Search results

Anatoly Khazanov, The ethnic situation in the Soviet Union as reflected in Soviet anthropology.
The main aim of this paper is to demoastrate that despite the fact that in the Soviet Union anthropology is claimed to be the science of ethnicity, and that Soviet anthropologists have paid particular attention to ethnic studies, they have failed to describe and to adequately estimate modem ethnic developments in the USSR. Instead, they preferred, or simply had to provide "scientific" arguments in support of the Party line. Only on rare occasions and in a semi-Aesopian language few of them pointed out the facts that in specific cases might be considered as contradicting official claims.
Even now, in the period of glasnosť, the ethnic situation in the Soviet Union is much more boldly discussed by the public and by representatives of other disciplines than by a majority of Soviet anthropologists. A question may be asked, whether this fact is connected with the circumstances within Soviet anthropology itself which have led to a reluctance or resistance by some members of its establishment to admit old sins and new realities.

Sarah Davies, The crime of "anti-Soviet agitation " in the Soviet Union in the 1930's. The article examines the prosecution of cases of "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda" in the USSR in the 1930's. It traces how the crime originated in Soviet law after the revolution, and then examines how the article covering the crime (58. 10) was applied during the 1930's. It shows how definitions of what constituted anti-Soviet agitation fluctuated throughout this period. It was only with the onset of collectivization that large numbers of people began to be prosecuted for anti-Soviet agitation. In 1933-1934 an attempt was made to curb prosecutions. This "liberalism" evaporated after the murder of Kirov when the defmition of what constituted anti-Soviet agitation was broadened, and the numbers prosecuted rose accordingly. In 1936 the judiciary attempted to limit the application of article 58.10 again, but proved unable to resist the might of the NKVD which began to apply it indiscriminately during the terror. From 1939 a concerted attempt was made to restore legality and to restrain the powers of the NKVD; in this period the courts were active in overturning convictions for anti-Soviet agitation. The study reveals that repressive policies during this decade were characterized by inconsistency and fluctuation. Conflicts between individuals, between institutions and between the center and regions impeded the smooth functioning of the Stalinist regime.

Gabriel Gorodetsky, L'Union Soviétique et la grève générale de mai 1926 en Grande-Bretagne.
Le présent article porte sur l'activité diplomatique intense des syndicats soviétiques. Cette activité tablait sur les principes théoriques posés par le Komintern dans ses contacts avec les travailleurs britanniques non communistes, en s'efforçant de jouer sur leur solidarité d'intérêts pour faire pression sur le Gouvernement britannique. Cette alliance, qui aboutit à la formation d'un comité conjoint, occupa une position clé dans les calculs de la diplomatie soviétique. La grève générale de 1926 soumit à une épreuve d'endurance les conceptions fondamentales de la trame de la politique soviétique ; restait à voir jusqu'à quel point les Russes voulaient bien faire usage des avantages diplomatiques que représentait pour eux le front uni du Congrès des Syndicats, auquel ils reprochaient par ailleurs de trahir les intérêts de classe. Le besoin pressant de maintenir le statut de la direction soviétique en tant qu'avant-garde de la révolution mondiale tout en préservant les intérêts nationaux abouti à une révision radicale des relations entre le Komintern et le Narkomindel.

Rasma Karklins, Islam: how strong is it in the Soviet Union? Inquiry based on oral interviews with Soviet Germans repatriated from Central Asia in 1979.
The article is based on interviews with former Soviet citizens of German ethnicity who lived in the Muslim areas of the USSR until their emigration in 1979. Respondents were asked whether the local Muslims still observe their religion and traditions. Replies were overwhelmingly affirmative, which is the more remarkable since the respondents mostly lived in areas that have never been the most Islamic ones and which frequently have an ethnically mixed population.
Comments and concrete illustrations of the contemporary observance of Islam in the Soviet Union are summarized and illustrated in three main sections: I. Reli gious observance, II. Islamic familial rites, and III. Social customs associated to Islam. A summary analysis in the fourth section of the article provides a ranking of the various aspects of Islam as it is observed by the Soviet Muslims today. According to this, the retention of social customs ranks lowest, religious observance takes a middle place with fasting and praying engaged in selectively, but in a manner impressive to the outside observer, and familial rites with a communal significance rank at the top. It is concluded that the continued strength of Islam in the USSR sets concrete barriers to ethnic integration in the familial and communal sphere, and, by implication, to full national integration.