikita Khrushchev ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
Thaw Period

The paper is devoted to a parallel description of the literary processes in the Soviet Union and Soviet Latvia during Nikita Khrushchev’ reign, also known as the period of political thaw or the liberalisation of the communist regime (1953–1964). The main object of the research is the literary magazine Inostrannaja literatura (Иностранная литература), issued in the Soviet Union since 1955, dedicated to foreign literature and its translations; the principles of creating its content and structure during the political thaw period. The aim of the research: with concrete examples, to show the role of this legendary Russian literary periodical in the Iron Curtain period, expansion of freedom of thought, decanonization of socialist realism dogmas in general in the USSR, and also in the Latvian SSR. The methodological basis of the research consists of a comparative literature approach and a new historicism position that the literary text is important in studying different lines of history. The analysis of the publications clearly shows the replacement of the so-called periods of thaw and freezing. The article proves that the appearance of translations, reviews, previews, and research articles of foreign literature in this journal is closely connected with various political peripeteia of the USSR. In Latvia, there is a great resonance of Inostrannaja literatura, and it had an eventual influence on overcoming the dogmas of socialist realism in Latvian literature. The publications about the journal in Latvian literary editions and the study of the reception of one text example, a comparison of various editions of the writer Ēvalds Vilks’s (1923–1976) story “Twelve Kilometers”, prove it.

Dynamics of Cultural and Educational Processes of National Minorities of Transcarpathia of the Second Half of the 20th Century

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-253
Author(s):  
Natalija Malets ◽  
Oleksandr Malets
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
National Minority ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The People ◽  
Cultural Processes ◽  
Socialist Economic

The article analyses the dynamics of ethnic composition and ethnic processes in Transcarpathia in the second half of the 20th century, as well as ethno-cultural processes of national consolidation of Ukrainians of the region as part of the Ukrainian nation. The paper evaluates the practice of the Soviet state and the ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to determine the nature, content and directions of all ethno-national and ethno-cultural policies in Transcarpathia. While researching the consolidation processes of Transcarpathian Ukrainians as part of the Ukrainian nation, the authors showed that the development of the traditions of Ukrainian national culture was seen in the environment of the creative intelligentsia and the majority of the people as an alternative to ideological communication. It is justified that the main goal of the communist authorities in Transcarpathia in 1945-1991 was to establish socialist, economic, political and ideological regime in the region. In order to accelerate this process, a Russian (Russian-speaking) national minority was hastily created in the region by the state authorities, which, having occupied leading political, ideological and economic positions, became a reliable support for the new communist regime. The article analyses the dynamics of ethnic composition and ethnic processes in Transcarpathia in the second half of the 20th century, as well as ethno-cultural processes of national consolidation of Ukrainians of the region as part of the Ukrainian nation. The paper evaluates the practice of the Soviet state and the ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to determine the nature, content and directions of all ethno-national and ethno-cultural policies in Transcarpathia. While researching the consolidation processes of Transcarpathian Ukrainians as part of the Ukrainian nation, the authors showed that the development of the traditions of Ukrainian national culture was seen in the environment of the creative intelligentsia and the majority of the people as an alternative to ideological communication. It is justified that the main goal of the communist authorities in Transcarpathia in 1945-1991 was to establish socialist, economic, political and ideological regime in the region. In order to accelerate this process, a Russian (Russian-speaking) national minority was hastily created in the region by the state authorities, which, having occupied leading political, ideological and economic positions, became a reliable support for the new communist regime.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Rabe
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
South America ◽  
National Security ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
History Of

This introductory chapter provides an overview of U.S. policies toward Latin America during Henry Kissinger's career as national security adviser and secretary of state. Henri Kissinger directed inter-American relations between 1969 and 1977. Like his predecessors, Kissinger judged relations with Western Europe, the Soviet Union, and China as strategically more important than relations with Latin America. But Kissinger launched noteworthy initiatives, such as the attempt to normalize relations with Cuba and to transfer the canal to Panama. The Kissinger years were also historically significant for Latin Americans. The 1970s represented the most violent period in the history of post-independence (1825) South America. This book provides a comprehensive investigation of the foreign policies of the Nixon and Ford administrations toward Latin America and Kissinger's central role in formulating and implementing those policies.

Laying Blame for Flight and Fight: Sino-Soviet Relations and the “Yi–Ta” Incident in Xinjiang, 1962

2019 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. 504-523
Author(s):  
Charles Kraus
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Northern Xinjiang ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Major Flare ◽  
Party State

AbstractIn spring 1962, 60,000 individuals fled from northern Xinjiang into the Soviet Union. Known as the “Yi–Ta” incident, the mass exodus sparked a major flare up in Sino-Soviet relations. This article draws on declassified Chinese and Russian-language archival sources and provides one of the first in-depth interpretations of the event and its aftermath. It argues that although the Chinese government blamed the Soviet Union for the Yi-Ta incident, leaders in Beijing and Xinjiang also recognized the domestic roots of the disturbance, such as serious material deficits in northern Xinjiang and tensions between minority peoples and the party-state. The Chinese government's diplomatic sparring with Moscow over the mass exodus reflected Mao Zedong's continued influence on Chinese foreign policy, despite claims by scholars that Mao had retreated from policymaking during this period.

Introduction: human blood and social policy

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Richard M. Titmuss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Human Blood ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the study of the beliefs, attitudes, and values concerning blood and its possession, inheritance, and use and loss in diverse societies. The study originated and grew over many years of introspection from a series of value questions formulated within the context of attempts to distinguish the ‘social’ from the ‘economic’ in public policies and in those institutions and services with declared ‘welfare’ goals. As such, this book centres on human blood: the scientific, social, economic, and ethical issues involved in its procurement, processing, distribution, use, and benefit in Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, South Africa, and other countries. Ultimately, it considers the role of altruism in modern society. It attempts to fuse the politics of welfare and the morality of individual wills.

The New Constitution of the Soviet Union

1936 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1143-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Starr
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Economic Structure ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Great Achievement ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Stability

In 1934, the Soviet Union rounded out the first great cycle in its development. The fruition of the Five-Year Plan, the general collectivization of agriculture, the entry of the Soviet Union into the councils of the nations of the world—these and many other successes of the Communist régime were evidences of great achievement. Peace and order and economic progress had been attained at home; the stability of the government had been clearly demonstrated, and friends had been made abroad. The social and economic structure of the country had been completely transformed, and the Socialist community was now a going concern.

The National Library of Estonia

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivi Eenmaa
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
National Library ◽  
Modern Library ◽  
Cultural Policies ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Supreme Council ◽  
Information Research ◽  
Estonian Language ◽  
Revolutionary Period

The National Library of Estonia, established in 1918, is now undergoing a revolutionary period of undoing the disastrous effects of the cultural policies of the communist regime. The library was the first in the Soviet Union to destroy the institution of banned books, the so-called ‘special collection’. Its democratic reconstruction follows from the cultural policies of the Estonian Republic, whose Supreme Council passed a National Library Act in 1990. The library is the central public research library of Estonia, acting at the same time as the library of Parliament. It collects, preserves and makes publicly accessible all printed matter published in Estonia, in the Estonian language, and relating to Estonia. It is the main coordinating centre for compiling the national bibliography, as well as for library and information research, and serves as a repository for the whole country. It also compiles and publishes statistics of Estonian publications. At present the library is scattered among several 18th- and 19th-century buildings, but the end of 1991 will see the completion of a new building, the largest and most modern library building in Eastern Europe, which will incorporate computer technology for all areas of library work.

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