HISTORY 33: TOPICS IN SOVIET HISTORY
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SOVIET UNION
SPRING 2004
Bob Weinberg Office Hours: Mondays 2-4
Trotter 218 Tuesdays 2-4
8133 Wednesdays 2-4
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We begin with an examination of the Soviet Union in the 1930s and pay special attention to the establishment of the Stalinist political, social, economic, and cultural systems, After devoting attention to the strengths and weaknesses of Stalin regime, we will turn our gaze to the post-Stalinist era and focus on the factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The course will finish on the enduring legacy of communist rule and the consequences of the former Soviet UnionÕs embrace of the free market.
Attendance and participation in class discussions
Three four-page papers. You will have a choice of selecting from four papers during the course of the semester.
Eight-page final paper
Except for required books, all readings are available on Blackboard. In addition, I have placed on course reserve the following texts. You are required to consult one of the texts as we progress through the course.
Stephen Cohen, Failed Crusade
Sheila Fitzpatrick, Everyday Stalinism
Bruce Grant, In the Soviet House of Culture
Stephen Kotkin, Armageddon Averted
Moshe Lewin, The Gorbachev Phenomenon, 2nd and revised edition
Valentin Rasputin, Siberia on Fire
Geoffrey Hosking, The First Socialist Society
David MacKenzie and Michael Curran, A History of the Soviet Union
Ronald Suny, The Soviet Experiment
John Thompson, A Vision Unfulfilled
Week One: Roots of the Stalinist System
January 20: The Revolutionary Promise
January 22: Historians and the Course of Soviet History
Stephen Cohen, ÒScholarly MissionsÓ
Stephen Cohen, ÒBolshevism and StalinismÓ
Week Two: The Stalinist System
January 27: The Stalinist System
Lewis Siegelbaum, ÒBuilding Stalinism, 1929-1941Ó
Lev Kopelev, ÒThe Last Grain CollectionsÓ
Maxim Gorky, ÒSocialist RealismÓ
ÒStalin, Vodka, and HerringÓ
Document 170: NKVD Operational Order Concerning the Punishment of Former Kulaks
January 29: The Cult of Stalin
Week Three: World War II and StalinÕs Last Years
February 3: The Devastation of War
William C. Fuller, Jr., ÒThe Great Fatherland War and Late Stalinism, 1941-1953Ó
Harrison Salisbury, ÒThe Sleds of the Children,Ó ÒA New Kind of Crime,Ó and ÒThe Leningrad ApocalypseÓ
February 5: Life under Uncle Joe
Sheila Fitzpatrick, Everyday Stalinism
Week Four: StalinÕs Last Hurrah
February 10: Film
FIRST FOUR-PAGE PAPER DUE BY FEBRUARY 10. YOU MAY SUBMIT ANYTIME BEFORE FEBRUARY 10.
February 12: Enemies Everywhere
The Campaign Against `CosmopolitanismÕ
The DoctorsÕ Plot
Conference of Musicians at the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party, Moscow
Week Five: Great Expectations
February 17: The Promise of Reform
Stephen Cohen, ÒThe Stalin Question Since StalinÓ
Nikita KhrushchevÕs Speech at the 20th Party Congress (1956)
Joseph Starobin, Ò1956ÑA MemoirÓ
Gregory Freeze, ÒFrom Stalinism to Stagnation, 1953-1985,Ó pages 347-371
February 19: The Thaw in Literature
Iulii Daniel, ÒThis is Moscow SpeakingÓ
February 24: Main Currents of Dissent
February 26: Psychiatry and Politics
The Case of Boris Kochubiyevsky
The Sinyavsky-Daniel Trial
March 2: The Pros and Cons of BrezhnevÕs Soviet Union
John Bushnell, ÒThe `New Soviet ManÕ Turns PessimistÓ
James Millar, ÒThe Little Deal: BrezhnevÕs Contribution to Acquisitive SocialismÓ
Finish Gregory Freeze, ÒFrom Stalinism to StagnationÓ
March 4: Library Workshop. Meet in Electronic Resource Classroom, 4th Floor, McCabe
March 16: Women and Soviet Society
Natalia Baranskaia, ÒA Week Like Any OtherÓ
Carole Hansson and Karen Liden, eds., Moscow Women, selections
Discussion of Film: Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (160 minutes)
March 18: Soviet Nationality Policy: A Case Study
Bruce Grant, In the Soviet House of Culture
Week Nine: Environmental and Youth Concerns
March 23: The Crisis of Youth
Jim Riordan, ÒTeenage Gangs, `AfgantsyÕ and NeofascistsÓ
Film: Discussion of Little Vera (110 minutes)
March 25: Soviet Power and Environmental Disaster
Valentin Rasputin, Siberia on Fire
Murray Feshbach and Alfred Friendly, Excerpts from Ecocide in the USSR
Film: The BAM Zone (20 minutes)
March 30: The Advent of Reform
Martin McCauley, ÒFrom Perestroika towards a New OrderÓ
Tatiana Zaslavskaya, ÒReport on the Necessity of a Deeper
Study in the USSR of the Social Mechanism of the Development of the EconomyÓ or
ÒThe Gathering CrisisÓ
Gorbachev and Reform
April 1: The Reaction to Gorbachev: Love Him or Hate Him
Nina Andreeva, ÒI Cannot Forgo My PrinciplesÓ
Martin Malia, ÒTo the Stalin MausoleumÓ
ÒA Pamyat ManifestoÓ
The Rehabilitation of Bukharin
Alexander Tsipko, ÒThe Roots of StalinismÓ
Cahterine Merridale, ÒPerestroika and Political Pluralism: Past and ProspectsÓ
April 6: Coming to Grips with the Past
Film: Discussion of Repentance (151 minutes)
Catherine Merridale, ÒDeath and Memory in Modern RussiaÓ
April 8: Gorbachev as a Sign of Soviet Modernity
Moshe Lewin, The Gorbachev Phenomenom
Week Twelve: What Happened?
April 13: The Age of Disillusionment
Prostitutki (55 minutes) and Chernobyl (54 minutes)
April 15: Stephen Kotkin, Armageddon Averted
Week Thirteen: The PartyÕs Over
April 20: The August Coup
Victoria Bonnell and Gregory Freidin, ÒTelevorot: The Role of Television Coverage in RussiaÕs August 1991 CoupÓ
Boris Yeltsin Resigns from the Communist Party and Boris Yeltsin Calls for GorbachevÕs Resignation
April 22: Life after Communism: Could It Get Any Worse?
Stephen Cohen, Failed Crusade
April 27: Will It Get Better?
Ryszard Kapuscinski, Excerpts from Imperium
Disgraced Monuments (48 minutes)
FOURTH FOUR-PAGE PAPER DUE BY MAY 3.
FINAL PAPER DUE BY 5 PM ON FRIDAY, MAY 14.