The Anti-Imperialist Empire: Soviet Nationality Policies Under Brezhnev

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The Anti-Imperialist Empire: Soviet Nationality Policies Under Brezhnev CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by The Research Repository @ WVU (West Virginia University) Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2015 The Anti-Imperialist Empire: Soviet Nationality Policies under Brezhnev Jason A. Roberts Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Roberts, Jason A., "The Anti-Imperialist Empire: Soviet Nationality Policies under Brezhnev" (2015). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6514. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6514 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Anti-Imperialist Empire: Soviet Nationality Policies under Brezhnev Jason A. Roberts Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Mark B. Tauger, Ph.D., Chair Robert E Blobaum, Ph.D. Joseph M. Hodge, Ph.D. Joshua W. Arthurs, Ph.D. Christian Peterson, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2014 Keywords: Soviet Union, imperialism, decolonization, nationalism, developed socialism, Leonid Brezhnev, Central Asia, Ukraine Copyright 2014 Jason A. Roberts ABSTRACT The Anti-Imperialist Empire: Soviet Nationality Policies under Brezhnev Jason A. Roberts This dissertation argues that the Soviet Union functioned as an empire despite its decidedly anti-imperialist rhetoric. Beginning in the 1920s, Bolshevik policies transformed the former Russian Empire into a new type of empire that was based on Marxist-Leninist ideology. Moreover, the Bolshevik policy of korenizatsiia as well as Marxist-Leninist rhetoric promoted the development of a decolonization process among the non-Russian peoples of the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s. Although Stalin abandoned korenizatsiia in the 1930s in favor of greater emphasis on Russification, the decolonization process continued into the Brezhnev period of the 1960s and 1970s. This decolonization process quickly rose to the surface in the 1980s as a result of Gorbachev’s reforms. This dissertation focuses on the Brezhnev leadership’s handling of the Soviet nationality question as this period represents the final effort to maintain and to consolidate further the Soviet Empire. Brezhnev’s doctrine of Developed Socialism emphasized the continued rapprochement of the nations of the USSR into a supranational Soviet nation, the importance of the Russian language as the language of inter-national communication within the Soviet Union, the further consolidation of power at the center of the Soviet Union at the expense of Union Republic sovereignty, and the treatment of the USSR as a single economic complex. The tenets of Developed Socialism, then, are imperialist in nature as they promoted the Russian language at the expense of non-Russian languages and they focused on the greater concentration of power in Moscow and the erosion of Union Republic sovereignty. The ratification of a new USSR Constitution in 1977 and of new Union Republic constitutions in 1978 is the high-water mark of Brezhnev’s imperialist policies. The Brezhnev leadership’s imperialist policies, however, were rooted in Marxist-Leninist ideology as an analysis of the essays written by Lenin and Stalin will show. Although Brezhnev’s policies were imperialistic, they were implemented unevenly across the USSR, resulting in continued diversity within the USSR in terms of nationality policy. Moscow kept a tighter rein on the western republics, such as Ukraine, while maintaining looser control over the Central Asian republics. As evidence of this, the CPSU Politburo removed Petro Shelest from his post as First Secretary in Ukraine for tolerating manifestations of Ukrainian nationalism while Sharaf Rashidov in Uzbekistan kept his post as First Secretary until his death in 1983 despite increasing displays of Uzbek nationalism there in the 1970s. This dissertation also argues that a decolonization process began in the Soviet Union as early as the 1920s, but that this process is reignited by Khrushchev’s policies in the 1950s. The Brezhnev leadership’s focus on further consolidating power at the center could not stop this decolonization process and in some ways, it contributed to the continued growth of a decolonization process among the non-Russian peoples of the USSR. In the 1960s, nationalist dissent re-emerged, centered primarily in the western Soviet Union, which continued into the 1980s. Though it did not pose a direct threat to the Soviet regime’s stability, nationalist dissent did encourage the Brezhnev leadership to rely further on the tenets of Developed Socialism. This dissertation also compares Soviet nationality policies with similar policies enacted by other modern empires such as the British and French empires in the 19th and 20th centuries. Thus, much of Chapter One compares the Soviet Union with the British and French empires to demonstrate that the Soviet Union did indeed function as an empire. Moreover, Brezhnev’s strategy of re-invigorating Soviet imperial policies through the tenets of Developed Socialism represented the Soviet Union’s “second colonial occupation.” Just as the British sought to rekindle their empire in East Africa and Malaya after World War II, the Soviet Union under Brezhnev acted to renew its imperial control over the Union Republics in the 1970s. The Brezhnev leadership’s pursuit of grandiose construction and modernization projects such as the Baikal-Amur Mainline Railway are not unlike Britain’s groundnut scheme in Tanganyika after World War II. Through comparing the Soviet Union with other modern empires, this dissertation places Soviet history and practices in a world history context. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Knowledge is one of the greatest gifts anyone can bestow upon another person. Over the last several years as I worked toward the Master’s degree and now the Doctor of Philosophy, Dr. Mark Tauger has shared with me his supreme knowledge and expertise in all aspects of Soviet history. He has also showed tremendous patience with me, particularly as I labored on this dissertation. I cannot begin to repay the debt I owe to Dr. Tauger. I also would like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Robert Blobaum, Dr. Joseph Hodge, Dr. Joshua Arthurs and Dr. Christian Peterson, for agreeing to serve and for their expertise and guidance. As anyone who has pursued a Ph.D. in history knows, it is a long, arduous process that tests one’s sanity. I would have lost mine long ago if it were not for the support and great friendship shown to me by my fellow graduate students at West Virginia University. My deepest thanks go to Isaac Emrick, Ben Scharff, Alec Upward, and Mehmet Tepeyurt for their friendship, support, and for the great conversations we have had over the years. The support of my parents, Rick and Mary, has been invaluable. Their constant moral support – and occasional financial support – made this dream come true in many ways. They instilled in me at an early age the value of education. I simply can’t put into words my gratitude for all they have done. Finally, and most importantly, thanks to my wife Amber who has had to tolerate countless weekends alone as I labored on this project. She is incredible and she kept me strong when I needed it the most. I love you! This work is dedicated to my son, Harrison. May you always remain curious about the world! TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. i - xi Chapter 1 The Formation of the Soviet Empire ……………………………………….. 1 - 59 Chapter 2 Brezhnev’s Anti-Imperialist Empire …………………………………….….. 60 - 103 Chapter 3 Developed Socialism as Soviet Imperialism ……………………………….. 104 - 128 Chapter 4 Republic Leaders and Developed Socialism …………………………….…. 129 - 162 Chapter 5 Dissent and Decolonization……………………………………………………….. 163 - 213 Chapter 6 All-Union and Republic Constitutions …………………………………....... 214 - 257 Chapter 7 Developed Socialism as Second Colonial Occupation …………………….. 258 - 289 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………. 290 - 298 Endnotes ………………………………………………………………….... 299 - 311 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………. 312 - 322 i INTRODUCTION The Anti-Imperialist Empire The concept that the Soviet Union was an empire rather than a multinational state is not a new one in the historiography of Soviet history. Indeed, John Keep and Terry Martin, just to name a couple, have written books with “empire” in the title. However, the term “empire” is often used by historians when referring to Soviet nationality policy without explaining why the Soviet Union functioned as an empire despite its consistently strong anti-imperialist rhetoric. The purpose of this study, then, is to analyze Soviet nationalities policy within an imperialist framework – in other words, to demonstrate that the Soviet Union was indeed an empire and
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