Russia and the Soviet Union 1905-24
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Utopian Visions of Family Life in the Stalin-Era Soviet Union
Central European History 44 (2011), 63–91. © Conference Group for Central European History of the American Historical Association, 2011 doi:10.1017/S0008938910001184 Utopian Visions of Family Life in the Stalin-Era Soviet Union Lauren Kaminsky OVIET socialism shared with its utopian socialist predecessors a critique of the conventional family and its household economy.1 Marx and Engels asserted Sthat women’s emancipation would follow the abolition of private property, allowing the family to be a union of individuals within which relations between the sexes would be “a purely private affair.”2 Building on this legacy, Lenin imag- ined a future when unpaid housework and child care would be replaced by com- munal dining rooms, nurseries, kindergartens, and other industries. The issue was so central to the revolutionary program that the Bolsheviks published decrees establishing civil marriage and divorce soon after the October Revolution, in December 1917. These first steps were intended to replace Russia’s family laws with a new legal framework that would encourage more egalitarian sexual and social relations. A complete Code on Marriage, the Family, and Guardianship was ratified by the Central Executive Committee a year later, in October 1918.3 The code established a radical new doctrine based on individual rights and gender equality, but it also preserved marriage registration, alimony, child support, and other transitional provisions thought to be unnecessary after the triumph of socialism. Soviet debates about the relative merits of unfettered sexu- ality and the protection of women and children thus resonated with long-standing tensions in the history of socialism. I would like to thank Atina Grossmann, Carola Sachse, and Mary Nolan, as well as the anonymous reader for Central European History, for their comments and suggestions. -
Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: an Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data
IZA DP No. 1958 Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data Elizabeth Brainerd DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES DISCUSSION PAPER January 2006 Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor Reassessing the Standard of Living in the Soviet Union: An Analysis Using Archival and Anthropometric Data Elizabeth Brainerd Williams College, CEPR, WDI and IZA Bonn Discussion Paper No. 1958 January 2006 IZA P.O. Box 7240 53072 Bonn Germany Phone: +49-228-3894-0 Fax: +49-228-3894-180 Email: [email protected] Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of the institute. Research disseminated by IZA may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit company supported by Deutsche Post World Net. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its research networks, research support, and visitors and doctoral programs. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. IZA Discussion Paper No. -
The Russian Revolution: a Wider Perspective
- THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: A WIDER PERSPECTIVE PREFACE to the Source Collection on the Russian Revolution This is a collection of sources provided by members of the Euroclio network and curated by three members of the Historiana team. It Insert Source here: is not a comprehensive overview of the Russian Revolution. Its purpose is to provide some insights into how politicians, diplomats, senior military officers, other officials, revolutionaries, eye witnesses, bystanders, newspaper editors and journalists, ordinary people and even children perceived some of the key events in Russia from January 1917 through to December 1922. We hope that this transnational and multiperspective collection will widen students’ understanding of what happened in Russia in those critical years. The sources have been provided by history teachers and historians from 13 countries, including the Russian Federation, neighbouring states that in 1917 were part of the Russian Empire, states that were then allies or enemies of Russia and even states which were neutral non-combatants in 1917. To obtain these sources the contributors turned to their own national digital and physical archives. Where necessary, contributors summarised texts in English. Painting by British artist David For EUROCLIO this was a pilot experiment in collecting historical Jagger, entitled The Bolshevik sources and we are very grateful to everyone who took part. We (1918). The image combines the think the experiment was successful and EUROCLIO will be planning features of several Bolshevik further crowd-sourcing of collections on other significant moments leaders. and developments in world history in the future. Source: Canadian War Museum Bob Stradling, Louise Sträuli and Giulia Rossi Public Domain Summer 2019 THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT This collection is divided into four Introductionsections. -
The Russian Revolutions: the Impact and Limitations of Western Influence
Dickinson College Dickinson Scholar Faculty and Staff Publications By Year Faculty and Staff Publications 2003 The Russian Revolutions: The Impact and Limitations of Western Influence Karl D. Qualls Dickinson College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.dickinson.edu/faculty_publications Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Qualls, Karl D., "The Russian Revolutions: The Impact and Limitations of Western Influence" (2003). Dickinson College Faculty Publications. Paper 8. https://scholar.dickinson.edu/faculty_publications/8 This article is brought to you for free and open access by Dickinson Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Karl D. Qualls The Russian Revolutions: The Impact and Limitations of Western Influence After the collapse of the Soviet Union, historians have again turned their attention to the birth of the first Communist state in hopes of understanding the place of the Soviet period in the longer sweep of Russian history. Was the USSR an aberration from or a consequence of Russian culture? Did the Soviet Union represent a retreat from westernizing trends in Russian history, or was the Bolshevik revolution a product of westernization? These are vexing questions that generate a great deal of debate. Some have argued that in the late nineteenth century Russia was developing a middle class, representative institutions, and an industrial economy that, while although not as advanced as those in Western Europe, were indications of potential movement in the direction of more open government, rule of law, free market capitalism. Only the Bolsheviks, influenced by an ideology imported, paradoxically, from the West, interrupted this path of Russian political and economic westernization. -
Russian History: a Brief Chronology (998-2000)
Russian History: A Brief Chronology (998-2000) 1721 Sweden cedes the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea to Russia (Treaty of Nystad). In celebration, Peter’s title Kievan Russia is changed from tsar to Emperor of All Russia Abolition of the Patrarchate of Moscow. Religious authority passes to the Holy Synod and its Ober- prokuror, appointed by the tsar. 988 Conversion to Christianity 1722 Table of Ranks 1237-1240 Mongol Invasion 1723-25 The Persian Campaign. Persia cedes western and southern shores of the Caspian to Russia Muscovite Russia 1724 Russia’s Academy of Sciences is established 1725 Peter I dies on February 8 1380 The Battle of Kulikovo 1725-1727 Catherine I 1480 End of Mongol Rule 1727-1730 Peter II 1462-1505 Ivan III 1730-1740 Anne 1505-1533 Basil III 1740-1741 Ivan VI 1533-1584 Ivan the Terrible 1741-1762 Elizabeth 1584-98 Theodore 1744 Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst arrives in Russia and assumes the name of Grand Duchess 1598-1613 The Time of Troubles Catherine Alekseevna after her marriage to Grand Duke Peter (future Peter III) 1613-45 Michael Romanoff 1762 Peter III 1645-76 Alexis 1762 Following a successful coup d’etat in St. Petersburg 1672-82 Theodore during which Peter III is assassinated, Catherine is proclaimed Emress of All Russia Imperial Russia 1762-1796 Catherine the Great 1767 Nakaz (The Instruction) 1772-1795 Partitions of Poland 1682-1725 Peter I 1773-1774 Pugachev Rebellion 1689 The Streltsy Revolt and Suppression; End of Sophia’s Regency 1785 Charter to the Nobility 1695-96 The Azov Campaigns 1791 Establishment fo the Pale of Settlement (residential restrictions on Jews) in the parts of Poland with large 1697-98 Peter’s travels abroad (The Grand Embassy) Jewish populations, annexed to Russia in the partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795) and in the 1698 The revolt and the final suppression of the Streltsy Black Sea liitoral annexed from Turkey. -
Revolution in Real Time: the Russian Provisional Government, 1917
ODUMUNC 2020 Crisis Brief Revolution in Real Time: The Russian Provisional Government, 1917 ODU Model United Nations Society Introduction seventy-four years later. The legacy of the Russian Revolution continues to be keenly felt The Russian Revolution began on 8 March 1917 to this day. with a series of public protests in Petrograd, then the Winter Capital of Russia. These protests But could it have gone differently? Historians lasted for eight days and eventually resulted in emphasize the contingency of events. Although the collapse of the Russian monarchy, the rule of history often seems inventible afterwards, it Tsar Nicholas II. The number of killed and always was anything but certain. Changes in injured in clashes with the police and policy choices, in the outcome of events, government troops in the initial uprising in different players and different accidents, lead to Petrograd is estimated around 1,300 people. surprising outcomes. Something like the Russian Revolution was extremely likely in 1917—the The collapse of the Romanov dynasty ushered a Romanov Dynasty was unable to cope with the tumultuous and violent series of events, enormous stresses facing the country—but the culminating in the Bolshevik Party’s seizure of revolution itself could have ended very control in November 1917 and creation of the differently. Soviet Union. The revolution saw some of the most dramatic and dangerous political events the Major questions surround the Provisional world has ever known. It would affect much Government that struggled to manage the chaos more than Russia and the ethnic republics Russia after the Tsar’s abdication. -
Welfare Reforms in Post-Soviet States: a Comparison
WELFARE REFORMS IN POST-SOVIET STATES: A COMPARISON OF SOCIAL BENEFITS REFORM IN RUSSIA AND KAZAKHSTAN by ELENA MALTSEVA A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Elena Maltseva (2012) Welfare Reforms in Post-Soviet States: A Comparison of Social Benefits Reform in Russia and Kazakhstan Elena Maltseva Doctor of Philosophy Political Science University of Toronto (2012) Abstract: Concerned with the question of why governments display varying degrees of success in implementing social reforms, (judged by their ability to arrive at coherent policy outcomes), my dissertation aims to identify the most important factors responsible for the stagnation of social benefits reform in Russia, as opposed to its successful implementation in Kazakhstan. Given their comparable Soviet political and economic characteristics in the immediate aftermath of Communism’s disintegration, why did the implementation of social benefits reform succeed in Kazakhstan, but largely fail in Russia? I argue that although several political and institutional factors did, to a certain degree, influence the course of social benefits reform in these two countries, their success or failure was ultimately determined by the capacity of key state actors to frame the problem and form an effective policy coalition that could further the reform agenda despite various political and institutional obstacles and socioeconomic challenges. In the case of Kazakhstan, the successful implementation of the social benefits reform was a result of a bold and skillful endeavour by Kazakhstani authorities, who used the existing conditions to justify the reform initiative and achieve the reform’s original objectives. -
Russian Arts on the Rise
Arts and Humanities Open Access Journal Proceeding Open Access Russian arts on the rise Proceeding Volume 2 Issue 1 - 2018 The fifth Graduate Workshop of the Russian Art and Culture Miriam Leimer Group (RACG) once again proofed how vivid the art and culture of Free University of Berlin, Germany Russia and its neighbours are discussed among young researchers. th Though still little represented in the curricula of German universities Correspondence: Miriam Leimer, 5 Graduate Workshop of the Russian Art and Culture Group (RACG), Free University of the art of Eastern Europe is the topic of many PhD theses. But also in Berlin, Germany, Email [email protected] a broader international context-both in the East and the West-Russian art has gained importance in the discipline of art history. Received: December 22, 2017 | Published: February 02, 2018 The Russian Art and Culture Group that was founded in 2014 by Isabel Wünsche at Jacobs University Bremen provides an international platform for scholars and younger researchers in this The second panel “Intergenerational Tensions and Commonalities” field. At least once a year members of the group organize a workshop focused on the relation between the representatives of the different to bring together recent research-mostly by PhD candidates as well as succeeding art movements at the turn of the century. Using the by already well-established academics. example of Martiros Saryan, an Armenian artist, Mane Mkrtchyan from the Institute of Arts at the National Academy of Sciences of For the first time the workshop did not take place in Bremen the Republic of Armenia shed light on Russia’s Symbolism. -
Jan Sobczak Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
Jan Sobczak Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia Echa Przeszłości 12, 143-156 2011 ECHA PRZESZŁOŚCI XII, 2011 ISSN 1509-9873 Jan Sobczak ALEXEI NIKOLAEVICH, TSAREVICH OF RUSSIA This article does not aspire to give an exhaustive account of the life of Alexei Nikolaevich, not only for reasons of limited space. The role played by the young lad who was much loved by the nation, became the Russian tsesarevich and was murdered at the tender age of 14, would not justify such an effort. In addition to delivering general biographical information about Alexei that can be found in a variety of sources, I will attempt to throw some light on the less known aspects of his life that profoundly affected the fate of the Russian Empire and brought tragic consequences for the young imperial heir1. Alexei Nikolaevich was born in Peterhof on 12 August (30 July) 1904 on Friday at noon, during an unusually hot summer that had started already in February, at the beginning of Russia’s much unfortunate war against Japan. Alexei was the fifth child and the only son of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. He had four older sisters who were the Grand Duchesses: Olga (8.5 years older than Alexei), Tatiana (7 years older), Maria (5 years older) and Anastasia (3 years older). In line with the law of succession, Alexei automatically became heir to the throne, and his birth was heralded to the public by a 300-gun salute from the Peter and Paul Fortress. According to Nicholas II, the imperial heir was named Alexei to break away from a nearly century-old tradition of naming the oldest sons Alexander and Nicholas and to commemorate Peter the Great’s father, Alexei Mikhailovich, the second tsar of the Romanov dynasty that had ruled over Russia for nearly 300 years from the 17th century. -
East View Research Collections: Ukrainian Studies
East View Research Collections: Ukrainian Studies East View produces a variety of valuable collections for researchers and graduate-level students in Ukrainian studies. Covering the period from 1830 to 1945, the collections include primary source documents on uprisings against the Russian Empire; the Prosvita Society (a pro-Ukrainian cultural organization); the Stolypin assassination; the short-lived government and secret police of Hetman Skoropadsky; Ukraine under Nazi occupation; and more. Collections are available online, in full-image, text-searchable files, providing researchers with convenient access to rare, primary source materials. See below for detailed collection descriptions; please inquire for pricing and availability. Collection Spotlight: The Chernobyl Files, Declassified Documents of the Ukrainian KGB The Chernobyl Files collection contains reports prepared for and by a variety of Russian and Ukrainian government agencies, including the KGB, that document and detail the most important developments in the wake of the disaster, as well as internal reports and investigations on its various causes. Learn more at https://www.eastview.com/resources/e-collections/chernobyl-files/ Collection Spotlight: Judaica Digital Collections Features a collection of eight resources from the State Archives of Kyiv Oblast’, covering the period from the Russian Empire of the 1850s to the early Soviet era of the 1920s. The collections include documentation from important historical events, such as Kyiv’s Bloody October of 1905 and the Beilis Case. Topics covered include: emigration from Ukraine, before and during the Soviet era; anti-Semitic groups, ethnic tension and the resulting pogroms; Jewish societies and education programs; and more. Learn more at https://www.eastview.com/resources/e-collections/judaica-digital-collections/ Other Featured Collections Assassination of Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin, 1911. -
The Russian State Duma , On-Stage and Off: Inquiry, Impeachment , and Opposition
The Russian State Duma , On-Stage and Off: Inquiry, Impeachment , and Opposition MARTHA MERRITT L egislatures in mixed regimes the world over are often less popular than pres- identa, dismissed as "talking shops" while executive power lays claim to active and decisive leadership.l This tendency is clear in Russia's relatively new political institutions, with the State Duma rated in December 1999 as the Ieast trusted organ of government.z Both reflecting and helping to consolidate this atti- tude, the harsh national media routinely belittle the Duma: Deputies are said to "scurry like cockroaches" as they register electronic votes for themselves and their absent colleagues during the allotted fifteen-second period, the television news describes deputies as "babbling" while reporters discuss crises as yet unad- dressed, and during election periods television talk shows run polis to ask view- ers whether the country needs a national legislature at all. Not surprisingly, those who choose to telephone in this most unrepresentative of surveys defeat scattered support and record thousands of antiparliament "votes" Duma-bashing is something of a national sport in Russia, but it was also a use- ful resource for executive power as exercised by President Yeltsin. Although some commentators predicted a dramatic lessening of tension between Yeltsin's suc- cessor and the Duma after the relatively pro-government parliamentary elections of December 1999,3 the very majority that they had anticipated led to a dramat- ic walk-out of minority parties in early 2000 when the two largest legislative blocs, the Communists and Unity, found common ground in dividing committee chairperson positions. -
Background Guide, and to Issac and Stasya for Being Great Friends During Our Weird Chicago Summer
Russian Duma 1917 (DUMA) MUNUC 33 ONLINE 1 Russian Duma 1917 (DUMA) | MUNUC 33 Online TABLE OF CONTENTS ______________________________________________________ CHAIR LETTERS………………………….….………………………….……..….3 ROOM MECHANICS…………………………………………………………… 6 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM………………………….……………..…………......9 HISTORY OF THE PROBLEM………………………………………………………….16 ROSTER……………………………………………………….………………………..23 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………..…………….. 46 2 Russian Duma 1917 (DUMA) | MUNUC 33 Online CHAIR LETTERS ____________________________________________________ My Fellow Russians, We stand today on the edge of a great crisis. Our nation has never been more divided, more war- stricken, more fearful of the future. Yet, the promise and the greatness of Russia remains undaunted. The Russian Provisional Government can and will overcome these challenges and lead our Motherland into the dawn of a new day. Out of character. To introduce myself, I’m a fourth-year Economics and History double major, currently writing a BA thesis on World War II rationing in the United States. I compete on UChicago’s travel team and I additionally am a CD for our college conference. Besides that, I am the VP of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, previously a member of an all-men a cappella group and a proud procrastinator. This letter, for example, is about a month late. We decided to run this committee for a multitude of reasons, but I personally think that Russian in 1917 represents such a critical point in history. In an unlikely way, the most autocratic regime on Earth became replaced with a socialist state. The story of this dramatic shift in government and ideology represents, to me, one of the most interesting parts of history: that sometimes facts can be stranger than fiction.