Contending with Stalinism: Soviet Power and Popular Resistance in the 1930s

by Lynne Viola (Editor)

Overview

Resistance has become an important and controversial analytical category for the study of Stalinism. The opening of Soviet archives allows historians an unprecedented look at the fabric of state and society in the 1930s. Researchers long spellbound by myths of Russian fatalism and submission as well as by the very real powers of the Stalinist state are startled by the dimensions of popular resistance under Stalin.Narratives of such resistance are inherently interesting, yet the topic is also significant because it sheds light on its historical surroundings. Contending with Stalinism employs the idea of resistance as a tool to explore what otherwise would remain opaque features of the social, cultural, and political history of the 1930s. In the process, the authors reveal a semi-autonomous world residing within and beyond the official world of Stalinism. Resistance ranged across a spectrum from violent strikes to the passive resistance that was a virtual way of life for millions and took many forms, from foot dragging and negligence to feigned ignorance and false compliance. Contending with Stalinism also highlights the problematic nature of resistance as an analytical category and stresses the ambiguous nature of the phenomenon. The topics addressed include working-class strikes, peasant rebellions, black-market crimes, official corruption, and homosexual and ethnic subcultures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801439834
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	07/16/2002
Series:	6/25/2004
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.94(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lynne Viola is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. She is the author of The Best Sons of the Fatherland and Peasant Rebels under Stalin and coeditor of The War against the Peasantry.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Lynne Viola
Chapter 1. Popular Resistance in the Stalinist 1930s
Soliloquy of a Devil's Advocate
Lynne Viola
Chapter 2. A Workers' Strike in Stalin's Russia
The Vichuga Uprising of April 1932
Jeffrey J. Rossman
Chapter 3. A Peasant Rebellion in Stalin's Russia
The Pitelinskii Uprising,Riazan,1930
Tracy McDonald
Chapter 4. Subaltern Dialogues
Subversion and Resistance in Soviet Uzbek Family Law
Douglas Northrop
Chapter 5. Sexual and Gender Dissent
Homosexuality as Resistance in Stalin's Russia
Dan Healey
Chapter 6. Economic Disobedience under Stalin
Elena A. Osokina
Chapter 7. Resisting the Plan in the Urals, 1928-1956
Or, Why Regional Officials Needed "Wreckers" and "Saboteurs"
James Harris
Notes on Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

Mark von Hagen

Lynne Viola has put her scholarly signature on the field of resistance studies with this collection of essays examining the Stalinist 1930s. All the contributions take advantage of research in Soviet-era archival collections now declassified and newly accessible. Many refract the period and its politics through the perspectives of regional archives, and all are informed by recent trends in social and cultural history: the subjects range from Ivanovo textile workers and Riazan' peasant women to homosexuals, black-marketeers, and Soviet zbek officials.

J. Arch Getty

Just a few years ago we did not even know there was resistance to the Stalin regime. Now, Lynne Viola has presented and thoughtfully introduced the latest research on this exciting theme. This is essential reading for anyone interested in modern Russia.

David L. Hoffmann

In this volume, Lynne Viola brings together some of the most significant new research on Stalinism. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials, the contributors greatly expand our understanding of this pivotal era in Soviet history.

Editorial Reviews

Drawing extensively on archival research, the contributors demonstrate the wide variation of popular responses to actions initiated by the Stalinist state.... Contending with Stalinism is an important work that is well grounded both theoretically and empirically. The combination of theoretical sophistication and empirical research makes this volume a significant contribution to our understanding of both the Stalinist phenomenon and popular responses to it.

Journal of Cold War Studies - Robert Owen Krikorian

Contending with Stalinism certainly adds to the continuing discussion of state-society relations.... Viola rightly remarks that the term Stalinism lacks explanatory or causal force; it is necessary to look closely at how people in and outside the governing apparatus behaved. We should hope that this point and the fine research presented here in its support increasingly find their way into textbooks, western civilization classes, and finally the attitudes of the educated public.

Slavic Review - Robert W. Thurston

"Lynne Viola has put her scholarly signature on the field of resistance studies with this collection of essays examining the Stalinist 1930s. All the contributions take advantage of research in Soviet-era archival collections now declassified and newly accessible. Many refract the period and its politics through the perspectives of regional archives, and all are informed by recent trends in social and cultural history: the subjects range from Ivanovo textile workers and Riazan' peasant women to homosexuals, black-marketeers, and Soviet zbek officials."

Mark von Hagen

"Just a few years ago we did not even know there was resistance to the Stalin regime. Now, Lynne Viola has presented and thoughtfully introduced the latest research on this exciting theme. This is essential reading for anyone interested in modern Russia."

J. Arch Getty

"In this volume, Lynne Viola brings together some of the most significant new research on Stalinism. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials, the contributors greatly expand our understanding of this pivotal era in Soviet history."

David L. Hoffmann

"Drawing on a wealth of recently available archival materials, the contributors to this volume greatly enhance our understanding of the 1930s and give us a clearer sense of the size and content of popular resistance under Stalin. Based on solid research, this volume makes a substantive scholarly contribution in illuminating forms of popular resistance with new detail and fresh perspective."

Russian Review - Kate Transchel

"Viola's elucidating introduction and essay map out the slipperiness of the concept of resistance, noting the need to contextualize action and intent, and state perceptions and prescriptions. The seven excellent essays illustrate how opposition to the regime in the early 1930s could be overt... or existential, that is, simply by living in a minority culture.... Some Soviets were clearly defiant; others were defined by the regime as deviant and thus disloyal.... The Viola collection shows that in the early 1930s organized opposition was still possible, although ultimately futile."

Journal of Interdisciplinary History - Patricia Herlihy

The partial opening of Soviet archives has enabled Russian voices "from below" to be heard and thus a much richer portrait of Soviet society under Stalin to emerge. The present volume presents a series of papers from a conference outside Toronto in 1999 exploring "the conjunctures between state and society under Stalin," in particular the problem of resistance. An earlier work by editor Viola, Peasant Rebels Under Stalin, made a major contribution to this process, as did Stalinism As a Way of Life, edited by Lewis H. Siegelbaum and Andrei Sokolov. As Viola recognizes, the central issue here is just what constitutes "resistance": active insurrection certainly; strikes and passive obstruction, probably (the regime thought so); and economic disobedience are all examples. But what about crime, the black market, and "alternative subcultures" such as homosexuality? These are more debatable, and a defensive tone is occasionally discernible from those discussing these areas. This collection will deservedly interest students of Stalinism, though the general reader may find it a difficult slog. Robert H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Drawing on a wealth of recently available archival materials, the contributors to this volume greatly enhance our understanding of the 1930s and give us a clearer sense of the size and content of popular resistance under Stalin. Based on solid research, this volume makes a substantive scholarly contribution in illuminating forms of popular resistance with new detail and fresh perspective.

Kate Transchel

Contending with Stalinism certainly adds to the continuing discussion of state-society relations.... Viola rightly remarks that the term Stalinism lacks explanatory or causal force; it is necessary to look closely at how people in and outside the governing apparatus behaved. We should hope that this point and the fine research presented here in its support increasingly find their way into textbooks, western civilization classes, and finally the attitudes of the educated public.

--Robert W. Thurston, Miami University "Slavic Review"

Drawing extensively on archival research, the contributors demonstrate the wide variation of popular responses to actions initiated by the Stalinist state.... Contending with Stalinism is an important work that is well grounded both theoretically and empirically. The combination of theoretical sophistication and empirical research makes this volume a significant contribution to our understanding of both the Stalinist phenomenon and popular responses to it.

--Robert Owen Krikorian, George Washington University "Journal of Cold War Studies"

Drawing on a wealth of recently available archival materials, the contributors to this volume greatly enhance our understanding of the 1930s and give us a clearer sense of the size and content of popular resistance under Stalin. Based on solid research, this volume makes a substantive scholarly contribution in illuminating forms of popular resistance with new detail and fresh perspective.

--Kate Transchel, California State University, Chico "Russian Review"

Viola's elucidating introduction and essay map out the slipperiness of the concept of resistance, noting the need to contextualize action and intent, and state perceptions and prescriptions. The seven excellent essays illustrate how opposition to the regime in the early 1930s could be overt... or existential, that is, simply by living in a minority culture.... Some Soviets were clearly defiant; others were defined by the regime as deviant and thus disloyal.... The Viola collection shows that in the early 1930s organized opposition was still possible, although ultimately futile.

--Patricia Herlihy, Brown University "Journal of Interdisciplinary History"

From the Publisher