Suchergebnisse

Introduces a fragment of Paul Piccone's essay, "Perseverance of Stalinism," which he had been working on just prior to his death. Here, attention is given to the microstructure, ie, the stylistic & formal aspects, of the prose to discern the substance of the discourse & the truth content, as well as to address Piccone's critique of modernity.

Stalin's rule was so violent & so distinctive in ideas, policies, & practices that it is conventional to consider it in its own terms with little reference to the periods preceding & following it. This chapter considers Stalin & Stalinism in the framework of the entire Soviet period & emphasizes that the state order that Stalin dominated had been invented largely by others. That order had inherent defects from the viewpoint of its Communist rulers & a pattern of pressurization & accommodation was in place already in Lenin's time; & it survived through to the late 1980s under Gorbachev. The modalities of Communist leadership were indeed conditioned by time, place, & individual leader; but the basic requirements to maintain & enhance the Soviet state order were constant in important ways. The murderousness of Stalin has to be traced not only to the historical contingency of each period but also to the entire duration of the USSR. Adapted from the source document.

Die Parlamentswahlen des Jahres 1995 in Aserbaidschan haben die Machtbasis des aserbaidschanischen Präsidenten Aliev gestärkt. Massive Behinderungen der Opposition waren nicht zuletzt ausschlaggebend für dieses Ergebnis. Ausgestattet mit einer in der Verfassung festgeschriebenen umfassenden Machtfülle kann sich Aliev auf eine loyale Exekutive, ein willfähriges Parlament und eine weitgehend passive Medienlandschaft verlassen. Aliev ist es gelungen, die Opposition weitgehend auszuschalten und sich selbst als die Hauptperson eines neuen Personenkultes zu profilieren. Auch angesichts der außenpolitischen Probleme Aserbaidschans (Beziehungen zu Rußland, Nagornij-Karabach) ist es wahrscheinlich, daß Aliev innenpolitisch seine repressive Politik gegen Oppositionelle und Separatisten fortsetzen wird. (BIOst-Wpt)