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A quarterly scholarly journal and news magazine. June 2010. Vol III:2 REVIEW. Lennart Samuelson From the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) on Andrei Zubov’s new textbook Södertörn University, BALTI C S W o rbalticworlds.com l D

gudrun persson – societ y of lethargy philip hanson and the lost realm of happiness jukka gronow & sergei zhuravlev Catwalk in Russian margareta tillberg Industrial design as competitive strategy post-stalin under the magnifying glass

features & commentaries

Russian army / oksanen / Scandinavian Bronze Age / Photo exhibition in Potsdam / illegal logging 2short takes

Landscape symposium Kaliningrad How to recapture a lost vision identity – a sensitive issue?

In 2005 and 2007 Södertörn University conducted two seminars in collabora- tion with the Russian State University in Kaliningrad, Russian , under the collective heading Kaliningrad Identity. The broad focus of the seminars encompassed lectures, workshops, cultural events, and study visits. Participants included about one hundred people from Russia, , and other around the Baltic. Emphasis was placed on a discussion about Kaliningrad as an undisputed part of Russia, with a location as an exclave to the motherland but also an enclave within the European Union. The two seminars have now been summarized in a single volume, Kalinin- grad Identity — Crucial to Democracy and Development in the : A Seminar Report (Baltic and East European Studies 12, 2009. Tho- Echo Temple in Haga Park, Stockholm-Solna. Photo: Let Ideas Compete – http://flic.kr/p/2qJUha mas Lundén, Gunnel Bergström & Lise- Lotte Nilsson, eds.). The front cover, On September 13, the Committee for especially concerning about maintenance, restoration, reconstruction and by freelance and artist Alexander the Gustavian Park, an independent the three Gustavian (i.e. enhancement of the above-mentioned parks, and to Popadin, presents a humorous drawing Swedish group of specialists in ecology, late 18th century) parks: discuss their historical importance and “the Gustavian of a Kaliningrader’s identity, with one urban planning, garden history and res- Bellevue, Haga, and vision” from an international perspective. The event foot in the East Prussian past and one toration, will be hosting a closed 3-day Tivoli, all designed by the is held under the auspices of the ; in the USSR, but with a red heart in international symposium on the National architect Fredrik Magnus the Swedish Academy of Fine Arts; the Academy of Russia and an equally red tongue. The Urban Park of Stockholm under the Piper. The symposium’s Letters, History and Antiquities; the Academy of Ag- booklet contains several articles with heading ”The Management of a Lost Vi- main objectives are to riculture and Forestry; and the Swedish Academy of various links to Kaliningrad, its sion”. Though protected by in Swe- review the plans and Sciences. European and Swedish experts on garden history, and its role in Russian foreign den’s Environment Act this unique park problems of the area restoration and representatives of the gardens around policy, as well as its unique geopolitical, area remains threatened by exploitation. in relation to the inter- Brunnsviken and of the Council of Stockholm financial, and cultural position. Recently, however, a new focus has national discourse on will be attending. The instigator of the seminars was been directed towards maintenance, garden restoration, to ad- See further reporting on page 4. ≈ Gunnel Bergström, Slavicist, freelance restoration, and even reconstruction, dress specific questions writer, Swedish lecturer at the university in Kaliningrad from 2004 to 2006, and a driving force behind attempts to under- Baltic Worlds news is good news stand Kaliningrad’s unique nature and Russian identity. In October 2009, Ms. BalticWorlds.com continues to are posted in the order in which nity has been at times seen as strong, Bergström traveled to Kaliningrad with develope. We are now also publish- receive them. Don’t forget to send an at times weak. Comments are to be some copies of the newly published ing conference reports on the website author portrait picture and a brief bio. expected. booklet. Upon her arrival she was de- under “What’s up”. By contributing an Internet article, you BalticWorlds.com complements the nied entry, her visa was canceled, and Soon we will put up a report on the become part of the growing group journal. On the site you can subscribe she was forbidden to travel to Russia Second Global Helsinki Chemicals of BW contributors presented on the to the magazine and comment on the for five years. Unofficially, these actions Forum in May, and this summer we will website. articles in BW. ≈ were taken because of her anti-Russian report on the large Eurasia ICCEES- seminars. conference to be launched in Stock- The tab “Work in progress” is an- The booklet may be requested holm. If you have attended an inter- other bit of fresh news on the net. from CBEES, attn: Thomas Lundén, esting conference, you are welcome A chapter is now available from a forth- Södertörn University, 141 89 Huddinge, to write a short report in English and coming historiographic dissertation that Sweden, or [email protected] ≈ send it to [email protected]. Follow our analyzes the creation of the concept Style Guide, available on the website. of the Baltic Sea region and describes Next issue: Reports, once we’ve reviewed them, when and why the sea-based commu- Focus on Poland BALTIC editorial 3

W O R L Dbalticworlds.com S Sponsored by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies Eurasian perspectives

contents or a long time progress was essays viewed from an F Atlantic angle. 13 Tristesse as a force for It was in Western , change with its colonial, later im- perial, offshoots in Ameri- 18 Importance of avoiding ca that sustained economic growth took root as well as the habit of thinking Editor-in-chief 26 GUM in terms of dynamics and Anders Björnsson change as something nor- Editor 34 Prettier everyday objects mal. The status quo came Ninna Mörner to represent decadence, Responsible publisher features an absence of civilization. Anu Mai Kõll People as different as Karl Editorial advisory board 4 From Hampstead Heath to Marx, Max Weber, Nor- Rebecka Lettevall, Finnish national parks bert Elias, yes, even a illustration: katrin stenmark Board Chair, CBEES, W. W. Rostow, reflecting on Sari Autio-Sarasmo, 9 Timber criminality society, could very well have agreed — if they had sat need for constant dredging, diking and Aleksanteri Institute, down and reasoned with one another — about the su- drainage.” (Return to Dragon Mountain, Helsinki, Ole 11 At an exhibition in Potsdam periority of the Western cultural sphere and its natural 2007) Elgström, Lund leadership role. Even the flower cult we spend time University, Michael Gilek, reviews They were all modernists and Eurocentrists — or with in our daily lives has Asian origins, CBEES, Ann-Cathrine possibly Atlanticists. according to Goody, who has written Jungar, CBEES, 47 Sea power vs. land power In works written in his autumnal years, social anth- a book about it (The Culture of Flowers, Anu Mai Kõll, CBEES, ropologist Jack Goody does what he can to demolish 1993). Thomas Lundén, 51 The world’s happiest people such a way of looking at things. He calls the viewpoint CBEES, Jens E. Olesen, teleological. It aims to explain why a certain type of ci- In comparison with a good deal of this, University of Greifswald 52 Neopatriotic history? vilization, connected to the market economy and pri- both Africa and America have existed in Editorial staff vate acquisition of production surplus, could triumph historical backwaters, the consequence In this issue: 60 Russia – power plays only in certain types of societies — societies that, on being — says Goody — that they never Brian Manning Delaney, and the future top of everything else, conquered a large part of the benefited from the creativity caused by Unn Gustafsson, rest of the world. The rule there was an unwillingness the growth of during the Eurasian Anders Hellner, 62 to change, a fear of technology and newfangledness. Bronze Age. Lotte Hedeager, Shouldn’t one simply ask oneself Lucette Nobell, commentaries However, Goody says, most recently in The Eurasian whether it isn’t in the very character Pontus Reimers, Miracle (2009), this way of viewing progress ignores of modernity to be in motion, even Tamás Scheibner 41 Post-colonialist Europe? the fact that advanced cultures, though totally dif- geographically? Before became Translators ferent, have succeeded each other on the Eurasian a center for learning, Baghdad was Péter Balogh, 45 Does have a land mass for all of recorded history. The constancy of a center for learning. When people Steen Christiansen, Bronze Age? Chinese civilization could in itself deserve an explana- from the north came to Sicily in the 11th Proper English, tion — that it retained its advantage over the classical century, the Arabs were already there, Semantix antiquity and Middle-Ages of the West and, even when and the invaders adopted many of the Design the initiative was lost during the late Ming dynasty, Arabs’ customs. Several of the countries Lars Rodvaldr, The next issues of BW are scheduled enjoyed enormous wealth! around the Baltic Sea today have signifi- Art Director, Oktavilla to be published in September 2010, Sinologist Jonathan Spence has reminded us of cant Muslim minorities who are instiga- Lena Fredriksson och and December 2010. this. “Silk production and porcelain manufacture”, he ting new cultural patterns there. Goody Sara Bergfors, Oktavilla Contact BW at [email protected]. writes, “had an illustrious history in China and conti- talks of shifts of focus. No one has a Illustrators Subscription is free. More information nued to be made to the highest standards, exceeding predetermined destiny; the tangent of Riber Hansson, at www.balticworlds.com. anything available elsewhere in the world. Hosts of history is constantly changing direction. Katrin Stenmark, artisans were skilled in metallurgy, jade carving, lan- And no one can count on any perma- Ragni Svensson Printed by: Wassberg+Skotte terns and lacquer ware, along with the production of nent advantage. ≈ Subscription Tryckeri AB, Stockholm. more prosaic goods such as tea, salt, cotton, pottery Henriette Cederlöf ISSN 2000-2955 and household furniture. Hydraulic engineering was a major preoccupation due to the massive burdens of silt carried by China’s major rivers and canals, and the

To escape fate – shift focus! To avoid self-pity – look skyward! 4

The National Urban Park

Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, nature and claim to periodically wish to return to it. ons. Indeed, the oldest culture is a mirror of nature. His private arbors and new-planted orchards, Historical circumstances have placed obstacles in the Once humans domesticated some of the fauna and On this side Tiber; he hath left them you, way, but the ties remain significant even in the setting designated the remainder as wildlife, the process of And to your heirs for ever, common pleasures, where nature might seem most remote — the vulnera- domesticating nature itself began. To walk abroad, and recreate yourselves. ble and almost completely artificial modern metropo- Ever since cities were first built, their inhabitants lis. Only on journeys into space are the ties completely have had a need to escape, at least for a short period, (, Julius Caesar, Act III) cut, but most depictions of fictitious space travel take to recuperate away from the crowds, the noise of it for granted that the need is met to some extent by traffic and the insalubrious air. At first this was not a he citizens of Rome listen, spellbound, to accompanying green plants or even entire gardens. problem other than on the individual level; nature Marc Antony’s funeral oration for Julius The ties between human culture and nature go back ruled and was accessible everywhere beyond the city Caesar. Upon learning that the slain dictator to the beginning of time, as is well known. At the site walls or limits, and often enough even within them. willed his gardens and parks to the people, of the oldest monument we know of to date, the place As more and more cities were built, in the early cultu- theT crowd is freed from its inhibitions and runs wild. called Göbekli Tepe, in what is now southeast Turkey, res of the Near East, structured greenery in the form At least, Shakespeare imagined it could have hap- people chose to create a sculpture park of sorts by of enclosed gardens emerged as the most desirable pened that way; even Elizabethan London had room erecting t-shaped stone pillars — some over three environment imaginable, known in the Avestan langu- for a sentimental yearning for green areas, which al- meters tall — about eleven thousand five hundred age as pairi daeza: paradise was a garden. Parks and ready then were associated with primordiality and in- years ago. The purpose of this almost inconceivable gardens gradually increased in scope. The world’s first ner harmony. In short, we cannot escape our nature, physical feat in a culture lacking metal tools or per- would-be national urban park, the spectacular party neither the one that surrounds us nor the one found manent homes remains unknown, but in line with the facility Domus aurea, was located in central Rome in within. No matter how much city people indulge in standard dictum that whatever archaeologists do not an area cleared following the devastating Great Fire of the romance of the pavement, the need persists to be understand they define as cult-related, the general Rome (64 AD), though it failed to meet this criterion able to stretch one’s legs in a wooded glade or along a interpretation of researchers for now is exactly that: as it was reserved for its owner, the emperor Nero, beach, and inhale a pinch of healthy air worthy of the an aspiration to communicate with higher (or lower) and his guests. After the fall of the Western Roman name. powers. Many of the monoliths bear carved reliefs of Empire, urbanization declined and people prioritized As is well known, humans have their origins in the surrounding fauna: lions, wild boar, foxes, scorpi- concerns other than parks. As convincingly shown

Master nature and long for it anew. Seclude yourself from the bustle of things and then arrange the seclusion. essay feature interview story 5 Photo: O lga – htt p ://flic.kr/ /4 LL h C q photo: xx

The National Urban Park Historical Dead End or Model for the Future?

by British historian Simon Schama, the concept of would be defined was not crystal clear. Not until 1969 talking about Northern European national urban an (ab)original landscape, Arcadia, where the sound did the International Union for the Conservation of parks. and genuine life was supposedly lived, was preserved Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) declare that a One reasonable criterion for a national urban park and developed during the Renaissance (as were so national park was “a relatively large area with particu- is that it be located in a city. During the Middle Ages, many other concepts of Antiquity). This landscape lar defining characteristics.” Renaissance, Baroque, and even the eighteenth cen- of the imagination, which often seemed to have little If the promised land to the west represents the tury Age of Enlightenment, for the most part parks in common with its counterpart in reality on the national park pioneering effort, Sweden is in a solid tended to be under strict private ownership. But Peloponnesus, eventually branched into two lines of second place. Explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld laun- things started happening in the 19th century. According thought, involving the wild and the disciplined in life. ched a proposal to set aside land for a national park in to US cultural historian Paul S. Boyer, the history of This relationship was reflected in the physical park 1880, though Ängsö National Park in Roslagen archi- the public urban park can be divided into three peri- world. However, yet one more element was needed: pelago, the first of its kind in Europe, did not actually ods: the romantic (1850–1890s); the rationalistic (1890– the old Napoleonic soldier Claude François Denecourt become established until 1909. However, the process 1950s), and the regenerative (1950s–). Romantic parks (1788−1875) used his extensive knowledge of the ter- did not stop there; an additional eight parks opened often followed the formula of the English countryside rain in the Fontainebleau forest outside Paris to make in Sweden that same year and the process then conti- park in order to convey expansive and striking vistas. a strong contribution to modern man’s contact with nued, leading to today’s 29 parks. In other words, it is Rationalistic parks can be said to comprise part of the the more undisciplined side of Arcadia by clearing the logical that the national urban park concept was first art of social engineering that viewed parks as settings first recreational trails in history. introduced in Sweden. Or was it? The question is how for surrogate human activity, as a type of valve, where to designate facilities like the Golden Gate National Re- people could work out their frustration and anxiety creation Area in San Francisco and Gateway National in, for example, a tennis match. Regenerative parks, in The park may have its cultural roots in the an- Recreation Area in City, both established in light of a fledgling environmental awareness and the cient Near East, but the national park has its roots in 1972. Possibly they might not be considered proper oncoming green wave, are viewed as attempts to link the . The world’s first national park was national urban parks since they both consist of several awareness of local tradition with ecological awareness Yellowstone in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, inau- unconnected areas. But what would they otherwise and sustainable development. The national urban gurated in 1872, followed by Sequoia and Yosemite in be called? And then we have the Urban Wilds Initiative park can be said to build on all of these models, and California in 1890. However, exactly how these areas in Boston, also with roots in the 1970s. But we were more.

Development or obliteration. Did Arcadia arise only after it was ravaged? 6 Photo: .ben* – htt p ://flic.kr/ /6mZdmi

Here, Londoners take their leisure outside Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath.

Nature is never far away in Sweden; even in would be granted a unique legal status. In 1995 this Valdemarsudde, and the Thielska Gallery. In addition, Stockholm’s inner city, residents seldom have to area was designated a national urban park with the Stockholm University, the Royal Swedish Academy walk farther than 300 meters to reach a green space. following words, often-quoted ever since then, from of Sciences, and many other education and research Stockholm County alone has 27 nature reserves and the Chapter 4, section 7 of the Swedish Environmental institutions are located within the park limits. The two national parks, the previously mentioned Ängsö Code: cultural, biological, and social significance of this park in Roslagen’s inner archipelago and Tyresta in Söder- is invaluable. törn. The city’s green areas also receive diligent use. The Ulriksdal-Haga-Brunnsviken- Ownership is a complex issue. The Swedish state Landscape architect Thorbjörn Andersson has em- Djurgården area is a national urban park. owns the majority, but the City of Stockholm, Stock- ployed the expression “social sacrament” to describe New development, new buildings, and other holm University, Solna and Lidingö , se- Swedes’ relationship to nature, and in this context ci- measures shall only be permissible in na- veral property companies, private owners, and others ted a Jesuit priest who had long served in Sweden: “On tional urban parks if they can be undertaken are also in the picture. Approximately 80 percent of the continent we see God in another person. You Scan- without encroaching on park landscapes the land is cared for by Kungliga Djurgårdens Förvalt- dinavians see God in nature.” In the 2009 competition or the natural environment, and without ning (the Royal Djurgården Administration), which with 34 other European cities for the designation detriment to any other natural and cultural ultimately answers personally to the . The County European Green Capital 2010, Stockholm was selected assets of the historical landscape. Council is tasked with coordinating management and based on its well-established principles for sustainable development efforts. A good illustration of the difficul- development and its stated future goals. Even though The same year that the National Urban Park was es- ties associated with coordination can be found in the the expert panel recommended in the first tablished, 1995, the Swedish government decided to December 17, 2004 report: round, the jury chose to reward Stockholm (Hamburg inventory other potential areas that could conceivably was awarded the distinction for 2011). The jury stated: become national urban parks, with the stipulation that Experiences from the meetings with the city in question should have a population of about Solna and Stockholm as well as Kungl. [Stockholm] has an outstanding, long histor- 50,000. After an initial review of seven cities − Gothen- Djurgårdens Förvaltning indicate that it ical track record of integrated urban man- burg, Helsingborg, Malmö, Norrköping, Trollhättan, would be appropriate for the County Admin- agement also confirmed by its ongoing cred- Uppsala, and Örebro − only two areas remained for the istrative Board to assume a better defined ible green credentials. Ambitious plans for final round: Uppsalaåsen−Fyrisån and Älvrummet in role in the work of developing the national the future clearly demonstrate continuity. Trollhättan. The municipalities involved were tasked urban park. The County Administrative by the government to formulate a basis on which to Board is involved as a consultant for large The area known as Kungliga Djurgården derived its build the parks. However, no decision was ever taken construction and landscaping projects, but name from its having served as the royal hunting and the matter was dropped. has neither the means nor the resources to grounds during the 16th and 17th centuries. Ulriksdal follow up on each individual construction Palace was established at the north end in the 17th permit that affects the national urban park. century and further expanded over the centuries that The Stockholm−Solna National Urban Park, as Yet another problem involves plans adopted followed. Haga Park (Swedish: Hagaparken) originated it is now known (the previous name “Ekopark” has prior to 1995 which in some cases constitute in the 18th century and many connoisseurs consider it now fallen out of use) encompasses a total of about encroachment upon the parkland and natu- to be one of the foremost examples of the English park 27 km². The park has a wealth of flora and fauna: ral environment, and are also detrimental to style outside the . At the south end of over 800 different flowering plants, more than 1,200 the natural and cultural assets of the histori- Djurgården a large number of upper-class, architectur- beetle species and about 100 nesting bird species, to cal park landscape in general. In a few cases ally significant villas were built during the 19th century name just a few examples. In addition to being a liv- the relevant plan areas are also in proximity and early 20th century, as was the world-renowned ing environment for insects and birds, its groves of to important divergent plate boundaries. open-air museum Skansen. After many years of en- ancient oaks constitute one of the largest concentra- croaching development of inner city green spaces, tions in northern Europe. Many well-known museums The second to the last line may be a reference to Alba against the intentions of the Riksdag, a decision was are located in the area, including Skansen, Nordiska Nova, the university’s physics, astronomy, and bio- taken in 1994 to protect Djurgården by law, and to con- Museet (the Nordic Museum), the Swedish Museum technology center located on the shore of the bay, nect its north and south ends into a single area that of Natural History, the Vasa Museum, Prins Eugens Brunnsviken. When the center opened in 2001, it

The Swedish king wanted his own Versailles. The ruins can still be examined. essay feature interview story 7

proved to be considerably more conspicuous than 2. Extent and interconnectedness (it should be lahti bay. The park also includes many smaller nature promised. At a WWF seminar in 2008, Minister possible for people to get from one urban dis- protection areas with rare and endangered fauna and for the Environment Andreas Carlgren declared his in- trict to another through the green structure) flora. The built environments include the Boulevard, tention to “empower the County Administrative Board 3. Ecology and continuity (various species can the old buildings at Korkeavuori (High Mountain) by to make decisions on conservation, maintenance move and interact, and the area in question the Western Harbor, and the residential neighborhood plans and development measures, and to assume a should not have sharp boundaries with the sur- by the Spa Park. The rock carving area at Hauensuoli coordinating role to maintain protection”. However, rounding countryside) and (Pike’s Gut) is a candidate for the UNESCO World Her- other stakeholders continued to make themselves 4.  Central urban location (the area must begin in itage list. Information provided by the Ministry of the heard. the urban center or its immediate vicinity). Environment also states the following: Allow us to make a historical comparison: in the early 19th century the rolling heaths north of London, As of this year Finland has five national urban parks: The decision about the national urban park known as Hampstead Heath at least since the 16th Hämeenlinna (established 2001), Heinola (2002), Pori includes the consent of 95 private individu- century, became the object of admiration among (2002) and Hanko (2008); Porvoo National Urban Park als or societies. Without this initiative such prominent cultural icons such as poet Leigh Hunt and will open this year. a representation of the built heritage would painter John Constable. At the same time, the London not have been possible. population increasingly made weekend outings to this Hämeenlinna in Tavastia Proper, about 100 kilom- , which in some parts had been over- eters north of Helsinki, with a population of around The coastal of Porvoo in Eastern Uusimaa has exploited for other purposes (the high-quality sand that 66,500, became a city in 1638. The national urban park approximately 48,000 inhabitants. It is located on an covered the heath was dug up and sold to construction was established on January 10, 2001. The park current- ancient trading site and had gained city status by the companies). When the owner of the heath announced ly occupies 7.38 km². It is dominated by the elongated 1380s. May 22, 2010 was designated a day of festivi- his intention in 1829 to build both homes and a brick lake Vanajavesi, which stretches through the city. The ties for the grand opening of the national urban park mill in the area, public opinion was ignited and efforts center of the park is home to the city’s medieval in Porvoo. The park is planned to occupy an area for preservation began. That particular construction with surrounding walls and beaches, as well as its mili- of 22 km², stretching all the way from the national proposal never got off the ground, but the landowner tary barracks from the eighteenth and nineteenth cen- landscape in the Porvoo river valley to the Old Town did not give up and threats to the heath continued, turies. The lake connects these areas via the city park and onwards toward the manor house environment especially after the 1860 construction of a train station dating from the 1840s with Aulanko’s large recreation at Stensböle and Haiko on the west side of the city. A there which greatly increased wear and tear caused by area and park. When Aulanko was created in 1885, large part of the park is water area. celebrating weekenders. Confronted with the threat of many foreign trees, flowers, and bushes were planted; industrial-scale sand extraction in the 1860s, the Open today it is more of a forest than a park. Part of the Experience shows that the national urban park move- Spaces Society was formed, one of the founders of forested park is a Natura 2000 site. There is a desire to ment contributes to increased employment through which was John Stuart Mill. In 1872 the majority of the expand the park with a 1.36 km² field to the northwest, tourism and, best of all, increased local pride. Cities area was finally acquired by the Metropolitan Board which is dominated by a forested ridge from the ice that are in line to receive national urban park status of Works, London’s most important government body age. It is also the site of a deep lake and swimming include Imatra, Kotka, Kuopio, and Turku, Finland’s at the time. The accompanying Hampstead Heath Act arena that was used in the 1952 Olympic Games. third largest after Helsinki and Tampere. declares: “The Board shall at all times preserve, as far as The cities Forssa, Lohja, Savonlinna, Rovaniemi, Sei- may be, the natural aspect and state of the Heath.” Thus Heinola in Päijänne Tavastiai, of Southern näjoki, Valkeakoski, and Vaasa have consulted with the area was saved for the public, at least for a while. Finland, has about 21,000 residents. Gustav III made the Ministry regarding this matter. In little more than a The current administrator, the Corporation of London, the community an administrative center in the region decade it would seem that Finland will indeed meet its is now confronted with rising maintenance costs for the and it gained city status in 1839. The former industrial self-imposed quota by a wide margin − an impressive enormous park (3.2 km²), and the ravages of overuse city’s grid is intersected by a broad, tree-lined avenue achievement and excellent confirmation of the sustai- are a constant problem. Recognize the pattern? from 1785. In the mid-nineteenth century a city park nability of the concept. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Baltic, neigh- was established and a shoreline park was added in the boring Finland had been monitoring developments in 1890s. Several facilities and interiors from the eight- Sweden with interest, and decided to adopt the urban eenth and nineteenth centuries have been preserved. In , the Bygdøy peninsula on the west national parks concept. In 1999 specific legislation In addition there are interconnected, elongated mu- side of Oslo — which includes the Bygdøy Royal Es- came into force, through an amendment (section 68) nicipally owned green areas. tate and Oscarshall Castle from the mid-nineteenth to the Land Use and Building Act, which states: century — has for many years been proposed as a Pori in Satakunta has more than 76,000 residents. The potential candidate for a national urban park, but to A national urban park may be established city by the river Kokemänjoki was founded in 1558, date the Ministry of the Environment has been indif- to protect and maintain the beauty of the though its forerunner on the same site, Ulvsby, gained ferent to the idea, noting that current environmental cultural or natural landscape, historical city status in 1365. The national urban park covers and cultural legislation offers sufficient protection. In characteristics, or related values concern- about 9.5 km². The most important cultural elements the first national park (Thy) was established ing the townscaping, social, recreational, or include the industrial facilities along the north shore in 2009, with another one (Mols Bjerge) opening this other special values of an area in an urban of the river, the neo-Gothic Pori cathedral, the neo- year and more on the way, although it seems that the environment. Gothic Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum, the neo-Renais- concept of a national urban park has not yet been sance city hall, as well as the Pori bridge over the river. considered. Two years after passage of the Act the first park was Finland’s neighbor to the south, Estonia, took a established. The idea is to gradually create about ten Hanko in Uusimaa has a population of about 9,700 first step in September 2009 toward development of parks throughout Finland, a number that the Minister and was founded in 1874. The area of the park covers a national urban parks. The Devepark project (Sustai- of the Environment considers to be a maximum. Cities total of 630 km² of land and sea. The natural heritage nable Historic Park Management and Development must submit an application and the Ministry of the En- assets largely consist of the diverse seashore and archi- in Finland and Estonia 2009–2012), coordinated by vironment decides on the matter. The applicant city pelago, including shoals and sandbanks. In addition, the Center for Extension Studies at Åbo Akademi must meet four criteria: the park includes the Natura 2000 sites Tulliniemi na- University, represents a collaborative effort between ture reserve and bird protection area, as well as parts Finland and Estonia. Eight Finnish and eight Estonian 1. Content (significant natural, cultural, or park of the large sea nature protection areas of the Tam- institutions are participating, in addition to eight non- area) misaari and Hanko archipelago and the Pohjanpitäjän- commercial Finnish and Estonian organizations. The

After tree-felling there is no turning back. Forest-rich Finland became both a parkland and Nokia Land. 8

rather a lack of municipal initiative? Areas worthy of protection exist, the national urban park concept is well-established and one would think that the exam- ples from Finland should provide hope and inspira- tion for the future. Stockholm faces major transportation policy and urban challenges, largely due to the expected surge in population. Projects include the urban North Link highway; revamping of the lock Slussen that connects Gamla Stan and Södermalm; construction of the North Station area between Stockholm and Solna, as well as construction of the Norra Djurgårdsstaden office and residential area. The latter area borders on the Natio- nal Urban Park and will impact it. The North Link has already spawned conflict regarding its route through Bellevueparken. Concerning the inflammatory issue about the new design for Slussen, murmurs are being heard about a new Almstrid (a successful civil disobe- dience movement in 1971 over a subway construction project), only many times worse. Whether the fate of Forest meets sea at Hanko National Urban Park. the National Urban Park can engage Stockholmers as deeply remains to be seen, as does the ability of the project is being financed by the European Regional saw by the confluence of the Bug, Bzura, Narew, and city’s powers that be to live up to the EU’s green prize. Development Fund’s Central Baltic INTERREG IV A Vistula rivers; the 262 km² Kozienice Landscape Park In all probability the disgruntlement of the former will Programme 2007–2013 (€ 1.1 million) and participa- in Masovian and the 76 km² Wielkopolska not culminate in the same actions taken by the agita- ting organizations (€ 0.29 million), for a total project National Park about 15 km south of Poznan.´ ted Roman masses in Shakespeare’s , who burned budget of € 1.3 million. The project description on the : the 805 km² Vorpommersche Bodden- the homes of the latter in protest. However, most of Devepark website (www.devepark.utu.fi) clearly states landschaft northwest of Stralsund; Jasmund National the city’s residents enjoy and are proud of the local the objectives: Park on the island of Rügen northeast of the same city; natural resources and any perceived mismanagement the remarkable industrial city park Landschaftspark risks repercussions on the political front. The aim of the project is to find ways to man- Duisburg-Nord (conceived by Professor Peter Latz); age and develop historic parks, gardens and Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau in Oberlausitz bet- cultural environments in a sustainable way ween Bad Muskau and Legnica (in Poland). While the On the one hand, it is difficult from the Swedish in Southwest Finland and in the Estonian islands of Neuwerk and Scharhörn at the mouth of the perspective to counter the impression that the baton of Tartu, Saare, and Jõgeva. The Elbe river form part of the Hamburgisches Wattenme- for the development of a valuable idea in the area of Finnish National Urban Park model will be er National Park and belong to Hamburg administrati- sustainable development has been handed off to the presented in the project and the signing of vely, they lie 120 km northwest of the city. other side of the Baltic for the foreseeable future. On the international Florence Charter in Esto- Farther south on the continent, the island of Ada the other hand, it is hardly constructive to view such a nia will be promoted. Ciganlija in the Sava river in central Belgrade should movement as some type of nationalistic contest. Swe- make an excellent candidate for a national urban park. den took a bold initiative in attempting the feat of cre- Note that the latter is a 1982 preservation agreement To the west in Europe, the Sustainable and Acces- ating a functional national park in the middle of what for historic gardens within the framework of the cul- sible Urban Landscapes (SAUL) collaborative project may be a quite small yet nevertheless international tural heritage protection organization International involving the UK, the , Luxembourg, and metropolis. Fifteen years later, valuable lessons have Council for Monument and Sites (ICOMOS), an adden- Germany and financed by INTERREG III 2003−2008 been learned, especially due to the commitment and dum to the better known Venice Charter from 1964. funding, has investigated opportunities for refinement good will ultimately demonstrated by both national No national urban parks are to be found south of Esto- of existing urban green areas (Frankfurt’s Grüngürtel and municipal authorities, as well as by independent nia, although the national parks listed below are found and Amsterdam’s Noorderpark project). In the UK the opinion groups. Finland wisely began at the other end in proximity to cities. Commission for Architecture and the Built Environ- of the scale, choosing a somewhat different legal mod- Latvia has the 917.5 km² national park Gauja in the ment (CABE), which advises public authorities and el and above all allowing local initiative to rule, rather north, between the cities of Sigulda (about 16,700 in- plans for sustainable development in the run-up to the than imposing decrees from above. Here, as well, habitants) and Cesis (more than 18,000 inhabitants), 2012 summer Olympic Games, has launched its Grey valuable lessons for the future are to be found. The established in 1973, and the 381.65 km² Kemeri (esta- to Green campaign, which includes Liverpool’s Green inevitability of urban development and the unpredict- blished as a national park in 1997) by the Gulf of Riga Infrastructure Network, along with the nearby Mersey able wheels of progress perpetuate the need to defend and west of Jürmala (55,600 inhabitants). Forest. urban natural resources. Nevertheless, the national Lithuania has the 82 km² Trakai Historical National urban park concept is here to stay. ≈ Park, which surrounds the small town of Trakai (5,357 In Sweden there is certainly no lack of viable can- inhabitants) 28 km west of Vilnius; the 264 km² Kursiu didates for new national urban parks: besides Uppsala pontus reimers Nerija (on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000) and Trollhättan, Gothenburg (with Änggårdsbergen Editorial consultant with a background as a classical by the coastal town of Neringa, as well as Plateliai in and Slottsskogen), the historical naval station in Karl- archaeologist and lexicographer. Has worked at the Samogitia, which with its 1,100 inhabitants is the star- skrona (which is already on the UN World Cultural Swedish Institute in Rome – work which included the ting point for excursions to Žemaitija National Park. In Heritage List) and the Södra Hällarna nature reserve excavation of the Temple of Castor and Pollux at the 2008 the latter received the national Lithuanian tou- outside Visby on Gotland have all come up for discus- Forum Romanum – and at Lund University. Editor rist organization’s prize for excellence. sion, in addition to the other candidates discussed in charge of ancient history and archeology at the Poland is home to the 385 km² Kampinoski Na- during the first Riksdag inventory. However, to date Swedish National Encyclopedia, later chief editor of tional Park, which incorporates the Bielany Forest absolutely nothing has transpired. Perhaps the experi- Bonnier Lexicon. Reserve and is located on the northwest edge of War- ences from the are a deterrent. Or is there

Effective nature experiences. Is the difference between belt and girdle the same as that between park and parking spots? essay feature interview reviews 9 illegal logging birdlife and flor a thre atened Illegal logging is the foremost threat to the survival of forests around the world. The illegal trade in forest resources also means that many countries lose vast amounts of tax revenue, as well as various customs duties and fees. Russia and the three Baltic countries account for the largest volume of illegal exports to the EU countries.

In the OECD estimates the value of the global importation is indirect, via China. However, timber Independent lumber mills without their own timber trade is said to be € 150 billion per year, ten imported from the three Baltic countries takes a differ- forests that often cooperate via purchasing percent of which is estimated to be illegal in one way ent route. Russia and these countries account for the companies for the supply of their raw materi- or another. largest volume of illegal exports to the EU countries, als. Illegal logging is extremely difficult to stop. Trade in approximately 13 million cubic meters, according to illegally logged timber is an international multi-billion the World Wildlife Fund. Import agents. These are companies that ex- euro industry that branches into over 70 countries, clusively buy and sell timber. from Brazil and Cameroon to Canada and Russia. Between 30 and 50 percent of all timber exports In 2010 demand for timber appears to be grea- Rarely are importers responsible for the entire chain worldwide are of questionable legality. Behind all of ter than ever. Prices are heading for record highs in from logging to delivery at the factory gate. They colla- this is an extensive chain of organized crime linking many places. Lumber mills in Europe are finding it dif- borate with shippers and entrepreneurs in the export sellers, middlemen, and buyers, all with the capacity ficult to obtain sufficient raw material, in part because countries. Sometimes the shippers are subsidiaries to bribe and to falsify documents. The World Wildlife of declining legal imports from Russia due to export or jointly owned by the importer. In many cases the Fund, which has thoroughly studied the illegal traffic, duties. The export duties in Russia and increased shipping chains are long and complicated. Every level believes that the criminal activity in the forestry indus- demand from the EU indeed appear to have led to an has external political and other interests that must be try and timber trade is part of a much greater problem increase in illegal logging in Russia. The damage from met in various ways. Considering the size of timber that includes inadequate forestry legislation, poor pests in the vast pine forests of British Columbia pro- transactions and how much financial gain is possible regulatory control, and extensive corruption. bably also has an impact on the situation. by avoiding taxes and other fees, as well as the op- The EU is one of the biggest importers of timber For several years the EU has been engaged in major portunity to log more than actually permitted, it is not in the world. Timber for all of the lumber-hungry EU efforts to create a regulatory framework against the il- strange that a significant portion of both logging and countries comes mainly from the , the Congo, legal timber trade. Now that the EU is trying to stem or exports are still illegal. East Africa, Indonesia, the Baltic States, and until even eliminate the illegal timber trade it is encounter- Illegality in these contexts may mean different recently, Russia. The legal importation of timber from ing a host of businesses of questionable repute that im- things: failure to pay taxes, customs duties, fees, log- Russia to the EU countries has significantly decreased port timber from the Baltic States and other countries ging on someone else’s property, logging in conflict in recent times because of the hefty export duties that in the former Eastern Europe. with the regulations of the of origin with re- Russia has imposed. A significant part of timber im- spect to quantity or tree species that may be cut. ports to the EU is estimated to be illegal. Globally, the Forest products industrial concerns. These are cost of illegal logging (in part due to lost tax revenues) large groups with their own industries and of- ranges between € 10 billion and € 15 billion, with the ten with their own large forest holdings. For at least the past decade the EU has at- EU accounting for approximately € 3 billion of the tempted to contend with illegal timber total. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Finland, Forest owner associations, which in turn own imports by member countries Sweden, and the UK top the list of the 20 EU countries lumber mills and other forest products indus- through the EU Action Plan for that import timber illegally. A significant part of the tries. Forest Law Enforcement,

Conference rooms done in Siberian larch. A Western trend that could give one pause. a ll Photo s : is tock p hoto

10 feature

Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The goal is to achieve voluntary bilateral agreements between the EU and timber-producing countries and their companies in an effort to deal with the illegal activities. In early May 2010, the EU decided to propose that the EU Commission implement a system requiring EU countries that import timber to observe due diligence in order to ensure that the trade is legal. The EU wants to use the FLEGT system to reduce the scope of illegal trade and reduce the use of illegal timber (it is not illegal within the EU to import illegally produced forest products). And moreover, to reduce illegal clearing in a number of key countries, some of which are on the east side of the Baltic Sea. FLEGT also endeavors to prepare a system with licenses, support for financing, and greater accountability from the pri- vate business sector.

Illegal trade in forest products has been going on for decades, but only in recent times has it become a serious problem for society. This trade is now consi- dered to pose a large global threat contributing to the reduction of forests and biodiversity. But the illegal trade also threatens the rule of law products industry with a clear ownership structure, by someone else, sometimes even on protected areas, in a number of countries, particularly countries in the a prerequisite for legal operations. and then sold on the black market. Sometimes logging former Eastern Europe, which since the collapse of Almost 50 percent of the forest land has been re- operations have permits, but take more timber than communism have embarked on a problematic journey turned to private ownership in Latvia. In Russia, how- permitted and fail to declare some in order to escape of replacing the legal system of a dictatorship with a ever, almost all forest is government-owned and man- taxes and fees. Millions of cubic meters are cleared il- clear legal system free of corruption and injustice. aged by a complex, obsolete bureaucratic machine in legally or wind up in a grey zone. According to an extensive study by the Faversham which corruption still has a strong foothold. The Baltic States region and Russia have much House Group, 45 percent of all timber harvested in But even the that regulate how and to what more old virgin forest than the densely forested Nor- Bulgaria comes from illegal operations. Permitted log- extent logging may be carried out in Russia and the dic countries. Consequently their forests are particu- ging is exceeded by 1.5 million cubic meters. Similar Baltic States region differ from provisions found in sev- larly attractive to timber thieves. These forests contain conditions can be found in the Slovak Republic and eral developed countries. Consequently, even when vast quantities of extremely valuable trees. Romania. Western companies import forest products legally, Of course, illicit logging entails considerable rev- Of course, the reason that most EU countries, the they may contribute to the depletion of the forests and enue losses for communities, affecting all levels due US, and China all engage in illegal importation is be- reduced biodiversity. Countless bird and plant species to unpaid taxes, fees, and customs duties. Large sums cause it is less expensive than legal importation. As in are threatened with extinction, as are ancient dec- of money are involved. A few years ago the Russian many other areas, such actions destabilize the market, iduous forests. Moreover, in many cases companies white-collar crime authority estimated the value of il- punishing companies that act legally and responsibly, in the West have no idea about the origin of their im- legal logging at about a billion dollars per year. while tempting them to enter a gray zone of illegality. ports, or how they arrived. The EU is now trying to Illegal and uncontrolled logging in the former In countries where illegal logging and trade are car- correct this situation through the FLEGT system. Eastern Bloc also entails a huge negative ecological ried out there are good reasons to try to bring it under footprint. Russia and the three Baltic countries still control — partially for moral reasons, but perhaps have major natural assets which have been lost in the even more to bring in revenues in the form of taxes The EU imports almost exclusively round timber Central European and Nordic woodlands — and not and fees which currently benefit parties other than the and chips. Western Europe imports these raw mate- just tree species, but bird and animal life as well. The government. rials from Eastern Europe. The importing of milled white-backed woodpecker, which is almost extinct in In the three Baltic countries and Russia, the prob- wood and other added-value forest products is very the Nordic pine forests, is abundant in the old hard- lem is in part a culture of corruption in general, but limited, which is one reason that Russia recently impo- wood forests on the southeast side of the Baltic Sea, as also uncertainty and lack of clarity about owner- sed export duties. is the black stork, which has not nested on the western ship with respect to forests and logging rights. Most The Putin government has recognized the necessity shore of the Baltic since the 1950s. ≈ former Eastern Bloc countries have not even deter- of creating a domestic processing industry and not just mined who is entitled to ownership of the forest that exporting raw materials like the former . anders hellner was privately owned prior to nationalization. The Price is not the only reason that countries rich Senior advisor of the Swedish Institute enormous forests of Russia are usually leased from in forests, like Sweden and Finland, import timber. of Foreign Affairs (Stockholm). the government by various private companies. The Another reason is that forest conservation efforts in extensive corruption found at all levels in Russia countries like Sweden have been skewed in favor of makes it easy to circumvent the laws and regula- conifers. The pulp factories’ demand for deciduous tions concerning logging and the timber trade. And pulpwood cannot be met at this time without imports. of course Russia’s recently imposed export duties Every eighth log delivered to Swedish pulp factories do not apply to the illegal trade. Imports from the and lumber mills has crossed the Baltic — this means 15 Baltic States region have increased sharply since percent of the raw material. Forty percent of all timber the early 1990s, especially from Latvia, which has cleared in Latvia goes to Sweden. begun to develop a rather well-functioning forest Large quantities of timber are cut on land owned

Apropos the black stork. Forest conservation in one country cultivates devastation in another. Exhibition 11

A European odyssey. Older than East and West

he exhibition winds its way A few blurry pictures of girls lined through the room at the up for roll call accompany the texts in top of the Haus der Brande- this part of the story. They are written T burgischen-Preußischen by the adult person behind the pseudo- Geschichte. Through apparently simple nym, but the events are viewed through means — photographs and texts mount- the eyes of a child. Parts of the story ed on wooden trestles — one follows cannot be translated from German. the life of “Anna”. The course of her “Die eiserne Ration” for example. This life runs from childhood in Königsberg, was a package of raisins and candy su- through Erzgebirge, Potsdam, , gar that all camp children wore in a lea- and eventually ends up in Sweden. “The ther pouch around their neck. A sym- ruptures of the centuries are written in bolic last meal for the day when the war the biographies of the 20th Century: the would catch up with them — but also: jerking progression, enormous and vio- one of childhood’s forbidden fruits, lent changes of place, life-threatening encountered in any idyllic memoir. The border transgressions”, Karl Schlögel children pinched some of the sweets, of wrote in his book In Raume lesen wir die course. The language becomes recog- Zeit. “A European Odyssey” addresses nizable. But at the same time, the story the same observation. War and ideology attaches to specific places and identities form the foundation for a condensed that no longer exist. history of the movement of the individ- ual through space and time. The central Anna became a Hitlermädchen. Evi- narrative is subjective, but it is free of dently, she was just sent away during political and moral reflections. “This the height of the war to a scout camp person becomes like a pair of glasses. with fixed routines, bold women lead- You can follow her, and I can also see ers, and Nazi overtones. When the war that the visitors do just that. They care- ended she was reunited with her mo- fully read all the texts in this room. I do ther and they settled in Potsdam, which not think they would have done so if became part of the eastern zone con- we had given out general information trolled by the Soviets. On the way there about the children of Königsberg, or the child asked, “Mother, is it really the so-called Kinderlandsverschick- true that Hitler was a very bad man?” In ungslager*”. So says Hanna Sjöberg, the shifts of the war, ideologies literally Mother had said that Anna should write a letter to Daddy today. “Dear Dad! How are you? the artist who, together with Dorothea switched places with each other. And Are you at war? Where is the war? Are there any children? Winter will soon be here and Bjelfvenstam, created the exhibition. in the child’s imagination Stalin repla- then Grandpa will go sledding with me. For Christmas, I would like to have skis ... ” It is Bjelfvenstam’s life, her memories, ced Hitler as the friendly uncle at the texts and photographs, which form the top. In Potsdam, Anna and her mother basis of the story. learned Russian, and sought a foothold in a society that had not yet come to be. Anna was one of the last Königsberg Anna’s figure embodies the apparent children and grew up in her grandfa- paradox: she goes from Hitlermädchen ther’s house. He was a priest and active to the Free German Youth FDJ. The opponent of anti-Semitism. Her father, moral aspect seems, somewhat sur- a less successful writer in the circles prisingly, unnecessary. This is perhaps around , died early on: because Anna’s fate, in contrast to opposed to the war, he was conscripted the narrator’s private charisma, is so into the German Army. In the autumn manifestly universal. The war of the of 1944 Königsberg was in flames. Anna, twentieth century drove children to and 11 years old, accompanied her mother fro across various borders, squeezed The young BDM leaders, Lieselotte and to the train station. She remembers between the winners and losers, away Eva were responsible for the political smoke, screams, and confused masses from parents. Far from all of them were education. Such that the children being of people. At the last minute, the child reunited. good and faithful Jungmädel would soon got on a train to a Kinderlandsverschick- In Potsdam, Anna fell in love with get the scarf and the knot. For the Führer, ungslager. Anna was saved from the a student who wore a white carnation people and the fatherland! bombs and lived in a National Socialist — instead of a red one — on his lapel on camp for girls in the city of Oelsnitz, in the first of May. He was soon persecuted Erzgebirge. as an opponent of the regime and had difficulty even getting his college certifi- Images and captions published with * The evacuation to the countryside of all cate. It was not long before the Commu- German youths from areas at risk of aerial nist regime also saw Anna as a problem. permission from Dorothea Bjelfvenstam attack. Together, the young couple moved from and Hanna Sjögren.

The First World War moved borders. The Second, people. 12 Exhibition

Potsdam to Nikolassee, from east to material from that period of Anna’s Student life in the fifties, west. Anna did not want to live where life. In addition, the story has grown, in West Berlin. He got 80 people could not even go to school in “multiplied” as Dorothea Bjelfvenstam Marks per month remu- peace, even though the war was over. says. Together with Sjöberg, she has neration. After deduction Eventually, she decided on her own to managed to track down other people of the rent, there was 30 leave Germany entirely. who were in the same camp from 1944 DM left, which could be The final part of the exhibition be- to 1945. The interviews with them are converted to East money gins with Anna’s life as an immigrant now part of the exhibits. The tentative in a shop in East Berlin at worker in Stockholm in the fifties, and talks and attempts to remember how it a rate of 1:5 in order to be ends nearly fifty years later. Anna ser- really was are powerful digressions in able to shop in East Berlin. ved as a housekeeper during the com- Anna’s story. “The time in the camp in Anna earned a little money pulsory years of service before she got Oelsnitz was like a hole in my life. It was as an office assistant. Her her permanent residence permit. She a significant turning point, when Hanna mother brought turnips married a Swedish man, a filmmaker, and I went there and visited the city’s and potatoes from Pots- and had children. She received an edu- archives. We assumed that we would dam. Issue: 10 Pennies: a cation, worked as a translator of fiction see something about the camp, since it Milkana cheese triangle or and a teacher for Swedish schoolchild- had been located there. But we found a cigarette? Hunger gets ren. For those who read the material nothing. And then we found a list, and on one’s nerves. carefully, there are glimpses of GDR’s on the list was my name. Aha, I thought, international activities and relations to I have existed here.” Anna tried odd temp jobs. Sweden. Anna was a dedicated history Before working on the exhibition, As a guide for farmers from teacher, who took her Swedish students she had always replied that she came northern Sweden who on a class trip to Potsdam which they from Potsdam, especially when people wanted to go to Mallorca, very much appreciated. Later she ac- in Stockholm asked her. “It was so business men on the ferry cepted a position for continued training insanely cumbersome to explain: Kö- from Trelleborg to Sassnitz in , paid by the state. Was nigsberg, it doesn’t exist anymore, and and Berlin. Hated office she instrumentalized? The question a Kinderlandsverschickungslager, what work. Accommodation in is left open. What is clear is how the on Earth is that . . . it was much easier to exchange for cleaning. individual’s movements across borders say: I come from Potsdam, Berlin.” And were politicized, even towards the very Hanna Sjöberg notes: “She is not East or end of the 20th century. This of course West, she is older than that. It makes all also occurs today, but the boundaries the difference.” have shifted. In “A European Odyssey”, Dorothea On the final photographs, Anna returns Bjelfvenstam is both the author and the to today’s Kaliningrad for the first time subject. But Anna and Dorothea are since 1944, now in the role of a transla- not the same person. It has been very tor. She has come full circle — and the important, both for Bjelfvenstam, in work with the exhibition begins. “It’s her private life, and for the artist, Sjö- been a remarkable adventure”, said Do- berg, who compares her roll to that of rothea Bjelfvenstam and laughs. “The the director. The story has, despite the first thing I said to Hanna [Sjöberg] was subjective tone, been impersonalized. A that I did not want to be exposed. I do rigorous screening process lies behind not like exhibiting myself, not even in the selection of texts and images. The private, and therefore I felt uncomfor- personal dramas have been omitted, table at first. Now I feel a tremendous and with them the conclusions and les- distance, to the exhibition and to the sons that the individual experiences. It process behind it. It is not about me, but is precisely this scarcity that opens up about someone I hardly know anymore. the story, allowing visitors to step inside It is a relief, and it also has something to Anna. One could also say that it elevates do with Potsdam.” her story to art. ≈ We have gathered in the Haus der unn gustafsson Brandeburgischen-Preußischen Ge- schichte, it’s been a few days since the Freelance journalist exhibition opened. “A European Odys- (Berlin). sey” has been shown both in Kalinin- grad and in Oelsnitz-Erzgebirge. After Anna wanted not only to explain German Potsdam, the project will make a final grammar, but also to give some idea of stop in Stockholm, at Tensta Konsthall. Germany. Tangible history. “What exactly The exhibition itself follows the path of is a border?” asked the Swedish youths Anna’s migration, and changes shape on a school trip. They stayed overnight in somewhat depending on both the geo- Potsdam; met students from the GDR in graphical space being dealt with, and as East Berlin; after that, in West Berlin. “It’s the actual space of the exhibition. just like home here”, they said, and were Here in Potsdam, there is more confused.

Common European destinies. What new differences arise when the one between East and West is erased? four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA ON THE MEANING OF THE TRISTESSE AND THE LIE BY gudrun persson illustration riber hansson 13 Photo: Photo:

On the meaning of the tristesse a n d t h e l i e

ew saw the dissolution of the com- nor was it the result of the empire’s having lost a major to fear and distrust becoming permanent elements of ing, except perhaps right before it happened. world war.2 But then what was it? Can it be described existence. Writing to Stalin from prison shortly before F Since then, a number of experts have claimed as the result of yet another period of top-down Russian he was executed, offered this analy- that they did in fact foresee the breakup. The fall of reform? Or should the dissolution of the Soviet Union sis: “There is something daring and magnificent in the the Soviet empire and its causes constitute a historical be viewed as a revolution, comparable to the Febru- political idea of a general purge [...] People inform on puzzle that will keep researchers occupied for a long ary Revolution of 1917, or even the Bolshevik seizure one another, giving rise to an eternal distrust of one time, and numerous explanations for the breakup have of power later that same year?3 Can the disintegration another [...] In this way the regime has succeeded in already been advanced: the US vanquished its rival in of the Soviet empire be seen as the result of some sort creating a complete guarantee of its existence.”5 One a war of military spending, the did of Russian apocalyptic tradition in which the desire to historian recently observed that a silent and compliant not work, the incipient information society played a “start anew” is the driving force?4 population was a permanent consequence of Stalin’s decisive role, developments in Eastern Europe brought domination.6 down the empire, the ruthless exploitation of nature The tristesse In the next phase the tristesse, the listlessness, and people led to collapse.1 There may, of course, be an emerges emerges. The notion is broader than “boredom”; it is element of truth in most of these explanations: the fall the mixture of tedium and resignation that is found of an empire is an enormous change, an event so com- The disintegration will be discussed from a somewhat in Soviet daily life, the sense of hopelessness.7 The plex that no single explanation is likely to suffice. In any different perspective in this essay. The emphasis here is tristesse was the antipode of the inflated proclama- case, research on the dissolution of the Soviet Union is on an aspect that has to some degree been in the back- tions, and grew out of the gap between the public lie, still in its infancy. ground up to now, but which deserves to be given at- the propaganda, and the Soviet reality. In turn, this What is clear is that the Soviet Union dissolved tention and tested as potentially important factor: tris- gap grew bigger and bigger within the Soviet system. despite having one of the world’s largest militaries, a tesse in combination with the decreasing level of fear in To this must be added the disappearance of fear that nuclear arsenal on par with that of the US, and an ef- the society. This paper does not claim to offer any sort became a major factor when Communist Party General ficient penal system to keep the population in check. A of comprehensive explanatory model, but rather seeks Secretary proclaimed: “We can no bewildered political regime, the military, and the secu- to shed light on a generally overlooked element in the longer live like this.”8 The tristesse was ultimately the rity police could only stand by and watch the process dissolution of the Soviet Union. product of a heavy dissatisfaction among both the par- of dissolution unfold, and the collapse became a reality The tristesse in combination with decreasing fear ty leaders and the populace, which, once the fear van- in just a few short years. The fall of the Soviet empire constituted a process that developed over a long time ished, appears to have played an important role in the also took place in the absence of direct influence from in what can be divided into three phases. Its origins de- disintegration of the Soviet Union. It had a paralyzing any violent event (making the event a historical excep- rive from the terror that had long been used in the Sovi- effect on the entire society, and resulted in the failure tion). In brief, the fall of the Soviet empire was not the et Union as a weapon against the people, a tool that was of the attempts at reform initiated under Khrushchev result of a revolution, a coup d’état, or a military coup, developed to its fullest under Stalin. This led in turn and Brezhnev. Only after Gorbachev had made it clear

Communism – the theory of gray colors. But was there not also the fear – of blood and red? 14

illustration: riber hansson four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA ON THE MEANING OF THE TRISTESSE AND THE LIE 15

that the reforms were in earnest did the system fail to people. Incentives to work were to be expanded with- suffused with clichés in which nuances or meanings implement them and instead break up. out abandoning the planned economy. Khrushchev’s were altered. Words like “peace”, “party”, “worker”, Tristesse as a factor in the breakup of the Soviet attempts to reform the Party and set term limits for and “peasant” took on their own particular ideological Union does not bear solely, or even primarily, upon functionaries were unsuccessful. His attempted re- stamps. There were no “innocent” words; they all had tangibles. It is the general hopelessness that spread forms revealed the reason for the inability of the Soviet their assigned interpretations.17 Consequently only the throughout the society, a society in which the younger system to change — its inherent tristesse. Sergei Dmi- socialist countries could, by definition, be advocates generation had no prospects for the future. This may triev, who was a history professor at Univer- of peace, while the “enemies” were imperialists, mili- seem paradoxical, since it could also be said that the sity in the 1940s, made the following entry in his jour- tarists who compromised the peace. “Our party is the entire Soviet state was obsessed with the future. The nal on March 29, 1961: “Everybody is sick and tired of ruling party, and every resolution that the party con- watchword was that sacrifices have to be made today Khrushchev. His foreign voyages and empty and erratic gress adopts will be obligatory for the entire republic,” to bring about a brighter tomorrow. The investments verbiage have finally reached the state of idiocy. In the wrote in 1921. Words like “party” and “party that were made in heavy industry and defense indus- public and political atmosphere one increasingly no- member” became synonymous with “Communist tries rather than in consumer goods such as food and tices the signs of absolute inertia, intellectual vacuum, Party” and “Communist”.18 Members of other parties clothing were one practical consequence of this. Under and a lack of purpose. There are no thoughts, no move- were referred to as renegades, fellow travelers, social , the culture was supposed to foster ment.”11 traitors, and lackeys. The unity of the Party future generations of devoted citizens. There are mani- However, no less importantly and perhaps paradoxi- was officially established at the 10th Party Congress in fold examples, but it was out of just this proclaimed cally, what Khrushchev did accomplish with his “thaw” 1921, when the ban on factions was implemented. This reality, rather than true reality, that the tristesse grew. policy was to create a sliver of hope. A hope for some- unity had to be “hard, iron hard, hard as steel”.19 When Regimented life in a totalitarian system where every- thing different was ignited for a few years, before the the Soviet Union began its exploration of outer space, thing was determined by the Party ultimately became Soviet Union shut down again under . it was always referred to as zavoevanie kosmosa (con- intolerable once the fear had eased. “We are waiting Fedor Burlatskii, then a young employee of Kommunist quering the cosmos), while the American efforts were for change”, sang Viktor Tsoi in a popular song from magazine, recalls his trip to Europe on the steamship termed osvoenie kosmosa (“colonization”).20 the years. Pobeda (Victory): “I swear that this trip affected me Another example is the word “election”, which re- (1805–1859) made a percep- more than twenty party congresses. I got to see a cul- fers to choosing one of a number of alternatives. In the tive observation when, in 1856, he was examining the ture and a way of life that we could not have dreamed Soviet Union, elections were held with a single candi- causes of the French Revolution. He noted that the of. Khrushchev opened up the West to us — and that date, and the purpose of the election was to provide most dangerous moment for a bad government is when was an incredible event for the entire country.”12 anything but choice. The point was to demonstrate the it begins to reform itself: That hope for something different was quashed, legitimacy of the government, particularly on the basis however, when Leonid Brezhnev rose to power, and of the high level of voter participation (usually 99.8 per- A sovereign who seeks to relieve his subjects the next eighteen years were characterized in part by cent), and to give the populace and the Party workers after a long period of oppression is lost, un- “cadre stability” and growing repression. The sense of practice in teaching and propaganda in the service of less he be a man of great genius. Evils which resignation spread ever further through the society in the Party. are patiently endured when they seem in- those years. All the reforms that were supposed to make Over time, a linguistic gap developed between the evitable, become intolerable when once the the system more efficient proved to be counterproduc- official language, which was full of meaningless phras- idea of escape from them is suggested.9 tive. Of course, according to the official statistics, the es, and the language actually being spoken and used by standard of living and levels of education rose. With its the people. The tristesse was evident even early on, at least for two nuclear weapons, global fleet and numerous allies, the The totalitarian language is far from a rich one, but authors, Ilf and Petrov. In 1931 their somewhat classi- Soviet Union was indisputably a superpower. But the rather is exhausted, impoverished, and riddled with cal hero, Ostap Bender, made the following statement fear and tristesse led to stagnation (inertsiia) through- clichés. A study conducted in the 1980s revealed that in their novel The Golden Calf: “During the past year I out the society, and the reverse was true as well. No journalists normally used about 1,500 different words have developed very serious differences with the So- reforms could alleviate that. Despite the general secre- to write their articles.21 Renowned lexicographer Vladi- viet regime. The regime wants to build , and tary’s exhortations to the people to work, the quality of mir Dal’s dictionary from the 1960s contains roughly I don’t. I find it boring.” This was written in the middle Soviet production did not improve. It was during these 200,000 words while, in the early 1980s, Soviet lexi- of the first five-year plan launched by Stalin, which fo- years that the tristesse even began to spread in earnest cographer Sergei Ozhegov’s version contained about cused on heavy industry. among the top political leadership. It has been referred 57,000. The language was filled with pat expressions, Stalin ratified the violent social transformation by to as “spiritual sclerosis”.13 and the Party had a monopoly on their interpretation proclaiming “socialism in one country”, thereby re- and use in the service of propaganda. As one language jecting ’s theory of the permanent revo- On the lie researcher put it: “this system of automatic thinking, of lution and his ideas regarding a constantly evolving and the language mechanical words hypnotizes the mind and paralyzes worldwide coup d’état. Stalin instead created his own common sense.”22 revolution through ruthless terror. Fear became a per- A life of lies emerged between the propaganda — the Imre Kertész has distinguished this totalitarian lan- manent fixture of Soviet society. Despite the rewriting proclaimed reality — and the actual circumstances, that guage as something unique to the totalitarian dictators of history, despite the fact that literature and the arts is, “the terminological confusion”.14 Changes in the lan- of the 20th century. “With the help of the well-propor- were regulated with ideological fervor, and despite the guage followed in the wake of the new Soviet govern- tioned dynamics of violence and fear, this language”, fact that the entire system was organized to defend the ment, inspiring, among others, , who writes Kertész, “penetrates the individual’s conscious- revolution, it became more and more difficult to win was one of the first to popularize the term “newspeak”. ness and gradually pushes him out of himself, pushes new generations to the cause. tried Viktor Klemperer wrote about the use of language by him out of his own life.” to reform the system, and believed that his reform pro- the Nazis.15 In addition to being a key element in the The language evolved into a circular model that gram meant a return to Lenin’s principles.10 Attempt- building of a nation, language is much more. He who came to “represent immutability and predictability”. ing to say at least part of the truth about Stalin was one controls language controls the thought. It was closed to nuance or any unexpected turns of element of Khrushchev’s reforms. It was an attempt to The totalitarian language was intended to serve as phrase.23 The result was a widespread hopelessness, a awaken some measure of critical thinking in order to a tool of the ideology. The language became a pow- paralysis that made the system impossible to reform. improve the system. erful instrument in creating the new state, and was The Soviet Union began to crack under a way of life that Another element of the reforms was economic de- controlled by the Party. The young Bolshevik govern- author Alexander Solzhenitsyn characterized as living centralization, which was undertaken to increase ef- ment was well aware of the importance of language by lies. In his article “Live not by Lies” (1974) he wrote: ficiency and improve the material conditions of the in creating the .16 The language was “For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies,

The naked truth is not always a lot of fun. But humor can certainly be a weapon. 16 and lies can only persist through violence. And it is thought: this is interesting, akin to science, and there Attempts not every day and not on every shoulder that violence are literature and source references. But what country at resistance brings down its heavy hand: It demands of us only obe- are they about? I have not lived in that country.”28 Fur- dience to lies and a daily participation in deceit — all thermore, research that is rooted in received dogma The tristesse thus evolved into a product of, among loyalty lies in that.”24 does not generate new knowledge — that was never its other factors, the mendacity of Soviet society, the life Václav Havel describes a phenomenon similar to purpose — and thus becomes superfluous and uninter- of lies identified by Solzhenitsyn. The younger genera- the one noted by Solzhenitsyn. A manager at a grocery esting. The researchers were mired in tristesse, even if tions had little or no means of influencing their prede- store hangs a sign in the window bearing the slogan: many of them had good intentions. The bitterness over, termined (by the State) future, and the revolutionary “Workers of the world, unite!” Why? Not doing so as well as insight into, these deficiencies is discernible slogans rang hollow. Opposition movements arose out would be tantamount to revolting against the system. in the introduction to one of the most recent works on of this now and then, at least in the bigger cities. In the Taking the sign down would have had immediate con- Russian history in the 20th century, which states that the mid-1950s, young people in the big cities began pro- sequences: he would have lost his position and been book is an account of facts and people within a context, testing in a somewhat peculiar way, but also in a way demoted, his salary would have been reduced, the con- a story “without impersonal descriptions of ‘objective that took an obvious poke at the tristesse in evidence tinued education of his children would have been put processes’ or ‘mobile forces’”.29 even then. They wore colorful clothing and listened to at risk, and his workmates would have shunned him. Václav Havel wrote of this tristesse early on. In his (forbidden) jazz music, and went under the name of But by putting up the sign, whose words meant noth- essay “Stories and ” he reveals his stiljagi.32 They were tired of the cultural mandates of ing, the store manager contributed to the lie in the sys- thoughts on the consequences of the ideological writ- social realism, and interested in, for example, abstract tem, to the maintenance of order in a false system. In ing of history: “Totalitarian power brought bureau- art. The government’s countermeasures consisted of brief, he was imprisoned in a dictated existence, with cratic order into the living disorder of history and thus a combination of public hectoring of the movement no room to maneuver. effectively anesthetized it.” He points to the writing of (with young people from the being sent out history having been characterized by a well-arranged to cut up the colorful clothes) and repression by the se- On the constitution game of conformities, social formations, and condi- curity service. The movement died out.33 and research tions of production. “The tension and thrill in real The and tamizdat literature that began to events were dismissed as accidental and therefore un- be spread underground represented another counter- The constitution also reflected the public lie.25 The con- worthy of the attention of scholarship. History became movement. Typewritten copies of forbidden works by stitution of a state governed by law takes precedence boredom.” This had consequences for people’s lives as , , , over its other laws and ordinances; the letter and, per- well. Alexander Solzhenitsyn and others were read. This haps most importantly, the spirit of a constitution is phenomenon did not end until Mikhail Gorbachev lift- respected. In the Soviet Union the purpose of the con- The asthma our society is now suffering ed censorship and it became possible to start printing stitution was to serve the Communist Party, and thus from is a natural continuation of the books in the Soviet Union. the State, in order to create the ideal society. It became the war that intellectual arrogance once The noted dissident movement could also be said one of the Party’s tools, an ideological and political declared on the story, on history, and thus to have been a countermovement against the growing document, rather than the fundamental body of law on life itself. Boredom has jumped out of the tristesse. The dissidents were officially painted as ad- on which a state governed by law rests. Interestingly history textbooks and into real life. vocates of “false” ideas, in contrast to the Communist enough, and in addition to the three major revisions Party’s “scientific truth”. They assayed a sort of under- of the constitution, it was subject to constant amend- Yet another important element in Soviet society was ground liberation movement. These were people from ment at various times, and altogether the three Soviet the attempt to create the new Soviet man: an unselfish, the big cities who had intellectual interests and, often, versions were revised more than 50 times. The Soviet ideologically irreproachable member of society who networks of former camp inmates, with a knowledge of constitutions failed to fulfill the purpose of a constitu- constantly worked efficiently in the best interests of foreign literature, art, and contemporary liberal ideas. tion, which is to regulate and limit the power of the society: Alexander Zinoviev’s homo sovieticus. Random As they wearied of the lies, top political leaders and government, to protect the individual from that power, chance was not recognized as a factor in people’s exist- members of society began to demand real change. and to provide a framework for the legal system. The ence; there was no accommodation for the unexpected constitutions were instead part of the Party’s ideologi- or the insightful in a society founded on an ideology The lethargy cal propaganda apparatus, and the Soviet constitution that had scientific pretensions. One of the characteris- that developed was asserted to be the “world’s most democratic” as far tics of the new Soviet man was that he would rise above back as 1936. everyday life; for instance, he would never consider Even the top officials ultimately seemed bored, prison- The first constitution, which dates from January drinking or smoking, the reason being that, in his ideo- ers of their own rhetoric, with no means of breaking 1924, did not mention the Communist Party, even logical fervor, he would be too busy building the com- free of the slogans, the lies, the decreed existence. From though it was already the ruling government body in munist future. This new man never became a reality. Brezhnev’s stagnation period and a few tired attempts the Soviet Union.26 Instead, alcohol abuse increased and the birth rate fell at change by superannuated general secretaries, the Research in the Soviet Union, especially research (except in Central Asia). And it was a population that limit was finally reached. Viewed from this perspec- in history and the social sciences, was particularly af- spent a lot of its time standing in line. tive, Gorbachev’s reforms can be seen as an attempt to fected by the totalitarian language and the ideological The Soviet lines in which people spent so much of alleviate the tristesse. Gorbachev and the other reform- strait jacket. When new findings were to be reported, their time serve to illustrate the tristesse as well. These ers initially diagnosed the Soviet system’s problem as they were carefully packaged in the peculiar forms of lines were a part of Soviet life from cradle to grave, follows. In December 1986 Gorbachev noted: “We are the totalitarian language in such a way that they fit into and even a little longer, since “burials almost always plagued by conservatism, complacency, inertia and an the ideological format. And that particular ideology, entailed a wait”.30 Standing in line was integral to the unwillingness to live in a new way. […] And everything Marxism–Leninism, had devastating consequences Soviet economy, which was a shortage economy. This will depend on reforming our psychology.”34 for the writing of history. As early as 1931, Stalin deter- did not prevent the Soviet line from developing its own By the mid-1980s, even the mighty armed forces mined that what was important in writing history was dynamic and culture. But it is telling that, despite all (with a total of some five million men) could be said to not the sources, but rather a “correct attitude”.27 De- the time people spent in them, the lines never served have become corrupted by the tristesse. Their inability crees were issued on how history had to be presented. as grounds for extensive criticism of the Soviet system. to respond when a private German citizen, Mathias The former head of the Russian state archives, Rudolf There was not particularly a lot of conversation in the Rust, flew his little sports plane and landed in Moscow’s Pikhoia, describes the many books about the recent his- lines, according to Rubinov, and the sense of power- on May 28, 1987, can be seen as an example. tory of the Soviet Union that were produced during the lessness was intense — but no one denies that they were Afterwards, Anatoly Chernyaev described the officer Soviet era as follows: “After having read these books, I boring.31 corps as follows in an internal memo: “They are mired

His conditions forced upon him – does a person become silent? One wonders. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA ON THE MEANING OF THE TRISTESSE AND THE LIE 17

in routine, and serve out their time instead of serving 1 The literature in this area is extensive. Some of the earliest 32 Major thanks to Elisabeth Hedborg, who drew my attention the Motherland.”35 Nor was it unusual for the military works on the subject are listed here: Michael Kort, The Soviet to this. to be used by the State for patently non-military activi- Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the USSR, New York 1993; Martin 33 The movement appeals to modern Russia, and a film about it ties, such as helping out on the farms at harvest time. Malia, The Soviet Tragedy: A in Russia, that was released in 2008 became very popular. The film,Sti - 1917–1991, New York 1994; Scott Shane, Dismantling Utopia: liagi, was also awarded a prize for best film of the year. Certainly there were parts of the military forces that How Information Ended the Soviet Union, Chicago 1994. Russian 34 Anatoly Chernyaev, My Six Years With Gorbachev, Pennsylva- functioned well, but it appears that even they began to research was initially characterized by the publication of large nia 2000, pp. 92–93. be affected by the growingtristesse . quantities of archive documents and memoirs – valuable sour- 35 Chernyaev, My Six Years, p. 117. Gorbachev concentrated his efforts mainly in three ces, but not syntheses. Noteworthy works in the large body 36 Yurchak, Everything Was Forever, p. 295. areas, all of which were intended to lift the country out of literature that has begun to emerge on the subject more 37 Ingemar Karlsson & Arne Ruth, Samhället som teater: Estetik of its widespread lethargy. First he launched perestroi- recently include Rudolf Pikhoia, Sovietskii soiuz: Istoriia vlasti and politik i Tredje riket [Society as theater: and po- ka, the economic reforms that led to the incorporation 1945–1991, Novosibirsk 2000, and Jegor Gaidar, Gibel’ imperii, litics in the Third Reich], Stockholm 1984, p. 21. of a degree of private profit motive into the Soviet plan Moscow 2006. 2 Gudrun Persson, Varför föll Sovjetunionen? [Why did the So- economy. Then came , or openness, which viet Union fall?] Stockholm 2006, p. 6. made it possible to start publishing books that had for- 3 Vladimir Mau & Irina Starodubrovskaya, The Challenge of Re- merly been forbidden. Glasnost played an important volution, Oxford 2001, p. 32 et seq. role in diminishing the fear and then making it vanish 4 Rudolf Pikhoia, Sovetskii soiuz, p. 639. entirely. Lastly came demokratizatsiia, the attempts 5 Bukharin’s letter to Stalin, December 10, 1937, published in J. to introduce an element of pluralism into Soviet po- Arch Getty & Oleg V. Naumov, The Road to Terror, New Haven litical life. Once these reforms actually started to mean 1999, pp. 556–560. 6 Orlando Figes, The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia, something, the system could not be saved. The gap London 2007, p. xxxi between the proclaimed reality and the actual state of 7 There is as yet no accepted scientific definition for the term, affairs had grown too great. Or to put it another way: but it has been documented and discussed. An attempt is “The more immovable the system appeared, the more made here to define the term “tristesse” and then use it as a it separated itself from its asserted reality.”36 Once the part of and complement to other explanatory models for the fear disappeared, it became possible to overcome the dissolution of the Soviet Union. paralyzing power of the lies and the tristesse, and the 8 Gorbachev was quoting the title of a documentary by film di- rector Stanislav Govorukhin. entire empire fell apart. 9 Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the Revolution, New How then are we to view the breakup of the Soviet York 1856, p. 214. Union? As noted above, various explanations for its 10 One of the best overviews of Khrushchev and his reform dissolution have and will continue to be offered, both policies to date is ’s Khrushchev: , internally and externally. The significance of the lie and His Era, London 2003. An interesting contemporaneous book the tristesse has been elucidated here as a complement about Khrushchev was written by Alexander Werth, The Kh- to other explanatory models. They grew, in a third rushchev Phase, London 1961. phase, out of the terror and fear that initially came to 11  Quoted in Andrei Zubov, Istoriia Rossii: XX vek, 1939–2007, Moscow 2009, p. 364. be a part of the Soviet system. The Soviet Union was 12 Quoted in Zubov, Istoriia 1939–2007, p. 333. not unique in this regard. Engendering tristesse among 13 Zubov, Istoriia 1939–2007, pp. 503–505. large segments of their populations appears to be a trait 14 Persson, Varför föll…, p. 31. totalitarian systems share.37 Naturally this does not pre- 15 Viktor Klemperer, LTI: Notizbuch eines Philologen, Leipzig 1975. vent individuals from occasionally being able to work The book was first published in 1947. within the system and find it satisfactory. All writing of 16 Françoise Thom, La langue de bois, Paris 1987, p. 128 et seq. history, not just about Russia, is about nuance, seeking 17 Thom, La langue, p. 25. 18 Afanasii Matveevich Selishchev, Iazyk revolutionnoi epokhi: out what is particular to each time in order to clarify Iz nabliudenii nad russkim iazykom poslednykh let 1917–1926, and explain a broader context. From this perspective, Moscow 1928, p. 98, 193. it may be noted that the dissolution of the Soviet Union 19 Selishchev, Iazyk, p. 99. appears to have depended in large measure on internal 20 Thom, La langue, p. 25. factors, where tristesse and mendacity, combined with 21 Thom, La langue, p. 124. diminishing fear, contributed to the breakup of the em- 22 Thom, La langue, p. 211. 23 Alexei Yurchak, Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More, pire. ≈ Princeton 2006, p. 284. 24 The article is dated 1974-02-12. It was distributed underground Note — An abbreviated version of this article appea- in the Soviet Union, but published in the West. (A. Solzhenit- red in Tvärsnitt magazine (1:2009), which is published syn, Zhit’ ne po lzhi, Paris, 1975.) It was first published officially by the Swedish Research Council. in the Soviet Union in 1989. It is currently available on the In- ternet; cf. http://www.kulichki.com/inkwell/text/hudlit/ruslit/ solzheni/solzh_p02.htm. Downloaded 2010-01-14. 25 Gudrun Persson, “Ryssland – på spaning efter en konstitution” [Russia — in search of a constitution] in Anders Mellbourn (ed.), Författningskulturer i jämförelse [A comparison of con- stitutional cultures], Stockholm 2009, pp. 109–122. 26 A constitution was adopted for the Russian Socialist Federal Republic back in July of 1918. It, too, failed to mention the Communist Party. 27 Zubov, Istoriia Rossii,, p. 933. 28 Pikhoia, Sovietskii soiuz, p. 643. 29 Zubov, 1894–1939, pp. 5-6. 30 Anatoly Rubinov, Strasti na kazhdyj den’ ili etika i estetika ocheredi, unpublished, 1990, p. 1. — A special thanks to Lars Kleberg, who generously lent out a copy of Rubinov’s essay. 31 Rubinov, Strasti, p. 10.

The hope for the future that disappeared after the fall of communism. Also gloomy. 18

The Reality of Post-Communism Alexander Zinoviev four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA alexander zinoviev and the russian tragedy BY Philip Hanson illustration ragni svenssoN 19

ANd the Russian Tragedy 20

wenty years ago I read almost everything Alex- “performance” of all or almost all the world’s countries was when it passed through my brain, my ander Zinoviev had published. Yawning Heights on “freedom”, “governance”, “ease of doing business”, soul, and my fate, and I will be guided by T (Ziyayushchie vysoty) knocked me for six. The “competitiveness” and “transparency”. Implicit in the principle, speak nothing but good of the rest knocked me for at least five-and-a-half. Those writ- these scoring systems is the notion that we are all play- dead. (RT, pp. 296–7)4 ings altered my way of thinking about Soviet society. I ing the same game: -and-democracy. Some believe they had a similar effect on many people, both play it better than others, and some are really rather Earlier, while still living in Munich, he said that he was in Russia and abroad. disgracefully bad at it, but one measuring-rod fits all. moved to write Zapad when it became clear that his na- Zinoviev’s ideas fascinated a number of historians What did Zinoviev make of this new order? After a tive land (Rodina) had been defeated in the and social scientists, while his writing beguiled many long gap, I have been catching up with his later work: and had “embarked on the path of shameful capitula- readers, including some (not all) specialists on Russian his post-communist opus. In this paper I will argue that tion […] and the mindless borrowing of western mod- literature. The breadth of his appeal at that time was Alexander Zinoviev’s post-communist writings tell us els” (Z, p. 34). reflected in the roster of contributors to a book that about more than one thinker’s response to a world The motivation is not quite as simple as patriotism, Michael Kirkwood and I edited: Alexander Zinoviev as turned upside down. They also tell us a great deal though that looks to be part of it. Zinoviev also argues Writer and Thinker.1 Those contributors ranged from about present attitudes in Russia. In particular, they that in Soviet society being Russian and being Soviet literary scholars to a member of the German diplomat- illuminate the attitudes of the Putin-era ruling elite. had, for , become inseparable. ic service. Zinoviev had, of course, no time for his country’s post- Yawning Heights was by far the best known of the communist rulers. But that does not prevent him from In addition, communism was so organic for early writings. It is set in Ibansk, which somewhat re- inadvertently shining a light on their preoccupations Russia and had so powerfully entered the sembles the Soviet Union. A large part of it consists of and their reflexes. He was thinking what they are think- way of life and psychology of Russians that philosophical and sociological debate among members ing, but more clearly. the destruction of communism was equiva- of the Ibanskian . They are all either disil- What I have to say is based on Zapad (1995), Velikii lent to the destruction of Russia and of the lusioned or very disillusioned with the Ism, the official evolyutsionniy perelom (1999), Russkaya tragediya Russian people as a historic people. […] In a ideology of the state, but are more concerned with un- (2002) and Rasput’e (2005).3 I will begin with a mini- word, they [Western cold warriors] aimed at derstanding how Ibansk works. In amongst the conver- mally brief summary of Zinoviev’s views on the col- communism but killed Russia. (RT, p. 409) sations are passages of exasperated fantasy. Yawning lapse of communism and its aftermath, together with Heights is not much like any other book. The combi- my interpretation of the emotions he reveals about the Many, perhaps most, people on Earth live in countries nation of imaginative and philosophical fireworks at subject. Then I will look in more detail at what he has to whose ups and downs cannot, selfish considerations times recalls Swift or , but the resemblances say about the Cold War, the nature of post-sovietism, as aside, be taken too much to heart. To confuse the for- are not close. he calls it, and why westernisation should be resisted. tunes of Britain or Italy or Denmark with the destiny Many commentators hailed Zinoviev’s earlier writ- This leads to some thoughts about arguments of Zino- of the human race would be daft. The fate of Russia, ings as anti-Soviet . This was not quite right. viev’s that chime with those of certain western on the other hand, seems to many Russians to be mo- They were, indeed, full of contempt for the ways in and with anxieties and preoccupations that have been mentous for the world as a whole. That is certainly how which people operated in the Soviet Union. They were aired by other Russian intellectuals and by the Putin Zinoviev sees it. not, however, full of praise for any other social arrange- leadership. The fact that sovietism, equivalent for Zinoviev to ments. True, Zinoviev quite often compared commu- My own preoccupation is with what we can learn communism, has ceased to exist, does not reduce its nist society with “civilisation”. But this was a rather from these writings about the present attitudes of Rus- historical importance. “A murdered giant does not be- abstract and possibly hypothetical “civilisation”. It was sia’s rulers. I am not aiming to engage in a debate with come a dwarf, and the dwarf who takes his place does not necessarily located in New York or even Paris. The Zinoviev on my own account. I cannot, however, re- not become a giant.” (R, p. 57) Russia has been dimin- earlier writings were above all about the Soviet Union. sist a sneaky bit of arguing-back: I will conclude with ished, and not only in territorial extent. In Zinoviev’s In Yawning Heights, what he had to say about Ibansk a review of some considerations which he has, in these view this matters to Russian or Soviet patriots; but it was only fleetingly about Ibansk in comparative per- writings, omitted. also matters more widely because sovietism, for rea- spective. sons to be set out below, represented an evolutionary Among many other things, Zinoviev in those writ- The general idea, way forward for human social organisation. That way ings developed the observation that the USSR was an and Alexander forward is, for the time being at least, no longer avail- example of popular power (narodovlastie), not a re- able. gime imposed on the innocent many by the evil few. Zinoviev’s motivation One other motivation for Zinoviev deserves a men- It may not have had open elections and competitive for expounding it tion. To what extent he was conscious of it, I do not politics, but it rested on the complicity of the governed. know. That motivation is his lifelong conviction that He also argued that the communist social order was ro- The theme that runs through the four books is that the the received wisdom around him is always wrong. bust, and that it was the long-run destination of all of collapse of communism was a tragedy. Russian com- When the conventional wisdom changed, he changed us. Capitalism was, or so Slanderer asserts in Yawning munism had its defects but it did not collapse for inter- against it. Heights, an aberration. nal reasons. The power of the West and the traitorous collaboration of a in Russia produced this The fact is that already in my years at school [Capitalism] is an anti-social eruption, that tragedy. Russia is not suited to westernism and will not [in 1938] I became a convinced anti-stalinist. is, a temporary and partial victory of the be allowed to become an equal participant in the new, In 1939 I was arrested for speaking against creative I over the stagnant We. But that is a globalising social system. Globalisation is a new version the cult of personality. […] After the death deviation from the norm. […] Capitalism as a of western colonialism. The West itself is evolving away of Stalin [in 1953] I finished with my anti- western type of society came about through from its standard prescriptions of “democracy” and . […][It] ceased to make sense, and an oversight on the part of the bosses. “capitalism”, and the merits of those prescriptions are yielded to an objective, scientific under- (Ziyayushchie vysoty, p. 414)2 over-hyped anyway. Russian communism could have standing of the Stalin epoch as [that epoch] led the world in a new direction, but was not allowed to receded into the past. (R, p. 66) In the years since Slanderer said those words, the aber- do so. The long-run future, however, remains open. ration has spread and the communist norm has become In much the same way, when the Soviet Union, the the exception. The World Bank, the World Economic The greatest social experiment in human Ibansk he had ridiculed, fell to pieces, he finished with Forum, Freedom House, Transparency International history has ended. Russian communism is his anti-Ibanskism. This did not entail a wholesale and other international organisations measure the dead. In this book I want to describe it as it reversal of his earlier judgements. He had always de-

When planing, shavings fall. When experimenting, disappointment can arise. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA alexander zinoviev and the russian tragedy 21

clared a sort of attachment to sovietism. In his earlier dealt with by Soviet methods (RT, pp. 208–11). The de-stalinisers had betrayed Stalin and Stalinism, writings he tore Soviet official claims and Marxism-Len- Between the defeat of the anti-Gorbachev putsch in and the roots of betrayal go further back still. inist ideology to shreds. In his later writings he treats 1991 and the shelling of the Russian parliament in 1993, them in just the same way. It is his attitude to soviet Yeltsin presided over the final destruction of the com- Different nations have different propensi- reality and its prospects that alters. munist order (RT, p. 184). The West had to provoke the ties to betrayal. We, Russians, have this His major revisions were of two kinds. First, he 1991 putsch attempt to ensure sovietism was destroyed tendency to quite a strong degree. (R, p. 157) shifted to a somewhat kinder view of Soviet society. (RT, p. 212). Later, when disorder threatened the west- […] The population was an accomplice and Second, he amended his projections of the future. And ernisation project in the later 1990s, a change of regime instrument of betrayal or else remained pas- all prophets, if they live long enough, have to revise was needed: hence Putin. The individual successor sive (indifferent) towards it. The majority those. could have been someone else; Putin got the job, per- simply did not understand what was going Zinoviev’s intellectual struggles resemble those of haps through an oversight on the part of Washington. on. […] [This was assisted by the fact that] earlier Russian writers, but not, on the whole, very But he was still implementing the westernisation proj- the system of power was so organised that closely. There is a pattern of criticism of Russia’s rul- ect (ibid. and p. 215). the masses of the ruled had lost any social or ers, followed by exile, followed in turn by criticism of The West forced change on Russia not for the ben- political initiative. (R, pp. 161–2) the West. In this sense, Zinoviev follows the paths of efit of Russians but to destroy a competitor RT( , p. 200). Herzen in the 19th century and Solzhenitsyn in the 20th. Behind this assertion is a theme that is less evident in Zinoviev was a one-man paradox factory. He was not What is common to all of them, and also to Nicholas Zinoviev’s earlier writings: social change as an evolu- enamoured of the Soviet system of power. Yet in these Berdyaev earlier in the 20th, is a profound attachment tionary process. He argues that societies, states and late writings he mourns its passing and depicts the to something Russian. economies have been developing into hyper-societies, post-soviet social order as grievously limited and with- For Solzhenitsyn and Berdyaev, however, it is cer- hyper-states and hyper-economies (sverkhobshchestva, out the evolutionary potential of its predecessor. tainly not communism or sovietism. Berdyaev, who sverkhgosudarstva, etc). The Soviet system was one considered both democracy and Marxism inimical such (VEP, pp. 434–6), and was ahead of the West in Post-sovietism to personal, spiritual freedom, was concerned with reaching this development (R, pp. 63–4). The West has and its discontents his own version of Orthodox spirituality. It was not a destroyed the Soviet way of life and extended its own version of Orthodoxy that appealed to the Russian Or- influence around the globe. By doing this, it closes “Post-sovietism”, as Zinoviev calls it, is a hybrid of west- thodox church authorities before the Revolution, and down the possibility of another, non-western form of ernism, sovietism and national-Russian fundamental- his version of personal freedom did not appeal to the civilisation evolving (VEP, p. 433). That notion, that al- ism (RT, pp. 193–4). The western element is incompat- Soviet authorities after the Revolution.5 In being out ternative lines of evolution are cut off, presumably rests ible with the human material, natural conditions and of sympathy with both the old order and the new in on an analogy with the evolution of species in nature: historical traditions of Russia (RT, p. 196). his own country and far from enamoured of any oth- that a new species can evolve only under conditions of er existing order, Zinoviev recalls Berdyaev. But he is isolation from what are initially very close relatives. Russia will never, under any circumstances, completely unlike him in his determined insistence on Zinoviev’s discussions of social evolution into hy- turn into a country resembling, and equiva- his own rationality and his preoccupation with society, per-societies are not systematic. He uses the notion of lent in value to, western countries, it will not not persons. higher and lower levels of development. Thus, the cre- become part of the West. (R, p. 131) ation of sovietism entailed the creation of a society on At the same time, they [the liberals who The Cold War and a higher level than any previous society (R, pp. 59–60). reformed the Soviet Union out of existence] how Russia lost it But what puts a society on some supposedly higher ignored the fact that western models are not level? For Zinoviev it appears to be to do with increased a universal blessing for all mankind. These A large part of each of the four books is devoted to complexity, as in the differences between the amoeba models produced good results only for a the Cold War and the eventual collapse of the Soviet and the cod. In the case of the western hyper-society, small part of humanity, and specifically only Union.6 The account of that collapse shifts a little over it looks as though Zinoviev is pointing to globalisation for the populations of western countries. time, with foreign influence being accorded a larger and the concomitant development of companies and For the overwhelming majority of the peo- role in the later works. other organisations whose reach goes beyond the na- ples of the planet they were and remain al- In Z the argument is that the change from the So- tion-state (R, pp. 144–7). ien. In this respect the peoples of the Soviet viet Union to the CIS was not a transition to capitalism For the Soviet Union, the only attributes he adduces Union were no exception. (RT, p. 411) so much as a process within the framework of com- as signs of a “higher” level of development are the pres- munism. Well-placed individuals grabbed the whole ence of a planning system, a party apparatus and an In Z, first published in 1995, Zinoviev describes west- economy and left little scope for capitalism (p. 181). ideology (R, p. 63). Apparently in 2004 he saw merits in ernism (zapadnizm) as a civilisation with its origins in Zinoviev’s implicit definition of capitalism here is not these arrangements that had escaped him when he was Western Europe. It can be traced back to the English clear. He argues at times that capitalism in the West writing Yawning Heights thirty years before. But who is and French revolutions (Z, p. 49). The countries that is turning into something else (VEP, pp. 444–50; R, p. to say that Gosplan, the Communist Party of the Soviet are within this civilisation are in Europe and in Europe’s 143), and at other times that something that he still calls Union and Stalin’s Short Course — or, for that matter, offshoots in North America and Australasia. They are capitalism is part of westernism (Z, p. 135). At all events, the complete works of Marx and Lenin — represent a populated by zapadoids, literally “westernoids”, for if he is saying that previously-hidden, informal control degree of social complexity greater than that of Wall whom the “I” looms larger than the “We” (Z, p.70, re- over assets in the late Soviet era was converted into Street, Congress and the Supreme Court? I suspect that peating Slanderer’s thoughts in Yawning Heights, cited formal ownership, his interpretation would have some the discussion of hyper-society in these later works above). For a zapadoid, capitalism comes naturally. For impressive supporters.7 leads nowhere. others, it does not. Yes, self-interest is natural and uni- A few years later, in RT, Zinoviev is presenting the What Zinoviev is more clearly saying is that it is in versal, but capitalism isn’t (Z, p. 68). change rather differently. The Soviet social order did the interests of western companies and (in some sense) In post-Soviet Russia western democracy is being not die from internal contradictions. It was still rela- of western states that the world as a whole be made into imitated but not implemented. The executive con- tively young and had performed well, for example in an environment that is hospitable to them (RT, p. 461). trols the legislature and the courts are hopeless (RT, World War II. But the West won the Cold War. Even It is not a case of evil men plotting evil deeds, but is a pp. 203–4). At this point the zapadoid reader’s heart before that it was western influence that led to a par- development governed by social laws (RT, p. 261). Still, skips a beat: can it be that our man is coming round to ticular interpretation of de-stalinisation: that it had to internal collaborators played a part (RT, p. 303). From a conventional liberal view? Of course he isn’t. Adopt- mean a move away from communism. This was not the 1985 onwards the Soviet and Russian authorities be- ing these western institutions seriously would not suit case. The crisis that had arisen by 1985 could have been trayed their subjects (R, p. 158). Russian history helped. Russia. Russia needs a Soviet-style, strong Kremlin and

Soviet theory of evolution. Shame of the fittest. 22

a dominant presidential party (RT, pp. 204–6). This was The United States leads the West so, these days, He summarises the balance sheet on communism as written in 2001; Putin followed Zinoviev’s instructions. globalisation, westernisation and Americanisation are follows. People earned less than in the West but also So is the westernisation of Russia failing? No, be- interchangeable terms (RT, pp. 248–9). It entails the re- worked less. The coefficient of exploitation (effort/in- cause the mission of the westernising fifth column is construction of the very foundations of a country’s life: come) was higher in the West. In the Soviet Union, most not to make Russia fully part of the West but to make it of its social organisation, its system of government and basic demands were met. The system did not bring so- West-like and (Zinoviev implies) amenable to western its people’s mentality. This is not something that is nec- cial justice, but it brought more of it than was provided wishes. Putin is using communist methods to destroy essarily forced on the recipients, but force is available by the western system. Work was treated as a right and communism and put in place something West-like, but if required. One western tactic is to create the illusion the means of production belonged to nobody; these ar- there is no prospect of Russia living in developed or full that rapid westernisation will lead to western levels of rangements led to low productivity and therefore low westernism (RT, pp. 215–6). abundance very soon. (R, pp.125–6). incomes. Yet “the communist organisation of society Russia’s economic reformers and their western One reason for regarding this process with dismay suited the great majority of Soviet people, who were mentors reduced the Russian economy to ruins. Pri- is that a unified, westernised planet will be hierarchi- inclined by their nature to a collectivist way of life. But vatisation destroyed the Soviet enterprises’ labour col- cally organised (implying that Russia and other non- they took the good things for granted. They blamed the lectives. These had formed the base of everyday social western nations would play only subordinate roles; bad things on communism.” (RT, pp. 346–9; quotation life and the base of social organisation. Unprofitable VEP, p. 462). Another is that, even in its heartland, the from p. 349) Later he argues that, yes, Soviet people enterprises were closed because they were not good western social system is seriously defective. Yes, there were indeed discontented, but this did not extend to for business. Other [by implication] enterprises were is democracy in its public life. However, the social cells, supporting the destruction of their social order and the destroyed because their functioning did not suit west- the workplaces,10 are totalitarian (Z, pp. 87–91). Zino- introduction of capitalism (RT, p. 398). ern interests. Unemployment resulted. This was surely viev does not dispute that the West has had political Production in the Soviet Union was economically not an innocent mistake. Advisers or bosses in the West democracy. He argues, however, that democracy is a less effective than in the West, but socially more ef- wanted the collapse of Russia (RT, p. 226). The post-so- temporary and limited phenomenon (RT, p. 481). Now fective. Zinoviev explains what he means by “socially viet economy is still taking shape but it is already clear the West is in the ascendant, having used democracy more effective”: the Soviet system avoided unemploy- that Russia has lost economic sovereignty (RT, p. 227).8 as a weapon (against communism), it no longer needs ment and “unnecessary production”, while central Post-soviet society lacks any vision of the future. democracy and is tending towards a post-democratic planning kept the system’s deficiencies within bounds Even the Communist Party of the Russian Federation phase of development (RT, pp. 477–8). and was able to concentrate resources on historically has dropped part of the communist ideology (RT, Does anything in the way of a prescription follow important tasks. The Soviet economy functioned less p. 229). Appeals to unite against international terrorism from this? As usual, Zinoviev does not advocate any- well than the western economy, but it was viable (RT, are unconvincing; they are temporary, and American. thing; not explicitly, at any rate. He observes that the pp. 350–1). It would be better to launch an appeal to oppose the old Russian notion of Eurasianism is absurd: Russia has The Soviet Union had the most democratic system wholesale theft that is going on (RT, p. 232). Another no chance whatever of leading Asian countries against of education in the world (RT, p. 241). Corruption was current ideological line is Russian fundamentalism, in- the US and NATO (RT, p.237). It is true that communism limited, partly because so little in the way of material cluding Orthodoxy. Perhaps the next step should be a is not dead: China is still growing. But Russia is too ab- goods was available (RT, pp. 146–7). The Soviet Union call to restore the Tsar and the nobility. “The pygmies sorbed within the western system to aid Chinese com- of Stalin’s time was characterised by the highest degree of the counter-revolution are ready to become princes, munism against the West (RT, pp. 255, 258). of striving towards the future. This declined later (RT, counts and barons…” (ibid.). Marxism-Leninism proved Zinoviev’s conclusions about the future are modest, p. 281). inadequate, but that is no reason to abandon all secular subdued and generally out of character. Westernisation Zinoviev’s defence of the old order treats Soviet ideology (RT, p. 235). should be opposed, but in the name of what cause? The ideology much as sceptical Roman aristocrats treated In short, post-sovietism does not consist of becom- words “communism” and even “socialism” have lost the conduct of religious rituals: nonsense, but good ing a fully-fledged part of the West. It is and will remain credibility. We will simply have to wait and see what for the common people. Marxist ideology’s claim to a mixture of westernism, sovietism and Russian funda- the future will bring (RT, pp. 541–2). scientific status was unfounded (RT, p. 521). There mentalism, lacking the aspirations and potential which So Zinoviev is clear enough about westernisation. It is is no chance of restoring its Soviet-era status. (RT, were features of Soviet society. not good news, except perhaps for those who live in the p. 229). Nonetheless, the Soviet Union was a hyper- So this westernisation is unattractive, to put Zino- West as he defines it: the United States, Canada, West- society, and in this respect “50 years or more” ahead viev’s view of it mildly. What, if anything, is to be ern Europe, Australia and New Zealand. But he is also of the West, because it had a party apparatus, a plan- done? lamenting the demise of communism, or at any rate of ning system and an ideology. (R, p. 63) (Here Zinoviev the S oviet version of it. What is it that has been lost? seems to be contrasting 1930s Russia under Stalin The quixotic duty with the western beginnings of a “hyper-society” only to oppose The passing of after World War II. Even so, the “50 years” are more a way of life rhetoric than arithmetic.) Sovietism was the peak of westernisation Russian history. (R, p, 138) Zinoviev treats westernisation as a powerful trend in What was so good about communism? In his earlier The induced westernisation of Russia led to a loss global social evolution. In Z he develops the idea that writings, Zinoviev developed an analogy with flight: of party control, an economic collapse and the rise the West itself is evolving in a more “communalist” communism was like falling, and “civilisation” was like of crime. (R, p. 129; R was first published in 2005, but direction, as it supposedly displays a growing role flying: the latter required more effort. “Opting out of the 2009 edition indicates that the section containing for communal (kommunal’nye) as against business the struggle and […] of moving against the current — this judgement was written in 1993. By 2005 economic (delovye) social cells — very roughly, public-sector as falling for a time feels like flight. People in this state recovery was well-established and United Russia was against private-sector workplaces (Z, 182-8). do not think of what is to come later, in particular that well-embarked on becoming the party of power; crime In subsequent writings he does not pursue this after the sense of lightness come all the necessary at- had become more discreet.) theme. Instead he stresses the defects of a West that tributes of slave and master...”11 Russia’s fate is deplorable even if it is viewed in long- is not embarked on some softening evolutionary pro- In his later writings, Zinoviev does not abandon the term perspective because, in Zinoviev’s view, it is the cess. The West is a global aggressor (RT, p. 538). West- vision of communism as a system of subordination. West, not Russia, that is exceptional. Capitalism and ern civilisation has inflicted more suffering on human- democracy produce positive results only in the West, ity than communism did (RT, p. 394).9 Islam is resisting Communism, in short, is the general organi- with its particular human material. For most of the westernisation, so it is being attacked (RT, p. 259). Ter- sation of a country’s population in a system world, they are destructive. (R, p. 131) rorism is a threat that the West itself has provoked (RT, of relations between bosses and underlings p. 539). — relations of subordination. (RT, p. 342)

Soviet equation of survival: earn less for working less. But leisure time is expensive. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA alexander zinoviev and the russian tragedy 23

Some parallels in suit the champions of human rights, and be western thinking aware of the publicity value of doing so, but Zinoviev would be more pessimistic about the out- this is quite incidental to their purposes, come, but he would have applauded the sentiment. Zinoviev’s stance in the 1990s and 2000s was unques- which, if they think it necessary, are today I am not, of course, claiming that Putin and people tionably that of a Russian nationalist. But his Russian pursued with the ruthless barbarism that is close to him speak resentfully about US power because nationalism is not based on any notion of a Russian the heritage of the twentieth century.17 Zinoviev put the idea in their heads. The feeling that “ethnos”: he says it is social, not ethnic, factors that Russia has been humiliated and the US is too powerful account for the way people behave (RT, p. 237); and Zinoviev takes a bleak view of the prospects of US or is commonplace in Russia. What I am arguing is that he makes fun of Russian intellectuals’ claims to a spe- western imperialism: it may not live up to its claims Zinoviev articulated the sentiment more fully than oth- cial Russian spirituality (RT, pp. 241–2). His motivation about diffusing democracy and effective capitalist ers; he set it out in a grand historical pattern: the evolu- comes, in my view, from a kind of Soviet patriotism. economies but in its drive to subjugate the world it is tion of hyper-states and hyper-societies, the identifica- It does not follow that he is saying things that only a scoring straight A’s. Western authors, even those who tion of Russia with communism and the closing off of a Soviet patriot would say. On the contrary, several of his are highly critical of US policy, are mostly more scepti- path of social evolution. The notion of hyper-states is contentions are also put forward by writers with little cal about its success. I will return to this point in the not pursued after Zapad, but the notion of Soviet com- or no connection with Russia or the Soviet Union. final section. Where Zinoviev really runs short of west- munism as a viable evolutionary path closed down by Zinoviev’s definition of the West, for example, as ern intellectual allies, however, is on a predictable is- skulduggery underlies all Zinoviev’s later writings. Western Europe plus its offshoots in North America and sue: the centrality in this whole story of Russia. Those writings help us understand some of the Australasia, may seem quirky. But it corresponds quite On this, however, he has plenty of Russian allies, not stances adopted by the Putin leadership and its advis- closely to that used by the great compiler and analyst of just among writers of the past but also among Russian ers. Currently, Russian leaders say a number of things long-term economic growth data, Angus Maddison.12 contemporaries. that do not seem to be logically entailed by their claim The economic growth literature also contains quan- that the US is dangerously assertive around the world. titative studies that conclude that, other things equal, Russian elite They deplore the demise of the Soviet Union without a national heritage of Protestantism and a system of attitudes and policies deploring the demise of socialism. They maintain that common law are both favourable influences on long- competitive politics and the distancing of the state run economic growth.13 The strength of these findings in the light of from the economy are not right for Russia, at any rate is debatable, but prima facie they suggest that private the “Russian tragedy” for the time being. And they seek to rehabilitate Stalin. enterprise and free markets do indeed work better for In saying these things, they are not, so far as I know, nations with a particular historical heritage than they Several of those allies are quite highly placed. consciously echoing Zinoviev. But Zinoviev helps us do for other nations. This is not evidence for Zinoviev’s The echoes of Zinoviev in Vladislav Surkov’s stress to see the connexions between these apparently unre- claim that some (many?) nations, if not managed or co- on “sovereignty” were noted above. But there is no lated positions. He is far from alone among Russian in- erced from outside, would prefer collectivist economic need to quote the monkey when the organ-grinder is tellectuals in passing from criticism of the Soviet order arrangements; but it is compatible with it. available for citation. The speeches of while it was still in place to nostalgia for it once it was As for the business of importing — or forcibly export- sometimes read as though Zinoviev or, latterly, Zino- gone. But he makes sense of that paradoxical position ing — democracy, Zinoviev’s scornful disbelief in the viev’s ghost had drafted them. more clearly than others. whole project has its parallels outside Russia. Consider At the Munich Conference on Security Policy in Putin famously said in 2005 that the demise of the the following, by : February 2007, having begun by saying that this was Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe an occasion when he could say what he really thought, of the 20th century.20 Yet he has exhibited no nostalgia Democracy and Western values and human Putin said: at all for Marxism-Leninism or for any variety of social- rights are not like some technological impor- ism. Some of his Russian critics claim, without reveal- tations whose benefits are immediately obvi- We are seeing a greater and greater disdain ing any evidence but also without being sued, that he ous and will be adopted in the same manner for the basic principles of international is himself a fabulously wealthy capitalist. Zinoviev’s by all who can use them and afford them, law. [...] One state and, of course, first and arguments, quoted earlier, that western cold warriors like the peaceful bicycle and the murderous foremost the United States, has overstepped aimed at communism and destroyed Russia, and that AK47, or technical services like airports.14 its national borders in every way. This is Marxism was not to be taken seriously but the Soviet visible in the economic, political, cultural way of life was a viable alternative to “westernism”, Zinoviev contends that globalisation is a US imperial and educational policies it imposes on other make this apparently incoherent stance comprehen- project. This view is often propounded in the West, nations. Well, who likes this? Who is happy sible. even if it is not quite the standard way of describing about this?18 This links the official reputational resurrection of things. For example, both and Niall Stalin in Russia with the latter-day resentment about Ferguson treat the contemporary US as an imperial In that speech he also complained about Russia “con- Russia’s weakness. Zinoviev accepts that a defence of power, though they disagree fundamentally on its ef- stantly being lectured about democracy” by people the Soviet communist order entails a defence of Stalin. fectiveness and the forces propelling it.15 who “for some reason […] do not want to learn them- He presents post-stalinist developments as an insidious One does not have to be a Russian nationalist or selves”. weakening of the communist order. Soviet patriot to take the view that “the most obvious Making Russia central to the development of a new It is therefore not really surprising that new teach- danger of war today arises from the global ambitions world order seems quaint to non-Russians. With 2–3 ers’ manuals take a positive view of Stalin despite ac- of an uncontrollable and apparently irrational govern- percent of world population and gross product, a de- knowledging his “cruelty and acts of repression”. Nor ment in Washington.”16 Zinoviev’s view that “spreading clining workforce and a heavy dependence on natural- is it surprising that Putin — having already, presumably, democracy” by armed intervention is a cover for the resource exports, Russia’s only claims to influence are approved such teaching materials — publicly endorsed hegemonic power asserting control for its own pur- its past and its nuclear weapons. Yet the reportedly in- them.21 poses is echoed in a more measured and less irritable fluential commentator Gleb Pavlovskii wrote in 2007: Zinoviev’s view of the post-soviet political and manner by Hobsbawm: economic system in Russia is, naturally, much more The main challenge in the contemporary sceptical and downbeat: the system is a hybrid, un- It [the case for an “imperialism of human world is clearly American expansion. And able to match western capitalism. But in 2001 he wrote rights”] is fundamentally flawed by the fact no one, I think, except a sovereign, resilient that Russia needed a strong, Soviet-style Kremlin (RT, that great powers in the pursuit of their and modernised Russia can contain Ameri- p. 206). Putin and his allies have provided exactly that. international policies may do things that can expansion...19 Their system is a hybrid that they defend as appropri-

Sovietism as an alternative to Westernism. Thus arose an alternative poverty. 24

ate for Russia. Zinoviev deplored the limitations of an share of world income being generated outside Zino- est experience of the old order do not share that earlier and weaker form of that hybrid. His notion of viev’s West, in Asia. enthusiasm: perhaps all this shows is that ignorance how it could be made more appropriate for the country The third omission is opinion polls. We have rather is bliss. was much the same as theirs. a lot of opinion survey evidence about what Russians On the other hand, the proportion of all respond- There is one glaring disparity however between and others in ex-communist countries say about the ents in favour of the changes remains a half or more in Zinoviev’s vision of Russia’s present state and likely changes they have experienced. Are the opinion polls 2009. This is too large to qualify as a fifth column. The future and that espoused by the Putin leadership. For so tacky (unrepresentative samples, leading questions) determined opponent of the changes has to fall back Zinoviev, Putin, like Yeltsin and Gorbachev before him, that they are inadmissible as evidence? Or are the opin- either on impugning the honesty of the pollsters or, if is an instrument of Russia’s westernisation. He is not a ions expressed simply not worth heeding? all else fails, on false consciousness. force for revitalising Russia and re-establishing it as a In the boringly conventional belief that people’s power in the world. One might speculate that Zinoviev, opinions are important and that at least some opinion who died on 10 May 2006, could perhaps, with more polls elicit them quite fairly, I offer the following select- Conclusion time, have come to see Putin in a more favourable ed findings from Pew Global Research in 2009, includ- The purpose of this essay was not, however, to pick a light. But I doubt it. First, Putin’s “vertical of power” ing some comparisons with 1991 poll findings. fight with Zinoviev. Sadly, it is too late for that. And his and Russia’s economic recovery were well established defence has already been prepared: “Even a donkey when Zinoviev was still writing (more or less up to his can kick a dead lion”, as he said of the de-stalinisers. death). Second, Putin has restored only the political, Opinions expressed about the fall of communism These late writings of his lack the disturbing clarity not the economic, side of sovietism. Finally, Zinoviev and its aftermath by Russian citizens, with some of Kommunizm kak real’nost’. They also lack his alter- never had anything good to say about any living leader, comparisons with Ukraine and Hungary, 1991 native strength: the polyphony of Ziyayushchie vysoty, and showed no signs of mellowing. and 2009 (percent of respondents surveyed). where different characters get away with saying incom- Nonetheless, to the extent that Zinoviev in the 1990s plete or contradictory things because they are different and 2000s could be said to have had a political agenda, 1. Approve of the change to a multiparty system characters. Putin has implemented it. 1991 2009 What the late writings do is set out the grounds for R u s s i a 6 1 5 3 Russian nostalgia for the old order, and the beliefs and Ukraine 72 30 attitudes about today’s world that spring from that Omissions Hungary 74 56 nostalgia. I do not use the word “nostalgia” to belittle Zinoviev’s late works illuminate recent and current the sentiments involved. Soviet communism was a Russian politics. But they also leave several rather large 2. Approve of the change to a market economy complete and coherent world of its own. It is absurd to loose ends: topics and approaches that he might have 1991 2009 claim that this world was wholly evil or that what has been expected to address in any account of the collapse Russia 54 50 replaced it is wholly good. Zinoviev helps us to under- of communism. Ukraine 52 36 stand how it feels to have your world dismantled, and The first omission is geographical. A large part of Hungary 80 46 how that experience forms many of the attitudes that the world is simply not visible in these works. Econo- lie behind Putin’s policies. ≈ mists like to deal in “stylised facts”, so I cannot be too 3. Satisfied with life (Russia only) pernickety about other analysts skipping bits of real- 1991 2009 ity. Still, a drama in which the main characters are “the 7 35 1 Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988. West”, meaning Western Europe, North America and 2 Compare Nietzsche on ancient Greece: “So culture developed Australasia, and the Soviet Union should at least fea- 4. It is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union in spite of the polis ...” (Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too ture a few noises off. What Zinoviev gives us by way no longer exists (Russia only, 2009) Human (1878), London 1994, p. 227.) Zinoviev’s style in his expository works is sometimes reminiscent of Nietzsche’s in of noises off are some passing remarks about China Agree Disagree the way he rambles for a while and then produces a sharp, as a surviving communist country with which Russia 58 38 throw-away remark. Very occasionally, as in this case, they is highly unlikely to team up against the West, and the even express ideas that are closely similar. generalisation that the non- does not 5. Approve the change to a multiparty system 3 Bibliographic details of these and other writings cited are stand to benefit from being “westernised”, or at least (Russia only, 2009, by selected age-groups) given in “References” at the end. I will refer to the above four will benefit less than the West does. 18–29 65+ books henceforth as Z, VEP, RT and R. Where, for instance, do Poland, Estonia, Brazil, 65 27 4 He does not of course succeed in adhering to this pious stra- Chile and India fit into this picture? Would they all fare tegy. It is hard to imagine Zinoviev saying nothing but good about anything or anyone. I wrote of him in 1988, “There are better, or at any rate live more easily, in a collectivist Approve the change to a market economy two modes of expression which he does not command: the system? If some of their citizens believe that democracy (Russia only, 2009, by selected age-groups) eulogy and the footnote.” (Philip Hanson & Michael Kirkwood and free markets are good for their countries, are they 18–29 65+ (eds.), Alexander Zinoviev as Writer and Thinker, Basingstroke the victims of false consciousness or do they simply re- 63 27 1988, p. 163.) He has set me right about footnotes. There is veal themselves to be part of the comprador class? a sudden eruption of them in Z. They do not descend to the That is one loose end. Zinoviev also omits any Source: Pew Global Research, “End of Communism Cheered sordid pedantry of publication details and page numbers. doubts about the West’s invincibility. True, he does not but Now with More Reservations. The Pulse of Europe 2009: Still, they cover the waterfront: from Daniel Bell and William Beveridge to and Adam Smith. At first I suspected say in so many words that the West is now, after the fall 20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall”, November 2, 2009. http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=267 the intrusion of a fussy editor, but the footnote citing TV Hören of Soviet communism, capable of asserting its control und Sehen persuaded me that the references were indeed the over the whole world. But he strongly implies it. Yet work of the master himself. Later writings revert to his Olym- the Bush administration’s ambitions for a transformed pian norm: they are not disfigured by footnotes; let alone (westernised) Middle East look even more implausible There is a good deal here that provides grist to the end-notes. in 2010 than they did in 2003. So far as Zinoviev is con- Zinoviev mill. A clear majority of Russian respond- 5 See, among many other works, Berdyaev’s The Origin of Rus- cerned, imperial over-reach, asymmetric warfare and ents regret the demise of the USSR. Approval of sian Communism, London 1937. all the other limitations on even a solitary superpower the changes in the system has declined over time, 6 It has to be said that there is a good deal of repetition across the four books. In the form in which I have them — as volumes do not exist. If recent armed interventions have been though expressions of satisfaction with life have in the complete collected works (see References) — it is not failures or at most Pyrrhic victories for those who increased. Those too young to have significant per- clear which pieces appeared first as separate articles, though led them, what exactly does being a sole superpower sonal experience of the old order are substantially in it seems that quite a few did. There are also literal, word-for- amount to? It certainly cannot prevent an ever-larger favour of the new order, while those with the great- word repetitions in these editions. In RT pp. 462–77 repeat

Nostalgics have been deprived of something, he who misses something has never owned. Putin appeals to both. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA alexander zinoviev and the russian tragedy 25

pp. 192–208; 487–98 repeat 208–18; 508–17 repeat 218–28; and further references 523–37 repeat 228–41. With trivial differences in sub-headings and paragraphing, pp. 435–51 of RT repeat pp. 164–79 of R. As a Alexander Zinoviev, Ziyayushchie vysoty, Lausanne: L’Age member of the international editorial council, I can only plead d’Homme 1976. an oversight on the part of the bosses. Alexander Zinoviev, The Yawning Heights (translation of the 7 For example, Vasilii Naishul, The Supreme and Late Stage of above), Harmondsworth: Penguin 1981. Socialism: An Essay, London 1991; Yegor Gaidar, State and Evo- Alexander Zinoviev, Kommunizm kak real’nost’, Lausanne: L’Age lution, Seattle 2003. d’Homme 1981. 8 This was written and published in 2002. “Sovereign” became a Alexander Zinoviev, Nashei yunosti polet, Lausanne: L’Age widely-used Putinist adjective several years later. Reportedly, d’Homme 1983. the first usage of the phrase “sovereign democracy” in the Pu- Alexander Zinoviev, Zapad (originally published in 1995), in AZ, tinist-prescriptive sense for Russia was by Vladislav Surkov in Zapad, Moscow: Astrel’ 2008, pp. 31–419.* a speech delivered on 22 February 2006 (http://en.wikipedia. Alexander Zinoviev, (originally org/wiki/Sovereign_democracy, accessed 22 December 2009). Velikii evolyutsionniy perelom published in 1999), in (op.cit.) 2008, pp. 419–70.* 9 He does not elaborate on this. One can see that totting up Zapad colonial wars and two world wars would give the West a head Alexander Zinoviev, Russkaya tragediya (originally published in start. But on a havoc-wreaked-per-annum basis it might be a 2002), in AZ, Nesostoyavshiisya proekt, Moscow: Astrel’ 2009, pp. close-run thing. 183–548.* 10 The workplace collective is the building-block in Zinoviev’s Alexander Zinoviev, Rasput’e (originally published in 2005), in AZ, . The role of communal existence as the key to un- Nesostoyavshiisya proekt, Moscow: Astrel’ 2009, pp. 7–183.* derstanding communism is developed in his Kommunizm kak * Page references in this article are to these later publications. real’nost’. The view he took at that time of life in a communist collective is summarised in the cover design (painted by Zi- noviev himself): two rats simultaneously shaking hands and strangling one another. 11 Aleksandr Zinoviev, “Pochemu my raby“, Zinov’ev, No 2 (5), 2009, pp. 16–18. The piece is said there to have been written in 1980. It was probably also published then, but the 2009 source does not say where. 12 Angus Maddison, The World Economy 1820–1992. Analysis and Statistics, Paris 1995. 13 Sources cited in Philip Hanson, “Barriers to Long-run Growth in Russia“, Economy and Society, vol. 31:1. 14 Eric Hobsbawm, Globalisation, Democracy and Terrorism, London 2007, p. 11. 15 E.g., Noam Chomsky, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy, New York 2006; , Colos- sus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire, London 2005. 16 Hobsbawm, Globalisation ..., p.48. The government to which Hobsbawm was referring was that of George W. Bush. The Obama administration has not, by early 2010, changed things very much. 17 Hobsbawm, Globalisation..., p.7. 18 http://eng.kremlin.ru/speeches/2007/02/10/0138_type82912ty- pe82914type82917type84779_118123.shtml 19 “Chego zhdat’ ot Putina?” www.lenta.ru/conf/pavlosky of 19 October 2007. 20 http://archive.kremlin.ru/appears/2005/04/25/1223_type- 63372type63374type82634_87049.shtml. The disgraceful lack of definite and indefinite articles in Russian makes it just pos- sible to translate this as “a very great” rather than “the grea- test”, but the usual translation fits the sentence better. 21 Henry Meyer, “Stalin Back in Vogue as Putin Endorses History- Book Nostalgia”, Bloomberg, November 29, 2007. 26

Fashion Design at GUM, the State Department Store at Moscow Soviet investment in flamboyance four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA soviet investment in flamboyance BY Jukka Gronow & Sergey Zhuravlev 27

Fashion at GUM – a “closed” demonstration of fashion designs to foreign haute couture delegation at the end of the 1950s.

oviet fashion was institutionalized in the 1950s and 1970s. Hundreds of large and small design S organizations were established. Thousands of professional designers and patternmakers were em- ployed. Their numbers increased constantly during these twenty odd years. In the Soviet Union, the state financed all the fashion design institutions, but these belonged to different administrative units or ministries that organized their own networks and structures. In addition to design institutes and fashion ateliers, the ministries set up a great number of scientific institutes and laboratories that laid the foundation for the design and construction of clothes. In the Soviet Union, fash- ion design, like any field of activity, needed a solid sci- entific ground. At least four main administrative systems were en- gaged in fashion design, the organization of which re- ceived their final shape in the late 1960s: the Ministry of Light Industry (fashion design for the purposes of industrial mass production), the Ministry of the Every- day Services (designs for individual sewing or custom- made clothes in the fashion ateliers), as well as the Ministries of Trade and Local Industry. Most important economically were the first two. Here we shall focus primarily on the characteristics of fashion design in the Soviet trade organizations, examining in particular the Fashion Department of GUM, the State Department Store in Moscow. Contrary to what would have been expected with regard to the highly centralized and planned economic system, no single administrative body existed in Soviet fashion design. The idea of increasing specialization served as an antithesis to strict centralization and mo- tivated new fashion houses as well as ateliers of indi- vidual sewing of custom-made clothes. The ministries responsible for providing the population with new and better clothes often referred to the principle of special- ization in lobbying for their own administrative inter- ests — and in particular for the necessity of establishing 28 their own new fashion organizations requiring addi- der to achieve this result, one had to work scientifical- GUM – main tional financial resources from the state budget. ly, it was argued: to study and to agree on the present In practice, different units acted quite independent- and the future trends of fashion in every aspects, the attraction ly. In some creative questions and in their appeal to colors and type of the textiles and other materials (for at red square consumers they often engaged in competition with one instance, leather, fur, and others), the style of the dress another. Under conditions of chronic shortages, how- as well as shoes, hats, underwear, hairdressing, and The GUM building was constructed at the turn of the ever, such competition was of quite limited character. cosmetics, etc. VIAlegprom gradually left the ODMO, 19th and 20th centuries following the example of the best Nevertheless, one should not neglect the reports that the All-Union House of Fashion Design behind it in the European department stores. Originally it was called testify to strong ambitions among the directors of the official hierarchy of the Soviet fashion in the 1970s. “Upper trade rows”. During the Revolution and the units, as well as among the very designers themselves, Civil War it was closed. Its commercial activities started nor the role of the socialist competition between the again during the New Economic Policy and went on fashion houses in achieving the highest results. This The directives of the main fashion organizations for a very short time in the 1920s when it received its tendency of administrative specialization had less and the decisions made during their methodical meet- name State Department Store, or GUM. In the 1930s it positive consequences too, such as the overlapping of ings (shape and contours, style, colors, etc) were only was closed again. It wasn’t reopened again until after functions, parallelism, and the unnecessary waste of recommendations. They offered the Soviet designers Stalin’s death in 1953 on the order of the Government the limited financial resources of the state. Despite the and the patternmakers a kind of general orientation. of the USSR. This “reawakening” of GUM was really a great quantities of new designs and great efforts put These recommendations were reinforced by the orders sign of its times. Or at least this is how people then un- into promoting fashion, a Soviet consumer could gen- of the Ministry of the Light Industry but they had only derstood it. The new leaders of the country who had erally not buy the fashionable, higher quality clothes a rather formal character. Neither the archives nor the declared that the problems of consumption would now in the shops. Probably more than in any other sector of interviews with the former workers revealed any cases be prioritized decided to create an “exemplary depart- consumption, the Soviet consumers were dissatisfied where someone would have been punished or repri- ment store” in Moscow which would offer the best pos- with the garment industry and trade. manded for not following the recommendations of the sible goods and commodities with the most progressive This raised the question of whether these design or- center. Soviet fashion design undoubtedly had its own forms of trade and service. ganizations really were of any use at all. This theme was taboos. The fashion designers mostly followed their It was opened at the very Red Square which, during openly discussed in the Soviet press and among the own professional standards of beauty in their creative the Soviet era, had a pre-eminently political status as experts throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Many quite activity. The limits of Soviet sexual decency were quite the main symbol of the Soviet power. It was a festive reasonable measures were suggested in order to im- narrow, and some signs, colors and patterns were nev- place, in fact, the holy place of all the important Soviet prove the situation, some of which were also realized er even on the table because of their obvious religious state rituals. Just 50 meters from the show windows of in practice. Often the decisions taken on the govern- or political connotations. The destiny of jeans in the GUM was the holiest of holy sites, Lenin’s mausoleum, mental level did not have the expected effects because USSR offers a good example of such taboos. behind which many other famous revolutionaries other organizations worked against them. Gradually, “Look at the jeans I got as a present”, L. I. Brezh- and leaders of the Communist Party were buried in the leaders and the planning offices became aware that nev proudly declared with obvious pleasure, turning the Kremlin wall. At the Red Square, parades and of- one could not really regulate such a delicate and rap- around and demonstrating like a fashion model the ficial demonstrations were organized regularly. The idly changing sphere as fashion industry with the same “symbol of the American way of life” which fit his cor- pioneers made their vows and the students had their administrative directives as was common in many pulent figure very well. Such a rare scene could be seen graduation ceremonies there. It is therefore quite obvi- other fields of the Soviet economy. in the beginning of the 1970s in the office of the main ous that the reanimation of trade at such a special place director of the Moscow State Department Store (GUM) was a politically important event and by no means an when the artistic director of the Fashion Department, accident. GUM was meant to become yet another ma- The search for more effective forms of administra- D. B. Shimilis1 happened to drop in the room: it was jor attraction at the Red Square — the main proof of the tion led in the 1960s to the emergence of the so-called obvious not only that the jeans appealed to Brezhnev, achievements of Soviet power in the field of trade and main organizations of design which received additional but he was also well aware of their obvious ideologi- serving of the population. authority and the status of an inter-administrative unit. cal connotations. What surprised Shimilis was not the This was true in particular of the four all-union houses relation of confidentiality which reigned between of design under the Ministry of Light Industry, those de- Brezhnev and the director of this most famous Soviet GUM was the biggest store in the USSR both ac- signing clothes, tricot clothes, shoes, and other leather department store on the Red Square. The Soviet po- cording to the turnover of products and its number of items. They had the responsibility to study the present litical leadership at the Kremlin regularly visited its employees. It was the “main store of the country”. At and future trends and to help the centrally planned “closed” departments2 and, together with their family its opening it had three and a half thousand workers; economy cope better with the seasonal stylistic chang- members, provided themselves with all the necessary in 1973 its work collective consisted of seven thousand es of dress. They regularly presented their ideas and re- consumer goods and sprang to the services of the de- workers. According to the official statistics, 200,000– sults to the fashion specialists at the annual methodical signers and other employees of its fashion atelier. What 300,000 people visited it every day, buying 220,000– meetings of fashion designers and patternmakers. surprised Shimilis more was Brezhnev’s highly posi- 230,000 items.3 Muscovites were naturally among its At the end of the 1960s, yet another main fashion in- tive reaction to this comfortable and practical piece of regular customers, but numerous guests from the other stitute was created which came to have a very decisive clothing which, until the 1980s, suffered in the USSR republics and of the USSR visited it too. The for- role in promoting the unity of Soviet fashion design in from the ideological labeling as a symbol of American eign tourists, for whom GUM became one of the main the whole country. This was the All-Union Institute of imperialism. Therefore, the Fashion Department at attractions of the capital, were mainly interested in its the Assortment of the Light Industry and the Culture GUM, the purpose of which was to design beautiful and rich department of souvenirs. The department store of Dress under the Ministry of Light Industry (shorter: practical clothes for the Soviet citizens, could not de- had a special status which was kept up mainly because VIAlegprom). While the All-Union Houses of Fashion sign domestic Soviet jeans. all the consumer goods which, because of limited sup- functioned practically autonomously in relation to one ply, were the most difficult to find elsewhere, were sent another, each one within its own field of specialization here: This made GUM very attractive to customers. If (the design of clothes, tricot, shoes, or leather items), you could not buy it at GUM it was probably not avail- VIAlegprom was created to overcome the disadvan- able for purchase anywhere in the Soviet Union. From tage of such a specialization by promoting the design of 1950 to 1970 GUM sold 70–85 percent of all the better complex sets of clothing. People did not simply want to quality consumer goods, or high demand goods, pro- wear a fashionable dress or a pair of shoes but wanted duced in Moscow.4 Among these, the imported goods to dress fashionably and beautifully as a whole. In or- became all the more important: for instance, as early

Brezhnev in well-cut jeans. Anachronism or resignation, depends on one’s perspective. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA soviet investment in flamboyance BY Jukka Gronow and Sergey Zhuravlev 29

as the end of the 1950s they made up over 30 percent of all the fabrics sold at GUM.5 The department store became notorious among the Soviet population for its long queues, which could stretch up to several kilom- eters. The Fashion Atelier Just like the rest of the department store, the Fashion Atelier — or the atelier of individual sewing of clothes, as it was officially called — which opened its doors in the spring of 1954, was thought from the very beginning to be exemplary. It belonged to the category of “lux” and could therefore charge 70 percent more for its services than the ateliers that belonged to the — otherwise high- est — first class. All customers who either could not find any adequate clothes in the ordinary shops because of their “deviant” body shape and size or their outstand- ing taste connected with their striving for a more in- dividual style were expected to turn to the services of the Atelier at GUM. Many members of the cultural and administrative elite of the country were among its regu- lar customers. At the end of the 1950s, this atelier be- came the methodical center of the system of individual sewing (indposhiva) or custom-made clothes, within the Soviet system of trade. The specialists of trade and fashion came here from all over the country to learn A beach dress designed by L. F. Averyanova. about the most advanced methods of trade.6 The 1958 GUM fashion album. From 1955 to 1960 the collective of the Atelier GUM consisted of 500 people. At the beginning of the 1960s, it filled up to 60,000 orders a year which, compared The fitting of a fashionable suit at an atelier to the number of potential customers in Moscow, was that was part of “indposhiv”, the Soviet sys- not all that much. As everyone knew, those who would tem of custom-made clothes, early 1960s. have wished to get their clothes sewn here greatly out- numbered the number of orders actually taken. This created chronic shortages and, as was quite common in the Soviet Union, promoted the system of bribes and illegal deals of all kinds. According to their plans, the male and female salons should receive a certain number of orders every day. However, the principle of having only one single queue for all the customers was soon abandoned in practice. Not only was one’s place in line turned into an object of financial speculation, but in addition, the employees of the Atelier had an obligation to fill the orders coming from “people who had special needs”. This took place by order of the administration of GUM, the executive committee of the Moscow city administration (Mos- gorispolkom), or the Ministry of Trade. According to the directors of the Atelier, it received up to 500 such orders for men’s clothing alongside the official queue each year, in both 1956 and 1957.7 The number of such special orders must have been at least as high in the department for women’s clothing. The salons where the customers’ orders were re- ceived were supposed to become the real “display windows” of the Atelier. They employed consult- ing patternmakers who gave advice to the customers about which fashionable designs would fit them best. They also offered advice about the proper fabrics to be used in sewing the clothes. These fashion consultants would, while advising their customers, not only be oc- cupied with the reception and consignment of their orders but also with propagandizing for Soviet fashion The leading fashion designers at GUM in the second half of the 1950s. E. A.Tomashevich and E. N. Istomina are the and educating the customers in the matters of good first two from the left, R. A. Singer and L. F. Averyanova, the first two from the right.

When many want what few can enjoy. A society of queues arises when things must cost nothing. 30

taste. Special display windows with regularly changing instead of really exclusive and individual service, the tions consisting of a whole set of 100–150 designs of designs showed the newest clothes worked out by the clients were after all mostly offered a rather limited col- primarily female clothes. All this was to a great extent patternmakers of the Atelier. Several fashion journals lection of more or less fashionable designs worked out reminiscent of the tasks of another main organization and albums were at the disposal of the customers. From by the local patternmakers. of Soviet fashion design, the All-Union House of Clothes them they could select all the new designs they liked. The employees of the Atelier were well aware of Fashion Design, ODMO, which made possible thoughts The comments book at the Atelier included many posi- these problems. For instance, in one of its regular of the birth of a parallel, competing organization. tive notes but the customers also complained about the party meetings in 1955, the confectioner Smorodinova “formalism” of the service and of old journals with de- claimed that “the patternmakers of the Atelier are not signs gone out of fashion long ago. at all interested in doing any more demanding designs. continued to be personally interested Neither are they interested in offering their customers in the workings of the department. He attended fash- new designs from the Fashion Design Department of ion shows, often in the company of other members The main reason for the great popularity of GUM GUM. They want to do something simpler.”11 The situ- of the Soviet leadership, like A. N. Kosygin. Mikoyan’s was that in its early years the Ministry of Trade gave it ation did not change for ten years: in 1964 the pattern- son, Vano Mikoyan, who became a famous construc- the opportunity to select its textiles and other goods makers were criticized again at the party meeting for tor of airplanes and the director of the firm MIG, was a from among the best and most fashionable domestic purposefully simplifying the designs and patterns in regularly seen guest at the shows. Mikoyan was among and imported clothes. Unlike all the other ateliers, order to achieve the goals of the plan.12 “We live with those Soviet leaders who understood that fashion, GUM did not in the beginning sew any clothes from the old designs, and the new ones appear very seldom”,13 like culture in general, was an international phenom- customer’s own textiles. Later this changed under the the same Smorodinova repeated her accusations again enon, and consequently he worked hard to promote pressure of the concrete conditions of work. As early in January 1964. international cooperation in this area. As early as 1956, as 1964, half the orders were sewn from the customers’ The meetings of the party organization had a criti- the designer L. F. Averyanova from GUM was included own textiles. In the beginning of the 1960s, the Atelier cal and open atmosphere. Here, the workers, referring in the small delegation of the Ministry of Trade which lost its right to get special provisions, textiles, tools and to the opinion of their customers, mostly complained for the first time headed for Paris in order to study the instruments directly from the central stores of the Min- about the low quality of the design at the Atelier. In Sep- famous fashion houses there.17 In Averyanova’s own istry and had to provide itself with what was available tember 1959, the general director of GUM, Kamenev, words, the twenty days she spent in Paris changed her in the regular store rooms of GUM. These provided was very critical of its work: “The designs we show lag ideas not only about fashion and her own profession, equally all the other ordinary clothes selling depart- behind real life … The Atelier does not have a leading but also about life in general.18 Mikoyan thus succeeded ments with all their goods. They had an equal interest role in the design of the new clothes, …” 14 Even after in surpassing his main competitor, the Ministry of Light in getting the best-selling fabrics — those in “defitsit” such harsh criticism, the leaders of the Atelier contin- Industry, which, as we know, the All-Union House of or in short supply — which led to repeated conflicts be- ued to follow their policy of promoting their own au- Fashion worked under. The representatives of ODMO tween them. The directors of the Atelier complained tonomy in the field of fashion design, also in relation to visited Paris, the Mecca of International Fashion, only regularly about the bad quality of the textiles available another department of GUM which engaged only in de- a year later, at the end of 1957. at GUM, the meager variety, monotonous colors. Some- signing fashionable models and which had come into During the second half of the 1950s, The Depart- times only silk was available, at other times wool, etc. being at the same time as the Atelier. ment of Fashion Design at GUM was one of the leaders However, in general, the quality of the clothes sewn at of Soviet design. When the Soviet delegation partici- the Atelier was better than the ready-made clothes sold collections pated for the first time in the Leipzig trade exhibition in in the Soviet shops at the time.8 of commands 1957, only two Soviet design organizations represented The status of “Lux” of the Atelier at GUM gave it Soviet fashion: ODMO and the fashion design depart- many valuable advances compared with the first-class The Department of Fashion Design was established at ment of GUM.19 ateliers of the “indposhiva”. In these, the norm for GUM in 1954 at ’s personal initiative. The department was located in GUM’s main build- clothes that the patternmakers were supposed to fill As a long time leader of the Soviet trade he was well ing, a close neighbor of the vividly pulsating life of the every month was 60, at GUM, only 32. In the first-class known not only as an experienced politician, diplomat, sales departments. The “brains” there were placed in ateliers the monthly salary was 900 rubles per month, and a lobbyist for the interests of his own ministry, but two rooms in which the designers and the patternmak- at GUM, 1400 (in April 1958).9 Under these beneficial also as a defender of the transfer into the Soviet system ers worked separately. The shoe design department conditions the patternmakers of the Atelier at GUM had of consumption of the best international experience also had a room of its own. A small sewing workshop more time to work individually with their clients and and perspectives.15 The founding of the Department of was attached to the fashion department. Its task was to design new clothes according to the wishes of the Fashion Design at GUM was one of his experiments. Un- to sew prototypes of the new clothes. The best designs individual clients. Most importantly, they could sew til then, the big Soviet department stores did not have were regularly published in fashion albums with large more fashionable and modern clothes of high quality. their own departments of fashion design. As Mikoyan editions or sold on separate sheets with patterns of Clothes sewn at an atelier of the luxury category had a hoped, the Department “should be the first one in the individual dresses with attending, detailed sewing in- higher price too. One of the peculiarities of the Soviet Union, and, who knows, with time, it could become structions. The demonstration hall was the “face” of system of fashion was, however, that the state in fact even better than those in the other countries”.16 He was the department for the world outside. The demonstra- subsidized quite heavily custom-made clothes, which also well known for liking to dress well and for making tions started in September of 1954. Models, musicians, made them competitive with — indeed often even use of the services of the best tailors in Moscow. speakers, an administrator, and an art instructor (edu- cheaper than — similar ready-to-wear garments. The tasks of the Fashion Design Department were cated as an art historian) all worked in the demonstra- The Atelier had a small experimental workshop that from the very beginning quite unusual for a trade or- tion hall. specialized in designing, working out new ideas, and ganization and not at all directly related to the regular The total work force of the department was not very developing finished patterns from the sketches they sale of commodities — the design of clothes, the propa- large, about 70 people in 1954–1955, among them 7 de- received from the ordinary patternmakers. Its major gation of fashion and good taste among the populace signers and 15 models. In the 1960s and 1970s, the num- task was, however, the adaptation of the more promis- (for instance, by publishing fashion albums and book- ber stabilized to about 90 workers.20 In 1972, of the 90 ing and marketable designs which came from the other lets as well as by organizing regular fashion shows at (among them 75 women) workers, 50 were occupied in fashion institutes in the USSR to the concrete capacities the demonstration hall), and, finally, the establishment the sewing workshop (tailors, patternmakers and dress of the Atelier at GUM.10 It was in general not profitable of the trade relations with the textile factories in order constructors, designers), 26 in the demonstration hall, for the patternmakers of the ateliers to experiment to produce new clothes in small series following the and 9 in the publishing department. with any fundamentally new, fashionable designs. For designs of GUM. The designers at GUM were expected From the professional point of view, the key posi- to be creative one had to ignore the annual plans and not only to design male and female clothes, shoes, and tions were those of the designers, pattern and dress- quotas and the attendant personal bonuses. As a result, hats. They started to create complete seasonal collec- makers as well as art instructors. In the 1950s however,

Creativity on command. Difficult to achieve when people become objects of creativity. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA soviet investment in flamboyance BY Jukka Gronow and Sergey Zhuravlev 31

specialists in these professions were very rare in the Soviet Union. Therefore, the designer positions were mostly occupied by the ordinary patternmakers or cut- ters who didn’t have the right professional qualifica- tions. It was just as difficult to find experienced dress- makers. For instance, one dressmaker, Mokshina, had just finished some ordinary sewing and knitting cours- es, and another one, A. Lapidus, had been educated as an airplane builder. She had learned to sew and knit in some short evening courses.21 In 1955, there were only six specialists working in all the departments of GUM that had received a higher ed- ucation. Almost all of them had administrative duties and did not take part in the design of clothes. Only in the second half of the 1960s did the professional level of the cadres improve remarkably due to the recruitment of new workers who had graduated from the Moscow Textile Institution, which became the main education- al institute of fashion design in the Soviet Union. The number of the designers increased too. Thus, in 1967 the Fashion Department had twelve designers, and in 1973 fifteen: three in female outer wear, eight in female dress, but only one in each of male clothes, shoes, head gear, and embroidery.22 An evening dress from the GUM collection demonstrated by the model Yana Kokoreva One of the first designers at the department was in 1964. Lidia Fedorovna Averyanova (born 1916) who came to GUM in 1954. Averyanova quickly became one of the leading designers of female clothes who had a decisive influence on the general style of GUM, called “modest A GUM advertisement by A. M. Rodchenko elegance”. She had no education as a designer. After re- and V. V. Mayakovsky, 1923. turning home from the front, she attended some short sewing courses. Because she was religious, she refused to become a member of the Communist Party. Her “non-party” status did not prevent her from making a career and traveling with the GUM models to many parts of the world.23 In the 1960s and 1970s, Averyanova became almost a “house” consultant at the “closed” 200th section of GUM. In the event that a client with high status could not make up her or his mind about which dress was right and wanted to consult someone, a spe- cialist from the fashion design department was called upon. Depending on the situation, it could be the artis- tic leader of the department (D. B. Shimilis, 1960–1976) or one of the leading designers: on female dress, L. F. Averyanova, on male dress, R. A. Singer. At the end of such consultations the client quite often decided to order an individually designed dress from the Atelier instead of buying a ready-made one. Then the designer turned at once to a patternmaker and took the necessary measures of the client. This was how many of the clothes designed by Averyanova ended up in the closets of the Ministry of Culture E. A. Furtseva as well as of the daughters of the Soviet lead- ers, Prime Minister Kosygin and the secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSS B. N. Ponomarev.24 E. A. Furtseva and Ljudmila Gvishiani (Kosygina) also relied on the services of the designers of the nearby ODMO on the Kuznetsky Most Street. In 1954, the recently opened Atelier at GUM employed Yevgenija Niko- layevna Istomina as a designer. Elena Alekandrovna Tomashevich, whose specialty became festive female evening dresses, joined the GUM collective about the same time. Neither of them had any formal education A fashion demonstration at the annual meeting of the Soviet fashion designers of the Ministry of Light Industry in designing clothes, but they had solid experience at ODMO, the All-Union House of Fashion Design, Moscow, in the 1950s.

Models on the catwalk as ideological superstructure. Window-dressing for the base. 32

sewing clothes. They had to learn the art of design by in search of “real” fashion show. The main question that was raised doing it. Their colleagues humorously referred to Av- a “house style” after the demonstration was whether ordinary Soviet eryanova, Tomashevich, and Istomina as the “three citizens could in reality wear all these clothes or did whales” supporting the whole Department of Fashion The Ministry of Trade, headed by Anastas Mikoyan, they just have a purely artistic value as unique objects at GUM on their backs. They had, in fact, designed the had great ambitions and expectations to see the Fash- of art? If the second alternative was true, was it really first basic seasonal collections at GUM, which had be- ion Atelier at GUM, given that it was the law giver of worth the trouble to continue designing such unpracti- come a success abroad at the end of the 1950s and gave Soviet fashion with its own “house style”. The direc- cal things? A lot of criticism was directed, for instance, a firm direction to the future “house style”. tor of the Fashion department, N. Ya. Katz told that he to one of the designs, a festive female dress with rib- expected to create “a new style of clothes, and conse- bons of rosettes which, in the opinion of those present, quently new designs and new kinds of clothes”.27 In the “hardly any Soviet woman would like to wear”.31 In the Some former designers from the nearby Cen- middle of the 1950s a lively discussion went on about absence of any artistic council — this was founded a bit tral Department Store, TsUM, became the first “gen- what kind of a fashion should in fact be created at GUM. later — or any artistic director, the Party committee eration” of designers at GUM. The atelier at the Central The secretary of the Party committee calmed down the took itself the role of the “aesthetic arbitrator”. It soon Department Store had experience of fashion design most eager spirits by recommending that the design- proved out that the taste of the members of the Party from the 1930s. Naum Yakovlevich Katz who became ers should “stay on earth” and not to be carried away committee as well as of some of the heads of the other the first director of the fashion department at GUM was to the sky. Instead they should orient themselves ac- departments at GUM were often more conservative among them. He was the only director of a department cording to the, after all, very modest conditions of the than the fashion designers’ own taste. who was not a Party member. He remained in charge supply of the raw materials as well as the real demands of GUM for ten years. In 1964, Anna Georgievna Gor- of the Soviet consumer. Consequently, he understood shkova was nominated to the director’s post after N. Ya. the style of GUM as a synthesis of four basic elements: During all these years even the best designs of Katz, who had become seriously ill and died soon after. simplicity of the form, beauty of design, comfort of the GUM, with some exceptions, remained outside the In contrast to her predecessor, Gorshkova had no pre- use and cheap prices.28 reach of the ordinary Soviet consumers since they were vious experience of fashion design at all. She used to In contrast, many workers of the Fashion depart- not profitable enough to the Soviet garment industry work in the personal administration of GUM — a section ment turned up at the party meetings arguing that their to produce in big series. Most of the designs remained which traditionally had strong ties with the KGB and a “house style” should not be mundane but rather some- at the stage of the sketches and pictures on the paper lot of influence in the store.25 The nomination of a reli- thing extraordinary, festive or even “ultramodern”. In or, in case they were approved into the seasonal collec- able member of the Communist Party to the director’s their support, they argued that such clothes are in great tion, they were sewn in a unique copy to fit the model post was to a great extent motivated by “special con- demand now, in particular among the Moscow youth. demonstrating them. In this respect they were not all trol” needed by the employees of the fashion depart- In the mid 1950s, such a position was in fact the domi- that different from the fashionable creations of the best ment — the “house” mannequins in particular. They nating one among the rang-and-file designers. The pro- Parisian houses of “haute couture”.32 One could think often met foreigners and regularly traveled abroad. ponents of the more festive dresses made an extra case that under these conditions the whole discussion about In the memories of her colleagues, Gorshkova had of the use of the brilliant Demonstration Hall at GUM — the “house style” of GUM would have lost it actuality. As rather conservative views about fashion and what con- at the time only ODMO at Kuznetsky could boast about a matter of fact, this was not the case. The leadership stituted proper dress code. She was clever enough not anything like it. Beautiful, bright and more festive de- of GUM continued to emphasize that the adaptation of to interfere with the creative questions and left them signs looked much better on the podium than any ev- the designs of GUM into industrial production was after to the artistic leaders of her department, instead tak- eryday wardrobe. During the general euphoria of the all a political question. Sooner or later the citizens of ing care for the most part of the administrative issues. first years of the Fashion department, many expected Moscow could be able to recognize in the streets the The leading designer of the house, Rubin Aaronovich eagerly and triumphantly the future competition with superior designs from GUM and become aware of its Singer, was considered for the post of artistic director ODMO and even with the best Western fashion houses. unique “house style”. In this respect the actual num- of the department, but he did not have formal educa- “This caused many heavy disputes among us. Comrade bers produced were thought to be of only secondary tion in art. Singer had emigrated from pre-war Poland. Singer thought that our designs should compete with importance: “let them (the industry — the authors) take He was one of the leading tailors in post-war Moscow. the Western things and should be ultramodern”, N. Ya. into production just five designs in the year, but such Being a virtuoso tailor he did not turn down profitable Katz remarked in 1955.29 ones which they cannot compare with the designs of private orders during his time as GUM’s main designer It is obvious that the perspective of the GUM fashion the other Fashion houses”.33 In these words the artis- of male clothing. The leadership of the department reaching the world standards greatly appealed to the tic director, D. B. Shimilis declared his own position store was fully aware of his unofficial activities. From leaders of the newly opened Department store and to to the working collective at the end of 1967. He argued 1950 to 1960, many Soviet leaders and famous artists Anastas Mikoyan’s own ambitions as well. On the other that the Department store needed in fact a firm of its were among his clients.26 Singer worked in the fashion hand, the workers at GUM knew, better than anyone own to produce such designs which could not be found department at GUM until his dismissal due to conflicts else, the real conditions of their work, the low level of anywhere else thus echoing a popular stance among with the directors. He then emigrated to the West the consumer goods markets and their own material Soviet fashion designers who eagerly propagated the where he died tragically in a car accident. base. Moreover, in 1955 the whole role of fashion in the production of small series of fashionable clothes which During the first six years, the fashion department Soviet Union was quite ambivalent — many ideologists could be sold in their own “firmennye magaziny” or was totally without any artistic leader because no suit- still believed that it was something totally alien to so- boutiques. able, qualified candidates could be found. The first cialism. To many colleagues the call to “ultramoder- In 1960–1970 the question of the right proportion one to be nominated to the post was David Boriso- nity” sounded quite adventurous if not scaring. Katz in designing, on the one hand, more festive dresses vich Shimilis. He was a graphic designer educated at was therefore quite careful and suggested that GUM’s to the seasonal collection and fashion shows and, on the Moscow Textile Institute and worked at GUM from “house style” should consist of the simplicity of the the other hand, mundane clothes to industrial produc- 1960 until 1976. He came to play an important role in its construction as well as the functionality and elegance tion continued to occupy the minds of the designers at development. of design.30 In practice, the designers of GUM worked GUM. Many continued to claim that the department de- out both everyday and festive clothes, mostly for the signed too many expensive, festive clothes and should women. On the 19th of July, 1955, the first annual report instead design more “cheap and good clothes” to the of the Department was discussed in the extended meet- ordinary consumer.34 In 1974 the director of the Depart- ing of the Party committee of GUM with the presence of ment of fashion A. G. Gorshkova criticized her own de- all the heads of the other departments and sections of signers for not paying “enough attention to designing the whole big department store. In addition to Katz’s practical clothes, such designs that are near to the life oral report the participants were invited to attend a and available to the great majority of our people”.35 In

What was the benefit of good-looking clothing cut beautifully and simply? Did the superstructure have a base to stand on? four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA soviet investment in flamboyance BY Jukka Gronow and Sergey Zhuravlev 33

32 According to Diane Crane, “haute couture” clothes are within the 1960s, GUM’s “house style” was however more or references the reach of no more that one thousand women in the world less firmly established. It consisted of the “utilitarian whereas luxury ready-to-wear clothes have a substantially lar- 1 Interview with D. B. Shimilis, May 6, 2008. fashion”, which was based, more concretely, on the ger market. (Fashion and its Social agendas: Class, Gender, and 2 The Department Number 200 was closed to ordinary custo- following principles: to study the modern fashion with Identity in Clothing. Chicago 2000, p. 136.) mers. It was opened in the middle of the 1950s to provide the great care but with a reservation concerning the use of leaders of the country well as their family members with the 33 D.110.L.170. any “ultra-modern” tendencies, to create comfort in best consumer goods, mostly of foreign origin. 34 D.110.L.102. This particular citation is from 1967. use, as well as simplicity of design combined with mod- 3 3. TsAODM. F.947 (The party organization of GUM). Op 1. 35 D.175.L.31. erate prices. Most of all the designs should be fashion- D.1.L.1; D.165.L. 49 (later in this article all the archival docu- 36 See the minutes of the meetings of the Party organization in able and beautiful too. One should orient oneself not ments refer to this collection. 1966, 1968 and 1973. Ibid. D.105.L.160; D.126.L.15; D.165, L.62. after any “fashion leaders” but rather after the needs 4 Ibid. D.12. P.228. The minutes of the 15th meeting of the Party 37 An international fashion conference of the socialist countries in 1959 released, for instance, a joint statement according to of the ordinary Soviet customer. The collections should committee at GUM, 1955-04-27. 5 Ibid. D.1. L.46. which it was necessary to respect the aesthetic proportions include all kinds of clothes but with a special emphasis 6 Ibid. D.44. L.40. The minutes of the Party organization of the of the figure and the simplicity of the form in both female on the design of practical things which can be used ev- Atelier, September 14, 1959. and male dress. (N.B. Lebina & A. N. Chistikov, Obyvatel’ i eryday at home and at work, in the theater and cinema, 7 Ibid. D.30.L.99-101. reformy: Kartiny provsednevoi zhizni gorozhan v gody NEPa i 36 while on leisure or engaged in sport. 8 The mother of one of the authors still preserves as a kind of a khrushchevskogo desiatiletiya [The citizens and the reforms: If we compare these principles with the rules that family relic her winter overcoat which was sewn at the Atelier Images of the everyday life of townspeople during the NEP were in general used in Soviet fashion world during this GUM in the middle of the 1970s. She was very pleased with the period and Khrushchev’s decade]. St Petersburg 2003, p. 212.) period there was nothing particularly striking about designs and materials available as well as with the quality of the GUM’s “house” style. It followed loyally the general the service and sewing. trends of the Soviet fashion.37 9 TsAODM. F.947. Op.1. D.40. L.70. 10 Ibid. D.1.L.14; D.44.L40. The minutes of the Party organization The designers were often more eager to design fes- of the Atelier September 14, 1959. tive collections than clothes to more mundane use. 11 Ibid. D.16.L.153. The minutes of the Party meeting of the Atelier They had very good reasons to deviate from the princi- and Department of fashion June 19, 1955. ple of “utilitarian fashion”. In designing clothes for the 12 Ibid. D.96. L.79. “high status” international fashion shows “ultra-fash- 13 Ibid. D.96.L.78. The minutes of the Party meeting of the Atelier ionable” designs, in bright tones and often with expen- January 13, 1964. sive additions of fur, were in fact highly appreciated. 14 Ibid.D.44.L.42. The “utilitarian” principle was in need of being revised 15 A. I. Mikoayn was one of the most important union leaders in the entire history of the Soviet Union. After the war, he oc- from time to time since the living conditions improved cupied simultaneously some of the most important positions rapidly in those days. Ordinary people had both a wish in the Party and the government. He was the Minister of Trade and a real possibility to dress better, more varied and (from 1953) and the First Deputy Prime Minister (from 1949), more festive. Consequently, even everyday fashion as well as a member of the Presidium of the Central Commit- changed and became more festive and varied too. tee of the CPSS (from 1952). 16 TsAODM F.947. Op.1. D.12.L.141. The minutes of the meeting of the Party committee GUM, July 19, 1955. With the increasing differentiation of taste it be- 17 In addition to Averyanova (GUM), the delegation consisted of a member of the Trade center (Torgovaya palata), one de- came more difficult to determine the “needs of the legate from TsUM (the Central Department Store which had Soviet mass consumer”. In the 1960s, the designers of a well-known fashion atelier in Moscow as well), as well as a GUM saw how the actual manner of clothing as well representative of the organization Lenodezhda, which was as the demand for fashion among the inhabitants of also engaged in the sewing of custom-made clothes. (Interview Moscow changed quite rapidly. If GUM wished to ori- with L. F. Averyanova, April 30, 2008.) ent its fashion towards to demands of the Muscovites 18 Interview with L. F. Averyanova, April 30, 2008. it had to raise its standards all the time. This became 19 A. Vavilova, GUM’s own model demonstrated the designs particularly clear in the 1960s when the amount of the created at its fashion department. (Interview with A. Vavilova, April 30, 2008.) visitors to its Demonstration hall suddenly decreased 20 TsAODM F. 947. Op.1.D.34.L.137. quite drastically. Many saw the reasons not only in the 21 D.12.L.143. fact that GUM had, under the increasing competition 22 D.165.L.72; D.110.L.125. of all the other, quite numerous fashion organizations, 23 Interview with L. F. Averyanova, April 30, 2008. lost its monopoly in demonstrating fashion in the So- 24 Interview with L. F. Averyanova, April 30, 2008. viet capital. Evidently, the Soviet citizens had gradu- 25 Interview with A. Vavilova and D. B. Shimilis, April 27, 2008. ally turned into more fashion conscious and critical 26 From the 1950s to the 1970s, many designers of GUM took customers who actively compared the designs at GUM on extra work in their leisure time with private orders. The both with the achievements of the domestic and inter- income from these deals was often higher than their official salary at GUM. Naturally, no taxes were paid for this extra national fashion. The Communist Party and the Gov- income. The transfer from the system of “indposhiva” to GUM ernment of the Soviet Union soon discovered that they was in many cases economically not profitable. For instance, faced an almost impossible task in trying to cope with Singer had received 3,000 rubles per month in his previous fashion: the more effort and finances they invested in work place in the Atelier of indposhiva whereas at GUM he the promotion of fashionable clothes — and the more was paid only 1,400 rubles. An interview with L. M. Lobache- complex and many-sided the Soviet system of fashion va (Andreeva), April 30, 2008. See also Alik Singer’s Internet developed — the more demanding did the Soviet cus- publication about his father: www.bdm.ru/arhiv/2006/09/84. tomers get. htm and www.teatr.newizv.ru/news/?IDNews=1251&date ≈ 27 TsAODM. F. 947. Op.1.D.121.L.137. The minutes of the meeting of the Party committee of GUM, July 19, 1955. 28 D.12.L.151-152. Note. — This article is drawn from the forthcoming 29 D.12.L.137. book by the authors, Fashion Meets Socialism (2011). 30 D.12.L.138. All images are from private collections. 31 D.12.L.141.

Fashionable clothing whets the appetite. Champagne won’t suffice. 34

Design of Electronic/Electrical Systems in the Soviet Union from Khrushchev’s Thaw to Gorbachev’s Perestroika made in the ussr four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA made in the ussr BY margareta tillberg 35 36

n the year 2070, “Made in the USSR will be a brand became a swearword. Despite the constant scarcity teresting anomaly within the socialist-realist aesthetic guaranteeing high quality”, dreamed Mikhail La- of just about everything, despite having to wait in line paradigm which dictated the entire aesthetic system in I dur, editor-in-chief of the journal Decorative Arts for staple goods, these low-quality products often re- Soviet art from 1932 to 1991. in the USSR.1 In the early 1960s, the journals of design mained unsold and caused an enormous glut, or zato- With the foundation of VNIITE, a new attitude to- exuded optimism and confidence. Design, “industrial varivanie. The phenomenon of shirpotreb was a result wards industrial production was introduced. Design, arts” (promyshlennoe iskusstvo), was to re-make the of the elimination of market forces, and without any conceived as the visual and organizational restructur- ugly, low-quality products into well-made and appeal- proper market surveys, neither the consumers nor ing of the artificial world for increased quality of life, ing ones. To learn from international experience was their needs were identified. What or how much was to was institutionalized on a wider scale for the first time no doubt of crucial importance; the goal however was be produced was left utterly to chance or the caprice in the USSR. A “design approach” meant the (re-)organi- to formulate a supremely Soviet brand. of those in power. The postponement of happiness in zation of the visual and material environment to make The display of home kitchens at the American Na- the wait for the communist paradise that lurked in a it more functional, that is, more effective from the per- tional Exhibition in Moscow in 1959 shocked people in constant tomorrow needed more concrete, material spective of the user. The goal of the design efforts was the Soviet Union and resulted in the so-called kitchen rewards today. Concerned with securing his popular- to create more comfortable living and work spaces in debate in the media between Soviet leader Nikita ity, away from the public eye, Khrushchev quickly as- the era of increased automation — be it for the scientific Khrushchev, and US leader Richard Nixon.2 The US sembled a group of individuals who were to tackle the organization of the apartment interiors of the housing exhibition showed ideal, fully equipped kitchens with competition to “catch up with and surpass America”. blocks that were built in the millions after the war, or abundant high-tech electrical devices in the service of A few years later, VNIITE, the Federal Scientific for the worker at the conveyor belt. This new approach making the life of the suburban American housewife Research Institute for Technological Aesthetics (Vse- was an alternative fundamentally different from the even more glamorous. Clever propaganda is effec- soiuznyi nauchno-issledovatel’skyi institut tekhnicheskoi then current technocratic worldview.5 Instead of the tive. The US initiative of showing the latest technology estetiki), was inaugurated. Founded in Moscow in 1962, precedence of the production system narrow-minded- for the home shifted the attention from prestigious VNIITE, one of the many scientific research institutes ly taking care only of its own well-being, attention was military displays to the everyday, and thus made the created in the 1960s that were focused on applied sci- now increasingly to be paid to the people who animat- enormous contrasts between the American and So- ence, was, however, the only institute devoted to the ed it. In the sense of technology in the service of the in- viet ways of life painfully visible. Showing that it was aesthetic and ergonomic user side of design and con- dividual user (from the inhabitants of the new housing possible to make women’s lives easier with high-tech struction.3 As an institute for production design (what and their toilet plumber to the airplane pilot) this might electrical appliances even made the blessings of space technological aesthetics concerned itself with), one of appear as nothing more than common sense, but in the travel seem very distant for visitors to the exhibition, VNIITE’s tasks was to improve the conditions of pro- Soviet Union this perspective was a revolution of sorts. many of whom were lonely mothers from dirty and duction as well as the products in, above all, heavy in- noisy communal apartments on one of the innumer- dustry, especially machine and tool construction. This able Lenin Streets in Leningrad, Asbestos, Stalinsk, or industrial branch of the economy was the pride of the In a country with prison labor camps in the Sibe- any of the other in the Soviet Union. Neverthe- Soviet Union and was often put on display (recall all the rian permafrost and Kazakh deserts, a total lack of re- less, Khrushchev’s public response was: “We too have images from production plants and factories shown in spect for human dignity had so far been the hallmark of these things.” Despite Khrushchev’s public reaction to Soviet propaganda). To be sure, reverse engineering the way industrial production was conducted, as well the enviable American display, he was well aware that, and styling to make technologically outdated goods ap- as of the possibility of consuming what came out. The in comparison, his own country fell short. pear more fashionable was applied to achieve quick re- design endeavor formulated at VNIITE meant that the The average standard of living was much lower in sults, but, additionally, one of the tasks of the institute human side of the man-machine constellation was tak- the USSR than in the West. The main output of Soviet was to “invent” design methods within the planned en seriously, a position which had been taken neither in industry was military equipment. Goods for personal economy by exploring the technology–science–art re- industrial production nor in display technologies such consumption were constantly in short supply. The pro- lation as much as possible. as nuclear power plants.6 When taking into account duction of consumer goods, or shirpotreb — the term One key was finding a language common to these the tradition of forced labor in concentration camps or is a typical Soviet potpourri of abbreviations, literally different spheres of culture. Since the engineers liked the extreme adaptation to the spaceships demanded “goods for broad consumption” — was given low pri- the notion of “objectivity”, an extensive discourse took of the Soviet cosmonauts, a design approach meant a ority. Forced upon the factory directors from above, place in journals and books on design about reconciling radical break with the past. A remedy for the deep cri- mostly leftover materials and machines not designed the culture of artists and that of engineers. In his article sis between the state and its citizens in the wake of the for more important goals were used. The products “On the Aesthetic Values of the Machine”, the Marx- revelation of Stalin’s crimes, VNIITE became an experi- produced were so unpopular that shirpotreb gradually ist philosopher of art Karl Kantor suggested that this mental free zone for discussion of the position in the ephemeral concept can be understood by connecting system of human agency in a wider sense. Technology the beauty of the artifact with the “objective beauty” of should not decide everything any more, and instead mathematics.4 With its geometric forms, the modern- of the worker being seen in terms of masses of cadres, ist style delivered this “objective” universal language, individual varieties and preferences were at last to be which was at the same time appropriate because it was introduced in the policy of the Five-Year Plan. In the able to provide shapes for standard modules. structure of the enterprise and the factory, this meant With respect to the fashion of styling of goods, in- that the technical experts (constructors, engineers) in teresting asymmetries appear when comparing the control were now to be flanked by designers (artist- public discourse of art and that of design. Interestingly constructors, artist-engineers).7 enough, 1960s and 1970s progressive life was embod- One of the major projects of VNIITE was the re- ied in the modernist style preferred by the very high- design of the entire electronic/electrical industry for est echelons, such as those responsible for Soviet trade measuring tools. ElektroMera (Russian for “Electr(on)ic contacts with the West. With the Soviet wish to appear Measurement Instruments”) was a design project con- as a technologically advanced, progressive society in ceptualized for the electrical and electronics industry the international arena, journals on production design between 1973 and 1979. It was a collaboration among and decorative arts promoted a restrained and sober the State Planning Committee (Gosplan), the State 1960s modernism from the Baltic States, Scandinavia, Committee for Science and Technology, the Council and Finland, whereas the ornamental Stalinist style of Ministers of the USSR (Gosudarstvennyi komitet po was given as an example of bad taste. Promoting mod- nauke i tekhnike soveta ministrov SSSR — GKNT), and ernism, the design discourse thereby constitutes an in- the Ministry of the Instruments Industry, Means of

They wanted to take control over how people run their daily lives. He who creates has the initiative. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA made in the ussr BY margareta tillberg 37

Automation and Systems Management (Ministerstvo dardization of these branches had not been sufficiently dancy of the same models produced in such small priborostroeniia, sredstv avtomatizatsiii i sistem uprav- inculcated. quantities that they reached only the uppermost elite. lenii). ElektroMera was intended for an initial launch The ElektroMera initiative was a consequence of ac- The lack of planning was to be solved through an opti- on a nationwide scale as a preliminary test, with the tions already taken in the sphere of standardization. mization of the assortment which embraced ideas of ultimate goal of competing with companies such as Sie- According to reports published in Pravda in 1965, sur- standardization of the basic needs of the user/consum- mens and General Electrics on the world market. veys conducted of control and measuring instruments er. Therefore it was first of all thought to be necessary ElektroMera was to pave the way for the produc- yielded alarming results: as many as half the devices to redesign the type of goods that were produced and tion of electrical household goods. Although electri- tested did not meet the required quality standards, and then the individual goods themselves.14 cal devices became increasingly available to Soviet major resources were wasted on their repair and ad- With its goal of coordinating “technological compat- consumers in the late 1960s and 1970s, tape recorders justment.9 In 1965, the State Committee for Standards ibility” with “visual harmony”, ElektroMera wanted to and washing machines were not widely circulated. received additional financial support; a state standard- “universalize” all the units of production. A prerequi- ElektroMera was also a concrete project for material- ization was included in the 1966–1970 Five-Year Plan; site for the planning of the material world on a large izing this new policy of concern for the user, both in the the new periodical Standarty i kachestvo (Standards scale was the use of standardized modules, rather sense of the factory worker, and the private consumer. and quality) was launched in 1966, and in 1970 a “state than complicated, randomly decorated objects. For ElektroMera was a far-reaching project for media and system of standardization” was introduced.10 multipurpose objects, every detail needed to be inter- communication which involved a great deal of science ElektroMera was backed up by the infrastructures changeably formulated and constructed. and technology that lay between military (prioritized) and human resources of VNIITE. As a “grade-one in- ElektroMera was to unify the principles of planning and civil (non-prioritized) production. The experiences stitute”, VNIITE had access to the newest information and designing machinery, equipment, and buildings, in gained from this project could thus subsequently — and in the design field, and could play an important role order to economize the design effort on multiple levels this was the idea — be applied in the sphere of private in the transformation of old routines and the initiation of production. The aim of the program was a “systemic consumer goods. International examples showed suc- of new ones. The state-subsidized VNIITE was in the approach to planning, self-financing, organization, and cess was within reach. The popular Vespa had shown unique position of having both the expertise and the automation of control and management”.15 In order to that the production of fighter aircrafts could be shifted size to propose and participate in projects of a mag- redesign the production processes of the hundreds of to the production of affordable means of transporta- nitude that even the biggest international companies thousands of workers responsible for the manufacture tion. With its small rubber wheels, the scooter proved were scarcely able to afford. VNIITE could call on the of more than 1,500 products, a clever algorithm had to to fit the rough Italian roads perfectly. diverse expertise of every design bureau and scientific be defined. The “metalevel” called for was to approach The ElektroMera project was an experiment in the research institute within its entire all-union network. all the material objects as a single system. This system restructuring of production, logistics, and artifacts, With regional offices rapidly established in industrial would be made coherent by standardizing and connect- with user-friendliness as its goal. It was led and super- centers all over the country, VNIITE was the biggest ing all the functions of the products with every part of vised by designers and it was the first large-scale design design institute in the world until 1991, when state sub- the industrial conglomerate. The material system was project ever in the Soviet Union. Earlier, the designers sidies decreased drastically.11 Its interdisciplinary work subdivided into “means of production” and “product” in the Soviet Union had mostly worked with small- methods, characteristic of military research in general, with all the different appliances conceptualized as one scale, isolated artifacts. show many similarities to what is today called collabor- single product. The method for restructuring entailed ElektroMera’s logo was an “M” — reminiscent of an ative design.12 The collaboration expertise ranged from unifying all the material resources and all the proce- electromagnetic impulse diagram. Its goal was no less engineers, inventors, architects, and methodologists to dures of interaction with those resources, according to than to reorganize and coordinate an entire industrial standards experts, managers, economists, and human a clustering principle based on a complex set of stan- branch to make it standardized in a country with elev- factors specialists. Most importantly, however, was that dardizations. The nomenclature and assortment of the en time zones and a population of more than 300 mil- the executive group that coordinated the whole project electro-products had to be optimized, with the chal- lion. It was developed within the Electr(on)ic Measure- consisted of designers. lenge being the formulation of a maximum of functions ment Instruments Association (SouizElektroPribor), from a limited selection of simple elements. The initial a conglomerate that included nearly all producers of step was to make the parameters, the metrology, and electrical and electronic measuring devices (different In an article in Tekhnicheskaia estetika (Technologi- the constructions compatible. Modules were defined, kinds of metrology equipment, gauges, indicators, cal aesthetics), the heads of the executive group, Dmit- thus enabling a quick and convenient modernization etc.) in the USSR. The conglomerate comprised thirty- ry Azrikan and Dmitry Schelkunov, presented their of select parts.16 two factories with a combined productive output that ElektroMera design brief. Their goal was, in their own Much effort was put into making a product with consisted of, among other things, around one and a words, to coordinate the “technical compatibility”, to greater transparency, which communicated with the half thousand devices, apparatuses, instruments, and induce “ergonomic equivalence”, and to create “visual user in a coherent way. The functions therefore had to assemblies of instruments, and that covered nearly ev- harmony”.13 Considering the well-known notion of be directly linked to the construction. The task was to ery part of the economy.8 standardization as a fundamental requisite for effective coordinate the many different instruments and equip There were numerous reasons why the electronic industrial production, this sounds like old news. The them with a common user interface.17 The user-cen- and electrical measurement industry was picked for concept of interchangeable parts was introduced in the tered functions were optimized in collaboration with this pilot project. For a military superpower at this US weapons industry even before the American Civil VNIITE’s test laboratory for ergonomics. The machines time, defense technology meant electronics, nuclear War in 1861, and the Berlin-based electricity company should “actively turn” to the operator, as underlined research, rocketry, aviation, and weapons systems. And AEG secured their market by hiring the architect Peter by Azrikan and Schelkunov. The same clustering and last but not least, the high level of accidents caused by Behrens in 1907 to bring about its corporate identity, standardizing principles used for the material product the human factor called for ergonomic adjustments. with the products and the graphic profile sharing com- were applied to the overarching structure. As the com- Since measuring devices are crucial to controlling mon features. mon language of the entire design program, the cor- systems and automation, increased attention was de- ElektroMera’s conceptual invention, however, was porate design “cemented” all the components into a voted to this wide-ranging area of production in the the redefinition of the entire system of relations that visual entirety. 1960s. The radio systems and radio telemetry used in embraced man and the artificial environment, from the In short, ElektroMera’s special mission was to for- space exploration, for the moon landing vehicle, re- nationwide meta-structure down to the working condi- mulate an alternative to the system of production cur- connaissance of satellites, and other remote-controlled tions on the shop floor to the fruits of labor distributed rent at the time and the clumsy artifacts produced by it. devices demanded precise measurements as did pipe- to improve the acoustic quality in a music lover’s living ElektroMera was to materialize the concrete products lines, electric power lines, hydroelectric power plants, room. The idea was to produce a few models of decent and give them a specific “socialist” identity. Above and and all kinds of automated systems operated by remote goods on a mass scale, so as to reach the majority of beyond the obvious money-saving advantages from a control. Despite the centralized planning system, stan- consumers, in contrast to the existing chaotic redun- nation-wide meta-structuring, they were to make a dif-

Technical everyday objects qua moving parts in the machinery of society. Like man. 38

ference in the real-world working conditions along the sources on the development of computer networks to economy had in comparison with the limitations of conveyor belt and the radio-listening in the kitchen. interconnect factories with Gosplan, the State Planning rival firms in the capitalist system. Less than twenty organization at the top. One important agent high up years later, the goods deriving from ElektroMera were Due to the post–World War II economic crisis, vari- in the hierarchy who could connect Gosplan with the to be launched. ElektroMera was to change the face of ous models of how to make Soviet production become Ministry of Instrumentation, Automation and Control the Soviet Union nation-wide with its goal of bridging more effective were discussed.18 raised Systems was Germen (Dzhermen) Gvishiani, the vice the enormous gap between wishful thinking and the expectations that the material world would be refor- chairman, in effect chief executive, of GKNK. A state concrete electrical devices available to consumers. The mulated, and promised new ways of achieving social committee for applied science and technology, Gv- first electrical devices were to be put on sale by 1980, goals, and, within economics, it was a method of op- ishiani furthered methods of cybernetic management. coinciding with the promises as to when the bright fu- timizing the functioning of the system. The rise of the Himself the author of numerous books on industrial ture of Communism was to be reached. designer as a new profession that would introduce in- management24, the progressive Gvishiani was espe- In 1979 hundreds of boards and realistically looking novation and change into the essentially static produc- cially excited about ElektroMera, as a design project for prototypes (see illustrations) were shown in VNIITE’s tion structures coincided with the years when cyber- the real world. He was closely associated with Kosygin own exhibition hall at the Pushkin Square in central netics developed into being something close to a nearly via marriage to Kosygin’s daughter (Kosygin, Premier Moscow, followed by a tour of exhibitions worldwide universal remedy for problems in the Soviet Union.19 of the Soviet Union, was himself also a practical man, (for example in Germany, Yugoslavia, India, and Fin- Nevertheless, in the Soviet case, the link between cy- as a former textile engineer, a minister for finance and land). After showing the ElektroMera project to a del- bernetics and design has hitherto received no scholarly minister for light industry). egation from Siemens visiting Moscow, Yuri Soloviev, attention. The literature on cybernetics and economics The early 1970s saw not only the launching of Elek- director of VNIITE, recalls: “They were shaken: if this is abundant. These studies, however, do not pay any troMera on an experimental level, but also that of program was implemented and its products were to heed to the human side of the system, but only to quan- OGAS, a nation-wide computer network for the col- appear on the market, they said it would be a very seri- titative efficiency. I have spent some time pondering lection and processing of information for the planning ous blow for them.”30 these topics and have come to realize that ElektroMera and management of the national economy.25 As a re- With its motto “Workers of the world, unite!” the conceptualized the material base for the theories for- placement for the existing, disorderly overlapping of Soviet Union built a society during its almost seventy mulated within the framework of cybernetic modeling information, these computer centers would assemble years of existence that so differed from the Western and computer networks of the 1960s and 1970s. and re-distribute information from all fields of the na- capitalist model — which was intrinsic to the definition During the years of increased automation, from the tional economy, from the top of the state planning sys- of design in the canonical literature of the field — that early 1960s to the end of the 1970s, a number of initia- tem, Gosplan, down to the material-technical base. The even the most basic notions of design do not apply.31 To tives to reform and optimize the sphere of economics computer network was to rationalize and reorganize date, the general interest of the young academic dis- were introduced in the Soviet Union. In November production on a national-economic level, and the de- cipline of design history has mostly centered on con- 1962, at a Central Committee Plenum, Khrushchev sign efforts projected by VNIITE were to give life to real sumer goods in the affluent world. Given the common pressured his party colleagues to assume rational man- products. Fitting into the channels of information be- Western success story of industrial design as a market- agement methods that would be easier to implement in coming flesh, the goods produced were to be material- ing strategy to increase sales, it becomes clear that a dif- the system of centralized state-owned economy than ized through ElektroMera. With standardized electron- ferent set of tools is required to describe design made under capitalism, with its fragmented structure of pri- ics compatible with ElektroMera, the smallest entities in the Soviet Bloc.32 vate companies.20 In preparation for Aleksei Kosygin’s of computer systems, in combination with a unified economic reform in 1965 with its call for increased flex- branch system for electronics and measurement tools, ibility and a shift from heavy to light industry, even would unite different factories and companies and ul- So far, presentations of design in Eastern Europe Western methods of management were extensively ex- timately the whole Eastern Bloc. East Germany, with during the Cold War have made additions of a chair, a amined.21 With the goal of finding ways to raise the ef- its standards that were compatible to , sputnik, and a car to the canon of design. ElektroMera, ficiency of the socialist production system without giv- forms an especially interesting case.26 however — the “artifact” that my inquiry investigates ing way to the evils of the capitalist market, the use of During the early 1960s one of the most vital spheres — is of an entirely different magnitude. In order to do mathematical modeling and computer networks was of activity of COMECON was to coordinate and consoli- this investigation, not only the designed artifact needs put forward as a better alternative.22 date the production processes and the products of the redefinition, but also the borders of academic disci- member countries.27 A coherent system of standards plines. The objects of inquiry require a wider context represented one of the first significant steps towards than that established by the mere pin-pointing of style, In one of these models, “industrial cybernetics”, effective compatibility and integration of applied sci- a typical art history approach, or by giving descriptions sometimes called “management cybernetics”, for ence, technology, and design. Given that transfer of of machines, devices, processes, and structures, as is example as introduced by Stafford Beer for the steel knowledge was of paramount importance within the done in traditional history of technology. These efforts industry in , information was derived from Soviet Bloc, standardization was essential in facilitat- are not sufficient to analyze design as the systemic mathematical simulations which replaced information ing cooperation among the socialist countries, but was organization in the service of enabling flexibility and obtained from the market. Since supply and demand also a means of consolidating the border with the West: change — including a focus on the comfort of the user were nonexistent in the planned economy, the cyber- in order to produce a self-sufficient economy, the eco- without excluding aesthetic concerns. What I propose, neticians leaned upon “objective computations”.23 In nomic zone has to be clearly defined. therefore, is the alternative of discussing design in a Beer’s model, the exceedingly complex, probabilis- Cybernetics offered a major advantage to a dicta- context of systems thinking and cybernetics and ergo- tic company was likened to a homeostat, adaptable torship like the Soviet Union in that it “broadened the nomics — without excluding art history and aesthetics and self-regulatory like a living “organism” where the range of controllable processes”, as Aksel Berg, Chair- — to render visible characteristics that have so far not standard market mechanisms of supply and demand man of the Council on Cybernetics, insisted. This was been considered. were replaced by feedback loops with data about sales “its essence and major merit”.28 The publication in 1961 If we are to make a meaningful connection between rates, materials available, costs, and so on. Translated of his book on cybernetics in communism29 coincided design and the productive processes that are shaping into cybernetic terms, the entire Soviet economy was with the erection of the Berlin Wall. Now the Soviet the world, I suggest that we must look toward the de- seen as an enormous organism that could be optimized Bloc had its defined economic zone, and the experi- sign of systems, and not only to how the individual car by way of computer networks through the channeling ments with cybernetic management could be trans- is streamlined, or how the legs of a table are bent. Form and management of information flows. ferred from the realm experimental simulations to the implies fixity, and once set up, it cannot be adjusted With its potential to concentrate enormous resourc- real world. to its environment. Therefore, as suggested by histo- es on research projects that did not need to provide The early 1960s was a time characterized by a fear in rian of architecture Brandon Hookway, “we must look any immediate profit, the USSR spent considerable re- the West of the potential that a centralized command at the design of systems as well as the changing role

Those demiurges of real-socialism. Patternmakers expect perfection. four ESSAYS ON RUSSIA made in the ussr BY margareta tillberg 39

Models and prototypes for factory departments and work clothes for the electrical measuring industry in the Soviet Union (ElektroMera). made in the ussr 40

of typologization of complex objects in design], Moscow: of the designer in the productive process as a whole, references Trudy VNIITE 1985/48; D. A. Azrikan, “Metodicheskaia model’ 33 rather than simply the design of forms”. In this arti- ob’ekta dizajna” [Methodological model of a design object], 1 Mikhail Ladur, “Programma i sozidaniia” [Program and crea- cle, ElektroMera was discussed in such a framework. Tekhnicheskaia estetika 1982:9. tivity], in Dekorativnoe iskusstvo v SSSR [Decorative arts in the Boiled down to its very basics, what these complex 18 Jozef Wilczynski, Technology in Comecon, London 1974., pp. USSR], 1961:10. 115–133; Michael Ellman, Soviet Planning Today: Proposals for phenomena that connected design and cybernetics in 2 See for example Susan E. Reid, “‘Our Kitchen Is Just as Good’: an Optimally Functioning Economic System, Cambridge 1971. the Soviet Union all had in common was standardiza- Soviet Responses to the American Kitchen”, in R. Oldenziel 19 For the development of cybernetics in the Soviet Union, see tion — or rather the problem of lacking implemented & K. Zachmann, (eds.), Cold War Kitchen: Americanization, Loren R. Graham, Science, , and Human Behavior standardization, and although the ambitious design Technology, and European Users, Cambridge 2009, pp. 83–112. – in the Soviet Union, New York 1987, pp. 266–294, and Slava Nixon was at that time vice president of the United States. historian should investigate these phenomena from the Gerovitch, From Newspeak to Cyberspeak: A History of Soviet 3 The “scientific-research institutes” that carried out applied hands-on oily bolts and screws to the abstraction of the Cybernetics, Cambridge, Mass. & London 2002. research by 1968 numbered 2,388. Of these, about 400 entire artificial world, here we confined ourselves to a 20 Nikita S. Khruschev, Razvitie ekonomiki SSSR i partiinoe rukov- concerned themselves with engineering, and about 1,000 few aspects.34 odstvo narodnym khoziaistvom: doklad na Pleniume TsK KPSS served as independent construction bureaus. See Raymond Despite good intentions, was but one 19 noiabria 1962 goda [Economic development in the USSR ElektroMera Hutchings, Soviet Science, Technology, Design: Interaction and 35 and party leadership of the national economy: Speech at the more failed large-scale project in Soviet industry. It Convergence, Oxford 1976, pp. 28–29. Hutchings incorrectly November 19 Plenum of the Central Committee of the Com- is not within my competence to explain as to why the calls the construction bureaus “design bureaus” which causes munist Party of the Soviet Union], Moscow 1962, p. 33. efforts to make Soviet products of consumption more confusion insofar as their work did not include any ergonomic 21 See for example Dzhermen M. Gvishiani, Sotsiologiia biznesa: or aesthetic considerations whatsoever. widely available were eroded by inconsistencies and Kriticheskii ocherk amerikanskoi teorii menedzhmenta [Busi- 4 Karl M. Kantor, “Ob esteticheskoi tsennosti mashiny” [On the corruption. Rather than their failure, my concern is ness sociology: A critical essay on American theory of manage- aesthetic value of the machine], in Krasota i pol’za: Sotsiologi- to place them in relief outside the paradigm of current ment], Moscow 1962. cheskie voprosy material’no-khuduzhestvennoi kul’tury [Beauty design history, for otherwise they would have been dis- 22 Michael Ellman, Soviet Planning Today: Proposals for an Opti- and function: Sociological issues concerning artistic aspects carded as not actualized possibilities.36 mally Functioning Economic System, Cambridge 1971; William of material culture], Moscow 1967. For a history of the concept Conyngham, J., The Modernization of Soviet Industrial Manage- The Soviet military dictatorship is known as a soci- of objectivity, see Lorraine Daston & Peter Galison, Objectivity, ment, Cambridge 1982. ety with little concern for the well-being of its civilian New York 2007. 23 Stafford Beer’sCybernetics and Management (1959) appeared subjects. Nevertheless, as my investigations on design 5 For description of technocratism in the USSR, see for example in numerous editions in the Soviet Union. The second Russian from the 1960s to the 1980s show, wide-ranging ef- Loren R. Graham, (ed.), Science and the Soviet Social Order, edition was published in 1965, the same year that Kosygin un- forts and considerable financial resources were spent Cambridge, Mass. 1990, and Paul R. Josephson, Industrialized leashed his countrywide economic reform. on research to change this, at least within the limits of Nature: Brute Force Technology and the Transformation of the 24 Gvishiani had edited translations on this topic with authors Natural World, Washington 2002. the projects and experiments. In the attempt to make from the United States. 6 The ergonomic shortages at Chernobyl are discussed in Mar- concrete consumer goods, ElektroMera was a reality 25 Frank Dittmann, “Technik versus Konflikt”,Osteuropa , vol. gareta Tillberg, “Atomdesign: Die Kontrollräume von Tscher- check, with the important aspect, as I see it, that it chal- 59:10. nobyl”, in C. Bigg & J. Hennig (eds.), Atombilder: Ikonografien 26 For standardization within the Soviet Bloc, see Raymond G. lenged the view of whether products should be made des Atoms in Wissenschaft und Öffentlichkeit des 20. Jahrhun- Stokes, Constructing Socialism: Technology and Change in East for military display or for making the non-glamorous derts, München 2009. Germany 1945–1990. Baltimore & London 2000. every-day life more livable. Whether the state concern 7 In the literature glavnyi konstruktor, e.g. the chief engineer, is 27 Grigorii I. El’kin and Evgenii R. Petrosian, (eds.), Standarti- was really for the well-being of the people, or only often translated as “designer” even though no consideration is zatsiia v Rossii [Standardization in Russia], 1925–2005, Moscow about putting power on display, is a judgment beyond given to the user of the machine. 2005. the scope of this article. 8 L. A. Kuzmichev & D.N. Schelkunov, “Dizajn-programma VO 28 Aksel I. Berg, “Kibernetika i nauchno-tekhnicheskii progress” ‘Soiuzelektropribor’” [The design program for the conglo- ElektroMera was to have integrated Lenin’s grandi- [Cybernetics and scientific-technological progress], in A. Ku- meration of all-union electric instruments], Tekhnicheskaia zin, ed., Biologicheskie aspekty kibernetiki [Biological aspects ose plan for electrification, Stalin’s plan for automa- estetika 1981:9. of cybernetics], Moscow 1962. tion, and Khrushchev’s plan for the cybernetization of 9 Raymond Hutchings, Soviet Science, Technology, Design: Inte- 29 Aksel I. Berg, (ed.), Kibernetiku — na sluzhbu kommunizmu the whole country. raction and Convergence, Oxford 1976, pp. 104–109. [Cybernetics — in the service of communism], Moscow & But the Soviet dream world was closer to catastro- 10 Grigorii I. El’kin & Evgenii R. Petrosian, (eds.), Standartizatsiia Leningrad 1961. phe than to reality. The Berlin Wall fell and companies v Rossii 1925–2005 [Standardization in Russia 1925–2005], Mos- 30 Yuri Soloviev, Moia zhizn’ v dizajne [My life in design], Moscow in the capitalist world such as Siemens and General cow 2005, pp. 7–39. 1994, p. 194. Electrics could, once again, breathe freely. “Made in 11 At the most, around 2,000 people were hired directly by the 31 For a recent discussion on the redefinition of design, though institute, with up to about 8,000 more involved in one way or the USSR” was a dream which never came to be. not taking into account the Eastern Bloc, see the Journal of De- ≈ another, some on a project basis, some part-time, see Dmitry sign History: Special Issue; The Current State of Design History, Azrikan, “Vniite, Dinosaur of Totalitarianism or Plato’s Aca- vol. 22:4. demy of Design?”, Design Issues, vol. 15:3. 32 Hitherto, the design literature on Eastern Europe and the 12 See further Margareta Tillberg, “Collaborative Design: The Soviet Union has avoided problematizing the definition of de- Electric Industry in Soviet Russia 1973–79”, in Focused: Swiss sign. See for example the recent exhibition catalogue edited Design Network, Bern 2008. by David Crowley and Jane Pavitt, Cold War Modern: Design 13 D. A. Azrikan & D. N. Schelkunov, “O kontseptsii firmennogo 1945–1970, London, 2008. On post–World War II Soviet and stilia VO ‘Soiuzelektropribor’”, Tekhnicheskaia estetika 1976:2. Russian design, see additionally writings by Constantin Boym, 14 Yu. B. Soloviev, “Ob assortimente bytovykh izdelii” [On the as- Alexander Lavrentiev, Yuri Nazarov, Susan B. Reid, et.al. sortment of domestic goods], Tekhnicheskaia estetika. 1966:6. 33 Brandon Hookway, “Cockpit”, in Beatriz Colomina, et. al., 15 Azrikan & Schelkunov, “O kontseptsii”, Tekhnicheskaia estetika (eds.), Cold War Hothouses: Inventing Postwar Culture from 1976/2: 3. Cockpit to Playboy, Princeton 2004, p. 45. 16 Dmitrii Azrikan, “Sistema sredstv elektroizmeritel’noi tekh- 34 The story of standardization and logistics in the Soviet Union niki” [The system of remedies for the electro-measurement is to my knowledge not yet written. The history of logistics in technology], Tekhnicheskaia estetika 1981:9. the West is currently being studied by Monica Dommann. 17 Vladimir P. Zinchenko, “Postroenie informatsionnykh modelei 35 For the problem of implementation, see , v sistemakh upravleniia”, in Ergonomika: Printsipy i rekom- “The Cybernetics Scare and the Origins of the Internet”, Baltic mendatsii, Moscow 1970 [Construction of information models Worlds, vol. II:1; Clive Dilnot, “Some Futures for Design His- in systems for operation, in Ergonomics: Principles and re- tory?”, Journal of Design History, vol. 22:4. commendations]; Dmitrii Azrikan, “Tipologicheskaia model’ kompleksa produktsii”, in Problemy tipologicheskogo modeliro- vaniia kompleksnykh ob’ektov dizajna [Problems of typologiza- tion in the modeling of complex design objects], in [Problems

Does the aesthetic value arise in its manufacture? Or only in the rejected eye of a beholder? Commentaries41

Postcolonial Age, or postcolonial Eastern and Central Europe? Critical remarks from a Hungarian point of view

illustration: ragni svensson

n light of developments in recent reflects earlier conditions — as wit- all new; and even if the timing of the World War I, the portrayl of Austrians decades, adapting postcolonial nessed by the wide range of articles that emergence of the idea can be debated, as colonizers became dominant: the critiques towards the post-Soviet have come out since the second half of we can without question encounter it representative five-volume historio- sphere of interest has become the 1990s through today, analyzing East- in Hungarian literature by the late 18th graphical work, Hungarian History routine. In this process, David Chioni ern and Central Europe from a postco- century, as exemplified by Pál Ányos’s (1928) written by Bálint Hóman and Moore’s study has played a significant lonial perspective. poem entitled Kalapos Király [Hatted Gyula Szekfü, often and clearly refers to role, the first version of which was King].3 It was also present in the first Hungary’s colonial subjugation by Vi- presented in . Later, his ideas half of the 19th century in the internal enna, whether the rulers were Leopold were presented again during around- At the same time it should be borne Hungarian discourse, to be sure, though or Maria Theres or their successors.6 the-world conference tours from in mind that when talking about the in the context of a possible threat by Interwar period discourses searching Tashkent State University to Harvard colonial status of Central and Eastern Russia, Austria, and Germany (see e.g. for Hungary’s possible roles were in any at a number of research centers, and Europe, and possible liberation, we are Lajos Kossuth and József Eötvös, both event nurtured colonial metaphors in in 2002 the study was published in the not singing a completely unheard-of of whom played a key role in Hungarian a remarkable diversity, and the politi- journal of the Modern Language Associ- tune — this should be evident to most politics and culture in the 19th century); cal options that took advantage of this ation.1 Its impact is reflected in its even readers, but postcolonial researchers after the events of 1848–1849 the view of flourishing tropology were very often having inspired an entire collection of tend to forget about this. For Moore, for Hungary as a was understand- incompatible, to say the least. essays, recently published under the instance, one of postcolonial critique’s ably strengthened, to the extent that by Thus by the time of the Communist title Baltic Postcolonialism.2 main virtues is that it “has also illumi- the early 20th century, historiography takeover in Hungary, we are already The analysis of the state of affairs nated parallels between areas hereto- interpreted not only the Turks but also dealing with a common, time-honored with which Moore confronts us in his fore seen as noncomparable” (p. 12). the Habsburg Empire of the Rákóczi system of metaphors, and it would have thought-provoking study, written over However, raising the issue of the era4 as a colonial power (see e.g. Sándor been odd for no one to have dipped the course of almost ten years, rather region’s colonial dependence is not at Márki’s monography on Rákóczi).5 After into it.7 Apart from the reminiscings of Commentaries42

people living at the time and samizdat perspective, and they could be recog- literature, we know from state security nized as manifestations of the alleged conceptual Inflation archives that this system of metaphors “national fate”. Since historiography was in fact commonplace. In the early was fond of assuming that studying the David Chioni Moore’s influential on the literatures and cultures of the fifties for instance, Tibor Lutter, in no past and pondering the possibilities and essay “Is the Post- in Postcolonial postcolonial-post-Soviet nations, way anti-regime, has, among “friends”, decisions of our ancestors could assist the Post- in Post-Soviet?”, discussed including Russia. He adds that the compared the country’s situation to the in adopting the best measures, redis- by Tamás Scheibner in a polemical specific modalities of Russian-Soviet 150-year-long Turkish occupation (tra- covering the nation’s supposed colonial commentary taken from the Hun- control, as well as their post-Soviet ditionally understood as colonization). subjugation over and over again may garian journal 2000, proposes si- reverberations, have differed from After 1956, the supposition that Bach also have contributed to the formation multaneous critiques of post-Soviet the standard Anglo-French cases; Era8 behavior could be normative can of a new political agenda.10 studies that are both too narrowly but then again, to privilege the be seen as widespread in intellectual From this perspective, the idea of postcolonial and too parochial; Anglo-French cases as the colonizing circles, while in the sixties and seventies being colonized has been a major factor consequently, it is addressed to standard and to call the Russian- different forms of “passive resistance” in the efforts of national communities to both groups at once. It is no doubt Soviet experiences deviations is helped the self-definition of many intel- create a continuous history, in which in- true, he argues, that there is, on this wrongly to perpetuate the already lectual actors. terruptions and deprivations of national planet, not a single square meter of superannuated centrality of the In the eighties, the discourse prying self-governance in fact prove to be re- inhabited land that has not been, at Western or Anglo-French world, into the “Soviet bloc” countries or na- inforcements of the sense of continuity. one time or another, colonized and which has seen Russia as inferior for tions was sharpened in samizdat pub- Just as important, however, is that then become postcolonial. a long time. lications and international or émigré the system of metaphors that refers to According to Moore, it should be forums, and metaphors of colonial ex- the colonial existence laid the basis for clear that the term “postcolonial” As for universalizing the post- istence once again played a significant an ever-expanding, global comparative and everything that goes with it — colonial condition, Moore supports role in this. investigation, making it possible to dis- language, economy, politics, resist- such a move. Even after postcolonial cover common traits and an “identical ance, liberation and its hangover regions are cross-hatched, certain essence” in often strongly diverging — might reasonably be applied to smaller zones remain unmarked. At the highly significant 1988 Lisbon complex systems of political, economic, the formerly Russian- and Soviet- However, these zones, by their rar- conference, which generated a wide and cultural relations which previously controlled regions post-1989 and ity at least, stand not outside but in response, Josef Skvorecký, György Kon- were not thought to have any obvious -1991, just as it has been applied to relation to a global (post)coloniality. rád, Danilo Kiš, and above all Czesław connection to one another. The nation South Asia post-1947 or Africa post- Moore speaks here, for example, of Miłosz, in a dispute with Tatyana Tol- or national component that was defined 1958. Is the net result of all these created buffer states, whose historic staya and Brodsky, urged the recogni- as the unit of comparison was simply items — each subject to a complex freedoms from Western and Russian- tion of Central Europe’s existence, as added next to, for example, African, bibliography — some version of “co- Soviet control were due, in part, to an act of decolonization in the spirit of as in African American, or as in the lonial”? And are its consequences Occidental-Russian calculation. Kundera; they accused the Russian writ- case of indigenous American peoples, “post”? From an Uzbek, Lithuanian, In sum, the colonial relation at ers of having a colonial attitude because allowing a transcontinental modus of or Hungarian perspective one would the turn of the millennium, whatever of their expression of doubt about the self-recognition in the other, even if this have to answer yes. it may be, is not theoretically inflated existence of such an entity. During the proved possible only to a limited extent. to a point of weakness, nor is it the dispute, as the standpoints became in- (Ideas emphasizing the dual attach- Moore defends an inflation of the property of a certain class or space creasingly unyielding, Central Europe’s ment of the Hungarians in referring to postcolonial to include the enor- of peoples; it rather becomes as fun- image became almost inseparably in- their Asian origins further complicate mous post-Soviet sphere. Primarily damental to world identities as other tertwined with the concept of “colony”. the matter, but this issue will not be ad- he does so because Russia and then “universal” categories, such as race, Susan Sontag, who also participated dressed here.) the USSR exercised powerful colo- class, age, or gender. ≈ in the colloquium, agreed with Miłosz, We have to take into account the du- nial control over much of the earth who said: “Central Europe […] is an ality mentioned here not only in com- for at least 50 years, if not 200. Much anti-Soviet idea that was provoked by ments on the colonial essence, but also of that control has now ended, and péter balogh the occupation of those countries”, and on those comments made on the as- its ending has had manifest effects it is exactly because of this that the Rus- sumption of a postcolonial situation. On sians, proceeding from the old “coloniz- the one hand, it can announce a form of ing principle” of divide et impera, are behavior that manifests solidarity with trying to get rid of it.9 a wider, globally encompassing com- possibility of a world-wide comparison The interpretive framework based munity on universalistic bases; on the When trying to locate their “reborn” in contrast to concepts focusing on on the central metaphor of colony other hand, proceeding from a particu- countries in the world in the early national and regional culture, and in proved to be flexible enough to allow laristic argumentation, it is also capable 1990s, the local intelligentsia might have this respect Moore’s essay has captured rather different historical situations — of strengthening the internal cohesion leaned towards the long colonial past, part of the truth. It is no accident that especially radical breaks and events of a relatively close community (nation but it generally did not; instead it chose it was scholars from Western universi- perceived as somehow cataclysmic or region). From this it follows that the to work on regional and national iden- ties — often originating from Eastern from the point of view of national self- given discursive situation, and the aim tity constructions that emphasize either and Central Europe but not necessarily identification (such as the events of of the communicative act will decisively national superiority or the “bridge role” specializing in this part of the world 1848–1849, 1920, World War II, 1948, influence whether it is worth it, for ex- that, as they argued, “essentially” still — who were trying to reshape Europe’s 1956, and to some extent 1989) — to be ample, to define Hungary’s subjugation links these countries to the West. It was symbolic geography so as to extend the described and compared, thus allow- as a colonial relation. the reception of postcolonial critique in postcolonial concept onto the area at ing events to be placed in a historical the 1990s that again pointed toward the stake, since they were already thinking in 43

global terms. surprised that numerous historians and conceptual Inflation Occasionally the institutional back- critics have reservations about this. ground encouraged them to do so as As mentioned, the debate is espe- well. David Moore, who also mentions cially difficult with this theoretical his Lithuanian grandmother, is head of construction, if we are approaching it the Department of International Studies from its own assumptions. The reason at Macalester College, an elite institu- for this lies in the particularly adapt- tion of higher education renowned for able metaphor of colonial existence, its internationality and multicultural- or rather in that discursive practice by ism. He also sympathizes with the which — in the words of Maria Todorova Institute for Global that — “historically defined, time-specific was established there, an organization and finite categories like colonialism whose goal is to encourage young lead- and imperialism [are fused] with [such] ing intellectuals to adopt a civic identity broadly conceived and not historically not only in a local and national, but also circumscribed notions like power and transnational sense. The institutions subordination”.18 For Ahmad, this in question — as witnessed by their sliding together occurred in the early homepages — encourage their students 1990s, when interdisciplinary postco- to develop a perspective that makes lonialism’s “culturalist theory” became possible comparison of various politi- an institutionalized discipline, and the cal, societal, and cultural phenomena the token of securing resources. According to a culture-centric ap- designation, indeed, became an ele- on a global level. It might be interesting to read Kurc- proach, cultures, and “[i]n particular, mentary category of “trans-continental, Attributing insensitivity towards zaba’s analysis of the situation together the literatures of the [post-Soviet] trans-historical making of the world in postcolonial critique to scholars of with Aijaz Ahmad’s theory, according regions show all elements of a (post)co- general”.19 Eastern and Central European cultures, to which cultural postcolonialism is lonial situation”.14 Among these charac- Moore himself finds the institutional the tool of postmodern thinkers whom teristics are the “narratives of change” perspective important in observing it so fondly criticizes, with which flavored with explicit eroticism, strong Here, we have come to a significant that “postcolonial” still allowed West- they can seize control over the spaces patriarchal perspective, an urban set- aspect of postcolonial discourse. Apart ern university literature departments where knowledge is created and dis- ting, an apolitical/ahistorical narrative from being a morally-politically based to hire just one person in this “field”, seminated.12 Even if Ahmad’s model is and a novel “subjective sensitivity”.15 perspective, always hurrying to stand this several-billion-person space, an somewhat reminiscent of conspiracy Well, even if we accept this model, up for the fallen and marginalized, with outcome that would not have happened theories, it is nonetheless true that in which does not lack generalizations and its goal being — at least in a discursive (the embarrassment would have been the case of a postcolonialism that now ignores the growing popularity of “fe- sense — liberation, it simultaneously too great) had categories like African, spans the globe, we are dealing with male literature” as well as a renaissance represents an approach to language Indian, and emerged as an approach strongly intertwined with of the historic novel in the 1990s in Hun- that leads to fundamental metaphor- strongly separate. (p. 15) postmodern theories with which it is gary, we nonetheless must bear in mind theoretic problems: if we accept the The role of institutions should cer- hard to argue — Moore himself happily that these characteristics were already starting points of postcolonial critique’s tainly not be underestimated, since the notes that despite much self-critique present in the 1980s in the literature of culturalist theory, and in this way try expansion of the terms of postcolonial and judgment, postcolonialism’s strong our whole region. to avoid resting on its assumptions explanation onto Central and Eastern position in scientific life has not stag- However, this does not constitute a within its own system of thought, we Europe is not solely justified on theoret- gered; moreover, it has even strength- problem for researchers applying post- cannot argue that the metaphor of the ical grounds; it also plays a significant ened. colonial theory on Eastern and Central colony must be limited to historically role in the multicultural viewpoint seen European literature, since they, as not- circumscribed phenomena or must in American university education. ed by many others before me, consider prescribe a definitional criterion that In his essay on the crisis of education The most fruitful contribution of the concepts of “colonial” and “postco- would put limits on its expansion. in Eastern European studies, Alex Kurc- this cultural turn was, in my view, its lonial” as synonyms, as illustrated by I believe it is more worthwhile to ap- zaba argues that “multiculturalism” and focusing attention on the relationship the frequent use of the above-quoted proach the issue from another angle, “cultural diversity” have become key- between colony and culture, two words “(post)colonial” word form. To quote directing attention to ethical considera- words that automatically present Euro- that even possess the same roots in Ahmad, who likewise called attention to tions. peans as guilty and non-Europeans as Latin’s colere.13 One can never note suf- the approximation of the two concepts’ Let me comment on one additional victims, calling forth a fairly simplified ficiently often that each symbolic struc- meaning in parallel with their universal aspect of David Chioni Moore’s analysis. historical image. And since Poles, for ture and discourse creates its own re- spread: according to the culturalist His case is especially interesting given instance, are hardly considered a disad- lations of subordination; violence does perception of colonization “any resist- that he manages to connect the notion vantaged group after the collapse of the not limit itself to the physical world, ance to colonialism is always, already of (post)colonial and (post)modern Soviet Union, universities do not sup- and when talking about colonization, postcolonial”.16 In our case, this resist- by building on an explicitly historical port the teaching about this “politically the cultural aspect needs to be ascribed ance would be the postmodern poetics analysis. Cultural postcolonialists — incorrect” culture even in cities with an important role. At the same time, I itself, appearing as a reaction to Soviet finding it an alternative perspective considerably large Polish communities am prone to think that there are atten- cultural domination.17 Seen this way, — usually try to avoid this. Moore is (e.g. Chicago).11 Thus it makes sense for dant dangers when this recognition is the postmodern and the postcolonial namely transforming a topographic Kurczaba to read Eastern and Central overemphasized, and the difference practically overlap. Taken together, all image into a temporal one: he does not European cultures as being in a postco- between physical and cultural violence of this has led to the concepts mirroring state anything less than that distinguish- lonial state, since he might see therein is entirely eradicated. in each other compellingly, and I am not ing between traditionally Commentaries

seen as postcolonial from allegedly non- we cannot approach certain cultures of Transylvania, who led an anti-Habsburg APPENDIX postcolonial ones has lost its meaning, displaying partly similar, partly differ- freedom fight between 1703 and 1711. Pál Ányos (1756–1784) was a Hungarian poet 5 Sándor Márki, Rákóczi Ferenc (1676–1735), since there is no spot in the world that ent characteristics with corresponding (also monk and teacher), a representative of Budapest 1907. II. is not “postcolonial” in some sense, hermeneutics. I, myself, at least, see sentimentalism, and to a certain extent of early 6 Bálint Hóman, Gyula Szekfü, Magyar that is, to reformulate his statement, significant differences in the level of (Hungarian) romanticism. történet, Budapest 1990. The relevant parts we are living in a postcolonial age. Thus subjection between post-Soviet states are written by Szekfü. Hóman-Szekfü chronology. Bálint Hóman we are confronted with the oddity that and those that could keep some degree 7 In my line of thinking, on this point it is (1885–1951): Hungarian politician and academic. all forms of colonial relations are post- of independence. primarily the colonial image manifesting Served as minister of religion and education colonial, including non-colonial ones. itself as a resistance against the Soviets that twice: 1932–1938 and 1939–1942. Director of is significant; but it is also worth recalling Hence, the question arises as to when the National Széchényi Library in 1922, of the Further, the postcolonial that “official” Marxist historiography was not this certain period began. Following meta- Hungarian National Museum 1923–1932. Hóman averse to colonial relations in analyzing the from the article’s , this definitely phor is far from “innocent” in a political often published together with Gyula Szekfü 19th century, thereby from this perspective happened at the moment when coloni- sense since colonialism’s historical (1883–1955). Both scholars came from Catholic forming a connection directly to the tradition zation started to make its impact on the image, postcoloniality’s early discourse families and are regarded as the two leading of Hungarian interwar historiography. On the historians of their time. Their most notorious entire globe. This obviously difficult to has divided those concerned between domestic (Hungarian) colonialism debate, work is , first published in 1928. According to specify “moment” should be placed in perpetrators and victims to such a large see Amália Kerekes, “Kolonialismusdebatte Hóman, Sumerian and Hattian–Hurrian literary the 18th and 19th centuries, causing the extent that the concept will evoke this in Ungarn und Fredric Jamesons Theorie monuments need to be taken into consideration über die nationalen Allegorien der Dritten “postcolonial age” more or less to over- bipolar scheme even when it is menti- when analyzing ancient Hungarian words. lap with the modern and postmodern oned with an opposite aim. Hence, in Welt”, Kakanien Revisited, January 23, 2002. http://www.kakanien.ac.at/beitr/theorie/ periods. However, Moore does not actu- the public discourse it is in some con- Tibor Lutter (1910–1960) literary historian. In AKerekes1.pdf Accessed: 2007-12-04. ally adduce real arguments as to why we texts acceptable to refer to 1948—1989 1933, teacher at the German Imperial School, 8 In Hungarian historiography, the post-1849 in late 1944, joined the resistance movement. need another, even more problematic Hungary as a Soviet colony at occasions period was named after Austrian interior After the war Lutter was employed at various age concept on top of already problem- commemorating justifiable wounds, minister Alexander Bach, who developed universities; his scholarly work focuses on atic ones. but in a professional dialogue it is un- and ran the new public administrative English literature. Moore’s study is further compli- fortunate to do likewise, as instead of and judicial system that served absolutist cated by — and presumably this is the fomenting a tinted analysis of historical Habsburg rule. drawback of any study written over an events it might on the contrary bring 9 Jessie Labov, “A Russian Encounter with the Myth of Central Europe”, excessively long period — his having us in the direction of simplification, Oxford Austrian and Central European Studies, Conference revised the concept over the course of especially if it strengthens the self- Papers: The Contours of Legitimacy in Central his research. On the one hand he wants victimizing inclination of Eastern and Europe (St. Antony’s College Oxford, May to convince the reader that Eastern and Central European cultures. Contrary to 24–26, 2002) http://users.ox.ac.uk/~oaces/ Central Europe fits into the classic no- what Moore believes, then, we neither conference/papers/Jessie_Labov. tion of the postcolonial, on the other he have to be committed leftists still sym- Pdf downloaded: 2005-11-14 denies that his article would be “an es- pathizing with the Soviet Union, nor 10 The use of the conditional mode is justified say in ontology” (p. 29), and looks at the radical rightists trapped in an exagge- since these “programs”, which were worked out to varying degrees, have not always postcolonial as a sort of hermeneutics rated national pride in order to doubt become guidelines for the entirety of the by means of which he would extend whether the post- in postcolonial equals national community. postcolonial analysis onto the whole the post- in post-Soviet.≈ 11 Alex Kurczaba, “East Central Europe and world. He tells the story so that the Multiculturalism in the American Academy”, “original” meaning of the postcolonial The Sarmatian Review, Feburary 18, 1998. tamás scheibner was replaced, or should be replaced, by http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/998/ the later meaning – but he keeps using Assistant professor of kurczaba. Html downloaded: 2005-12-17. 12 Aijaz Ahmad, “Postcolonial Theory and the the former. However, its worldwide ex- comparative and modern Hungarian ‘Post’-Condition”, The Socialist Register 1997, tension and maintenance as an age-con- literature at Eötvös Loránd University of pp. 368–369. cept or mode of interpretation excludes Budapest (ELTE). 13 Terry Eagleton, The Idea of Culture, Oxford this practice, unless we want to trigger a 2000, p. 2. full-fledged notional perplexity. 14 Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek, “Comparative Although a moral intention plays references Cultural Studies and the Study of Central such an important role in postcolonial European Culture: Theory and Application”, 1 David Chioni Moore, “Is the Post- in critique, because of the terminological Kakanien Revisited, May 15, 2003. Postcolonial the Post- in Post-Soviet? Toward http://www.kakanien.ac.at/beitr/theorie/ confusion already present in Moore, a Global Postcolonial Critique,” PMLA, 116:1. Stotody1.pdf, p. 11. Downloaded: 2003-08-10. ethical considerations are hardly 2 Violeta Kelertas (ed.), Baltic Postcolonialism, 15 See Tötösy de Zepetnek, ibid., p. 11; present in his argumentation. However, New York & Amsterdam 2006. A slightly Roumiana Deltcheva, “The Difficult Topos it is exactly this question that critics different version of Chioni Moore’s article In-Between: The East Central European considering Eastern and Central Eu- is reprinted here (pp. 11–43). All subsequent Cultural Context as a Postcoloniality”, The rope as postcolonial should not forget: page references included in the text are to Sarmatian Review, February 18, 1998. http:// this edition. if comparing “Singapore and Mali” is www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/998/deltcheva. 3 It was Joseph II of Habsburg’s nickname, Html downloaded: 2005-12-17 not acceptable, then why should we ac- because he reigned without being crowned 16 Ahmad, ibid., pp. 365–366. cept the placing of Bohemia, Lithuania King of Hungary, thereby avoiding being 17 Tötösy de Zepetnek, ibid., p. 4. and South Ossetia into one box? Not subject to certain Hungarian laws and acts. 18 Maria Todorova, Imagining the Balkans, New labeling the cultures of these territo- 4 This period of Hungarian historiography York Oxford 1997, p. 16. ries postcolonial does not mean that was named after Francis II Rákóczi, Prince 19 Ahmad, ibid., pp. 365–368. 45

Scandinavia as a melting pot? Progress in Bronze Age research

n 1836, the book Ledetraad til Nordisk Oldkyndighed [Guide to knowledge of Nordic Antiquity] appeared. It constituted the be- ginning of modern archaeology, both in Denmark and internationally. It was written by Christian Jürgensen Thom- sen (1788–1865), a well-to-do Copenha- gen businessman who was to revolutio- nize research on antiquity and lay the foundation for archaeology as a modern science — several decades be- fore Charles Darwin developed his theo- ry on biological evolution. It was Thomsen who organized the royal collection of antiquities in Prinsens Palais — that is, the National Museum in . In the course of this work, Thomsen noted that the tools of antiquity were made of differ- ent materials: stone, copper/bronze, or iron. He concluded that these could be put in a definite chronological order, ac- cording to which the oldest tools were made of stone — that is, dated back to the Stone Age; the second oldest were tools from a period he chose to call the Bronze Age; and, finally, those from the Iron Age.

Today, it is difficult to grasp how revolutionizing — perhaps even revo- lutionary — these thoughts were in a world ruled by Christian dogma claim- ing that man was created in the image of God and that the Great Flood, estimated at 4004 BC, was the earliest date for ani- mals’ and humans’ existence on earth. After Thomsen, things changed illustration: ragni svensson step-by-step, as nineteenth-century Europe’s Christian dogmas were forced Montelius determined the ages of Montelius had no doubts about the without metal deposits, has the richest to give way to the evolving natural sci- findings that had been uncovered in a geographical origin of the rich material Bronze Age culture of all. ences and the “modern breakthrough”. geographical area extending from the of the Nordic Bronze Age culture: it had In other words, southern Scandina- Archaeology took shape as a modern Nordic region to Egypt/the Orient. The to come from Central Europe. It is true via was thoroughly integrated into Eu- science, particularly in England and dating was determined by comparing that southern Scandinavia developed ropean cultural networks. Meanwhile, Scandinavia. these findings to the artifacts and pic- its own unique Bronze Age culture, with Montelius’s view led the rest of the Nor- tures uncovered in the Egyptian pyra- locally manufactured weapons and dic region, where findings of bronze ar- mids, which could be linked to specific jewelry, but it depended on imported tifacts have been few and far between, In 19 th century Sweden, the leading historical pharaohs and thus be dated. tin and copper, the two components of to be deemed the passive recipient of figure in archaeology was Oscar Mon- Montelius’s terminology is still used bronze alloy. bronze from the southern centers, thus telius (1843–1921). In 1885, he published within Nordic archaeology, and, in constituting pale variants of southern Om tidsbestämning inom bronsåldern principle, his placing of the six phases Scandinavian chiefdoms, and thus of med särskilt avseende på Skandinavien of the Nordic Bronze Age between 1800 Montelius’s position as the gi- little value to the researcher. [Dating in the Bronze Age with special BC and 500 BC still holds. Fundamental ant in European Bronze Age research No matter how we twist and turn the reference to Scandinavia, translated to Montelius’s work was the idea that soon transformed this hypothesis into problem of the Bronze Age’s rich and 1986]. This work, which played an development invariably occurred as a common knowledge. Since then, the poor regions, metallurgy without doubt important role in making archaeology result of cultural innovations spreading tenet that the Nordic region imported was central to the social changes that a science, developed a chronological from the south to the north — starting its copper and tin has become dogma. were taking place around 2000 BC. Nor periodization of the magnificent mate- with the great cultures of the Orient In the case of Denmark, the claim is is there any doubt that rial culture of the Bronze Age, with its and the Mediterranean and moving up universally accepted. Paradoxically, this of metals over enormous distances many pieces of weapons and jewelry. through Northern Europe. Accordingly, country, one of the few areas in Europe reached new levels during the Bronze Commentaries46

Age, or that the Nordic region was inte- are imported) by positing the premise the resources that are essential to metal- grated into these exchange networks. (that the metals are imported). The lurgy. One even speaks of the existence However, the question arises of how explanation for this is, of course, that of a “metallurgic gift package” in those to interpret the areas of Scandinavia the import dogma had become so locations where mining has an ancient with few — or no — rich bronze findings. completely self-evident that no one history. A number of large quarries in These have been allotted a marginal even considered the possibility of its Western Norway, in particular, show position, as adding very little to our un- being false. Only very recently has a that the extensive technological compe- derstanding of the Nordic Bronze Age. group of younger researchers of the tence that existed as early as the Stone In Norway, there was even a discussion Nordic Bronze Age begun to question Age could easily have been applied to about whether it made sense to speak of Montelius’s legacy and to seriously copper processing, as the earliest local a real Norwegian Bronze Age. It has, in- discuss the possibility of local copper know-how of metal production. deed, been claimed that the Norwegian production in the European periphery If this is correct, and if copper pro- Neolithic Age lasted up until the middle during the Bronze Age. How, they ask, duction really can be traced far back of the last millennium BC, until the on- do we know there was no copper ex- into prehistoric times, this means that set of the Iron Age. traction, despite the easy accessibility we will have to re-evaluate the status The truly paradoxical aspect of this of rich deposits? And if there was none, of the areas in Scandinavia with little representation of cultural history is, why not? In , where there were, bronze — from insignificant and periph- however, that the bronze-poor areas of until recently, only vague notions as to eral to central and rich in raw materials, Scandinavia have rich copper deposits. how long mining had been going on, as potential exporters of that copper In Norwegian Telemark, for example, archaeological excavations uncovered whose trace elements have so far been there are not only rich copper deposits, nearly twenty mines dating back to the explained (away) as the results of re- but also tin ore and tin stone. In fact, Bronze Age. No equivalent of this has melting. during the 1600s and 1700s, Swedish been found in Norway or Sweden, but This might, in turn, mean the demise and Norwegian copper and silver mines neither has anyone looked — yet. of Montelius’s dogma. The Scandina- dominated the world market. Neverthe- Archaeologists must therefore resort vian Bronze Age may be approaching less, ever since the days of Montelius, to other methods. Newly conducted a “modern breakthrough”, borne for- the idea that these local metal resources trace element analyses of southern Nor- ward by progress within the natural might have been utilized during the wegian bronze artifacts have affirmed sciences — just as it was in the 1800s. ≈ Bronze Age has barely been broached. that they are, for the most part, made It is true that much of the bronze from metal types other than those used in the Nordic region was imported. known to stem from Central Europe. lotte hedeager Danish copper and bronze findings fol- Further, they consist primarily of cop- Professor of archaeology low, by and large, a European pattern. per which has not been re-melted. This at the University of Oslo. Thus, trace elements from the oldest means that these artifacts could, in fact, copper findings, dating back to 3000 have been manufactured from locally references BC, come from West Europe/Great Brit- extracted metals. In Denmark, the cop- ain and the Alps/Central Europe, while per in a distinctive group of axes, dating Lene Melheim, “Kobberimport eller findings from around 2000 BC can be back to the time immediately preceding kobberproduksjon?” [Copper Import or traced to Erzgebirge in Germany and the Bronze Age, has been inferred to be Copper Production?], in Det Nordiske the Czech Republic, and, later, to the Swedish, which would then establish Bronsealdersymposium [The Nordic eastern Alps. copper extraction in Sweden as early as Bronze Age symposium] Trondheim in the 3rd millennium BC. 2009

The matter is, however, more com- plicated. Not all Danish copper findings Is this really so hard to believe? Note. — Previously published in the can be traced to known European de- No, say the researchers. A series of weekly magazine Weekendavisen posits. Where do they come from? The indirect sources together indicate that (Copenhagen). same question can be asked of the Nor- extraction of metal had in fact taken wegian bronze findings, which likewise place in Scandinavia far back in antiq- contain elements that cannot be traced has been argued that in Norway, bronze uity. During the Stone Age, Denmark back to specific European localities. For items were scarce. Since the metal was relied on flint as raw material (and had reasons that are difficult to fathom, this valuable, the bronze was repeatedly flint mines). Norway and Sweden had, fact has been used to bolster the idea remelted instead of being sacrificed in among other things, greenstone and that all metals in Norway must have graves and marshes, as had been done quartzite. The exploitation of these been imported via southern Scandina- in rich southern Scandinavia. The re- demanded considerable expertise in via — despite the fact that neither the peated remelting mixed trace elements mining and pyrotechniques, as well as metal nor the clay in the molds corre- from different localities, which means knowledge of stone and mineral depos- sponds to the Danish material. that the analyses correspond to neither its — that is, exactly the expertise and This problem was resolved in both that of Danish nor European findings. knowledge required to extract ore. Norway and Denmark by claiming that This reasoning is based on an argu- Furthermore, the types of rock that remelting led to a trace element compo- ment which is obviously circular. It were exploited intensely since the early sition that follows no known pattern. It reaches its conclusion (that the metals Stone Age are often located right next to reviews 47

Small-state realism and the geopolitics of raw materials. An outsider’s approach

service after the war, when Tryggve Lie, foreign minister to the Norwegian government in exile in London (and later first Secretary-General of the United Nations), had accused him of either having been disloyal or of having shown poor judgment. The grounds for Lie’s accusations were strikingly flimsy. Among other things, Maseng was sup- posed to have hung a portrait of Vidkun Quisling on the wall of the Norwegian embassy in Moscow. This portrait, how- ever, seems to have been a relic from the 1920s, when Quisling’s work for the Nansen Aid Program had made him a great hero in Russian eyes. Maseng’s habit of giving philosophical lectures had also provided space for misunder- standings. He was, for example, per- ceived as pro-German in his discussions on military strategy, a subject matter that sometimes makes it natural to “dis- regard the ideological factor” — to quote Swedish law professor Karl Olivecrona’s explanation for his pro-German stance during World War II.

Maseng did in fact obtain redress — that is, he was placed on the unattached list but avoided a dishonorable dismissal. Nonetheless, he chose to remain in Swe- den, whither he had come in 1941 after the German attack on Russia, as a repre- sentative of the Norwegian government in exile. Even Lie acknowledged that there was no doubt Maseng was a good Norwegian patriot; but he had made himself — or the circumstances had made him — politically impossible. Maseng spent the last decades of t ion : Ra g ni s v ensson his life in Vallentuna, close to Knivsta, between the cities of Stockholm and

i ll us tr a Uppsala. His large three-volume work is now, for the first time, available in its entirety, with a detailed introduction Einar Maseng everal “language games” ent with the Soviet view that, just as the World War I and postscript written by the publisher. Utsikt over de nord- can be used by those seek- had led to the birth of Soviet Russia, so would the The two first volumes had been pub- europeiske staters ing to describe World War II. Second lead to the birth of Soviet Europe. This per- lished in the 1960s. utenrikespolitikk i de SThe war can be interpreted spective need not be interpreted as imperialist; it can, siste århundrer as a battle between Left and Right rather, be seen as resulting from a deterministic view Little is known of Maseng’s private Hegelians, or between Fascists and of history.1 One could also view World War II as a life. He was married four times and [An overview of the . Alternatively, one can view between Hitler and Churchill, as John Lukacs does — a had four daughters and one son. He Northern European it as a battle between democracies and view that was probably shared by Christian Günther, was a military officer when he entered States’ foreign policy national dictatorships. Occasionally, Sweden’s foreign minister during the war. Einar diplomatic service. Moreover, he was during the last centuries]. and especially by American historians, Maseng sees the war primarily as a battle between one a founding father of the Norwegian I–III it is perceived as a war of extermina- nation with a great naval force and another nation pos- division of Föreningen Norden (known Oslo: Universitets- tion, as Hitler’s battle against the . It sessed of a strong ground force. A complete edition of in English as The Norden Association, forlaget 2005 may also be described as a continuation Maseng’s great three-volume work on Nordic security or sometimes The Nordic Association). 323, 291, 353 pages of the European Civil War that broke and foreign politics has now appeared, published un- His analysis of the European state sys- out either in 1914 or 1917 (the latter is der the direction of Lars Mjøset. tem has gained new relevance after die the date provided by German historian Maseng was a Norwegian diplomat who lived from Wende, when “the Second World” (that Ernst Nolte). This conception is consist- 1880 to 1972. He was forced to leave the diplomatic is, the ; the concept may 48reviews

Continued. Small-state realism and the geopolitics of raw materials

alternatively refer to the so-called BRIC Swedish Kingdom was separated from the realm, and tive European rationality, all directed countries) imploded and new, as yet un- an unhappy “shotgun marriage” took place between towards decreasing Cold War tension known, constellations began to emerge. Sweden and Norway (1814–1905). in North Europe. In this perspective, Maseng can be seen as a natural suc- One might object that Finland’s special predica- the collapse of negotiations concerning cessor to Stein Rokkan and Immanuel ment is, perhaps, less than central to Maseng’s rea- a common Scandinavian defense alli- Wallerstein, as Mjøset himself points soning. Nevertheless, his analysis of the Nordic state ance constitutes a blessing. However, out. It was the legendary sociologist system does shake the otherwise standard acceptance this conclusion does not affect Maseng’s sven eliaeson and resistance fighter Arvid Brodersen of the diversified solution to Nordic security issues, claim that had a Scandinavian defense Defended his doctoral (1904–1996) who inspired Mjøset to re- reached after the breakdown of the 1948–1949 defense alliance been in existence before World thesis on Max Weber, in issue Maseng’s work. alliance negotiations, as necessarily beneficial. In this War II, the Nordic region might have 1982 in Uppsala. An as- context, it is important to remember the “presence been spared the great catastrophe. sociate professor of polit- Maseng bases his work on the assump- through absence” of Finland, which had a well-trained (Though, as is in the nature of things, ical science at Stockholm tion that had the Nordic countries been corps of officers and plenty of conquered Russian this type of counterfactual historical as- University (1996) and a united, they would have been powerful weaponry. As late as 1940, there had been quasi-offi- sertion hardly lives up to Karl Popper’s recurring visiting profes- enough to maintain credible neutrality cial discussions of a possible Swedish-Finnish union. falsification criteria.) sor of sociology at the vis-à-vis the great powers — something For instance, a commission had been given Östen Centre for Social Studies of which Norway, in 1940, was obvi- Undén, specialist on international law, to investigate Maseng’s work is, moreover, the first to and Graduate School ously incapable. Germany had no real whether it was consistent with Sweden’s constitution offer an account that allows me fully to for Social Research at rational interest in tying up several hun- that Stockholm’s joint foreign minister be a Finnish grasp the important role played by the the Polish Academy of dred thousand men in Norway, Maseng citizen.2 In general, one can say that Sweden and Fin- Sound and the Danish Belts as a sort Sciences in Warsaw argued, as long as the iron ore deliveries land — for better or worse — have a historical Schick- of buffer between Germany, Europe’s (CSS/GSSR at IFiS PAN). from Kiruna via Narvik ran according to salsgemeinschaft that is out of harmony with Norway’s leading continental power, and the ef- In addition, research agreement. weak defense and pro-British orientation, both of forts made by Great Britain to prevent professor at Uppsala Maseng dedicated the last 27 years of which make Norway dependent on British military any one power from gaining continental University’s Department his life to the analysis of the prerequi- assistance.3 Marshall Mannerheim’s unexpectedly suc- hegemony — a principle that has guided of Sociology, engaged in sites of Nordic unity and of the shared cessful defense on the Karelian Isthmus in the summer Great Britain’s foreign policy at least a research project enti- neutrality of the Nordic countries, both of 1944 affected the entire Nordic state system; had since the “recasting of alliances” of tled “Gunnar Myrdal as a made impossible by Norway’s “Atlantic events played themselves out differently, the security the 1740s. It is also worth noting that Weberian and European turn”, a turn that also cost Maseng his predicament of both Sweden and the Nordic region in ’s occupation of Norway Public Intellectual”. His job. During the 1948–1949 discussions general would have been far more troubling. in fact was a successful pre-emptive principal monograph is concerning a Scandinavian defensive strike, as the British were “lurking Max Weber’s Method- alliance, the Norwegian stance was that It is generally recognized that, in order to attain a among the reeds” — having, only a few ologies (2002). Among all of Scandinavia should enter NATO realistic perspective on the course of a war, one needs days previously, and in violation of anthologies he has edited jointly. a map and one needs information concerning stra- international law, mined Norwegian are Building Democracy tegic raw materials. One can term this the return of waters. Their unexpected and bold and Civil Society East of Throughout history, the Dutch, the geopolitics — in Maseng’s case, with emphasis on the maneuver simply enabled the Germans the Elbe (2006) and, with British, the Russians, and the Hanseatic geo-strategy of raw materials. to get there before the British. That the Nadezhda Georgieva, League had all managed successfully Maseng’s small-state realism is used in a long per- English would doubtlessly have been New Europe: Growth to block Nordic steps towards unity. spective — half a millennium — and his primary ques- far more welcome as unbidden guests to Limits? (forthcom- There is, for example, the Sound naval tion is why the Nordic region is permanently split, is another matter. Presumably, if the ing). Has been a visiting battle of October 29, 1658, when the something that can be seen as a historical anomaly. had had the army necessary to scholar at German and Dutch fleet saved Denmark from total Kristian “Tyrant”, the last Danish king to rule a united engage the Germans for just a few days, American universities and collapse. Nor do we know how his- “North”, takes on the guise of an unsuccessful hero in Weserübung would scarcely have suc- research centers. tory might have been changed had the his fight against Sweden’s secession in the early 1500s. ceeded, for the Wehrmacht would not, Union of Kalmar (1397–1523) endured. One cannot do Maseng justice in a few short pages. in that case, have controlled the Danish A united Nordic region would have ex- But I will mention some of the points where his work airfields. ercised a virtual monopoly on some of has changed long-accepted conceptions, providing the raw materials that were essential to great “extra value”. There are several areas where Maseng likewise points out that naval powers. If, after the 1807 Russian- Maseng has made me, at least, revise or reconsider the Finnish Winter War (December French agreement in Tilsit, Swedish cherished and ingrained conceptions. 1939–March 1940) actually broke out King Gustav IV Adolf had not made This is especially true when it comes to the Nordic because Finnish politicians, motivated the mistake of confirming the British- defense policy. Consider the “Nordic Bridge”, which by domestic political concerns, refused Swedish alliance, the British terror includes Norway as full NATO member, Denmark as to aid Russia in its efforts to secure attack on Copenhagen would scarcely NATO member but without NATO troops on its terri- Leningrad against attack. Mannerheim have been either possible or likely. As tory, Sweden as a non-aligned country with its own had recommended Finnish conces- is well known, the policies pursued by strong defense, and, finally, Finland’s geographically sions, arguing that the bridgeheads Sweden’s royal “crackpot”, which ran conditioned “special relation” to its large eastern in question were of far less strategic contrary to the recommendations of neighbor, a neighbor that could unilaterally demand importance to Finland than to Russia, his own advisers, initiated a domino consultations when it felt threatened by West German and were, moreover, almost impossible effect which ended in what became revanchism. The dominant doctrine is that this “Nor- to defend should armed conflict break known as the “small-Sweden solution” dic Bridge” was entirely in line with Sweden’s individ- out. Finland certainly did the right thing of 1809; that is, the Finnish part of the ual security-political rationality, as well as with collec- in fighting for independence once the 49

country had been attacked. One may Table. Maseng’s periodization of sea power dominance compare its fate to that of the Baltic Sea power land power Secondary land power global war Ends Restructuring States, which lost a large proportion of (hegemon) (challenger) (assists hegemon) treaty their populations and had to deal, in the Britain/Netherlands France german States/Russia War of Spanish Succession 1713 Utrecht end, with a large, irredentist Russian Britain France german States/Russia Napoleonic Wars 1814 Vienna minority. War does sometimes pay off, Britain Germany France World War I 1918 Versailles even if it entails great sacrifices. But the Britain /US germany France/Russia World War II 1945 Yalta Winter War could have been avoided by US USSR (EU/Japan) Cold War 1989 (none) granting the Soviet Union fairly cheap concessions. To try to give the Soviet Note. – Global wars and restructuring treaties, as well as information on the periods after 1918, have been added. Union a leasehold on Hogland, Hanko, or Porkala in the Gulf of Finland would not have involved any great alternative bloc. Maseng advocates something that Mjøset terms politics, it pays to listen to cultural geog- outlay. But young nations tend to be small-state realism, a position resembling the one raphers, military men, and diplomats. particularly cocky. It is a controver- taken by Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal in two Sociologists, political scientists, and sial issue, and Finnish diplomat Max articles published in the social-democratic journal public pundits are of marginal utility — Jakobson points out that there are few Tiden in the spring of 1945.4 Advocates of small-state indeed, they are often outright destruc- examples of a relin- realism may reach different conclusions, however. It tive of knowledge. One makes certain quishing without subsequent, is consistent both with the concept of a Scandinavian reservations, here, for modern game long-term harmful consequences. Nor defense alliance and with the notion of a sort of Nordic theory, which is of significant use when was granting a Russian leasehold even Ark, able to function as a Cold War bridge and a buffer it comes to explaining courses of events to some distant islets in the Gulf of Fin- zone. This distinction depends on how those watching that are otherwise difficult to grasp, land a good election-winning tactic. The the elephants dance judge Scandinavia’s chances of such as the (a sub- Finns had missed their opportunity in remaining in the audience’s seats, not least by juggling ject on which Maseng, however, does the spring of 1939, when Litvinov, the the great powers’ demands when it comes to trade in not dwell). Natural resources and the in- Soviet foreign minister, made a modest strategic raw materials such as iron ore — or, today, oil. formation infrastructure, the character proposal for border adjustments on the of the landscape, and the country’s pro- Karelian Isthmus. Maseng mentions ship-mast timber as of particular duction capacity are decisive factors. Since Russia has ice-free access to strategic importance in the past; tar is another mate- The political level, however, is probably the North Atlantic via the Kola Penin- rial whose importance is often forgotten today. The important as well; good citizen morale sula, Maseng gives no credence to Cold guiding principle is that great nations are cynical in is essential if a country is to assert itself War scenarios according to which Rus- their dealings with the small. Small nations must look, in what is, basically, a Hobbesian battle sian troops would rush to control the first and foremost, to their own interests. In Munich among nations, a battle that is gradually strategic Norwegian coastline as a step 1938, British Prime Minister Chamberlain gave a prac- diminishing in ferocity, as a system of towards gaining control of the so-called tical demonstration of this principle, with well-known international norms emerges. Ancient GIUK-gap. (This denotes the gap bound- consequences for (among others) Czechoslovakia and concepts such as Standort, Sitten, and ed by Greenland, Iceland and Great Finland. Small-state realism is, however, fundamen- Verfassung are still relevant. Britain of which, presumably, both tally paradoxical. Its principles are based on a hard- the US and the USSR would attempt boiled Hobbesian understanding of the relationship It is no coincidence that Switzerland to gain control of at the initial stage of between states — while, at the same time, acknowledg- and Sweden were the only countries ca- a Third World War, in order to facili- ing that any advances in an international legal system pable of upholding their neutrality dur- tate transfers of troops and supplies.) is to all small states’ advantage. The fostering of such ing World War II — that is, apart from The envisioned maneuver would, it a legal system is a very slow process, with its roots in Spain, and Ireland, countries was thought, lead to confrontations Grotius’s times and, thereafter, the initiative taken by at the outskirts. Armed people in hilly between Russian armed forces and the Russian tsar to establish the International Court of terrain hold certain good cards, even NATO paratroopers in the area around Justice at The Hague; the UN, IMF, and the World Bank when they are up against aggressors Jämtland and Trøndelag, in Sweden and have constituted additional way stations. with greater resources. Germany could, Norway respectively. It is historically Maseng also teaches us that the Norwegian-Swedish obviously, have occupied Sweden, but more reasonable, Maseng argues, to Union might have survived had not, at the time of its this would have been at a high alterna- assume that Russian imperialist thrusts dissolution, Sweden been dominated by the interests tive cost. Troops urgently needed else- would be directed against Afghanistan, of the nobility and upper classes. Norway was, at that where — such as in securing access to oil the Dardanelles, and the Sea of Japan — time, a more advanced political society than Sweden, resources in — would have been scenarios that have been confirmed by whose democratic breakthrough came relatively late. tied down in Sweden.5 And had the postwar events. One detail in Maseng’s book that is likely to irritate Carpathians stretched in a north-south patriotic Swedes is his odd habit of using the term rather than an east-west direction, the Maseng refers to the fact that Norway “Sweden–Finland”, a country that has never existed. Poles could have slept more easily. and Denmark managed to maintain The Finns were, until the small-Sweden solution of Had Lapland’s iron ore resources been armed neutrality during World War I 1808–1809, good Swedes. Two ethnicities, Finns and located in Lekebergslagen in Närke, in as an argument that the same would Swedes, have contributed to the creation of both Fin- central Sweden, the Germans would not have been possible during World War land and Sweden, as Swedish historian Erik Lönnroth have had to risk the bold Weserübung II — if the Nordic people had united in made clear. — they could have taken the train or at a credible, that is, well-armed, neutral If one wishes to increase one’s insights into security least gone over land. With the USA’s in- 50reviews

Continued. Small-state realism and the geopolitics of raw materials

volvement in the war, which, in reality, sar Terboven was no bundle of charm. On the other A weakness of all security politics is that was begun in the summer of 1941, and hand, faults in Norway’s pre-war diplomacy combined one can only prepare oneself for prob- when the American productive resourc- with the Western Allies’ plans to stop the export of able scenarios — while unlikely scenarios es were placed, through lend-lease, at Swedish iron ore through northern Norway explains are far from uncommon. Tsarist Russia’s the disposal of the British, no crystal what in German phrasing and English vernacular defeat by the Japanese at Tshushima 1905 ball was needed to predict the Allies’ became the German decision to “assume guardian- facilitated Norway’s secession from Swe- victory. Maseng’s approach bears many ship over Norway’s neutrality”, a neutrality which den, to mention just one example. An- resemblances to what we today call re- Norway, given its weak military, could not guard itself. other case is Schabowski’s interpretation source analysis: the stronger economy Maseng’s version of small-state realism has had little of “kurzfristig” on November 9, 1989, an eventually wins out, a lesson taken from influence on Norway’s foreign policy, but in Sweden interpretation whose domino effects re- the American Civil War. The need to it became a guiding principle. Mjøset does not offer main difficult to fully understand today.11 secure energy supplies, without which a detailed account of disagreements among Maseng, I claimed, above, that cultural geogra- the war and the economy would grind Nygaardsvold, and Halvdan Koht (prime and foreign phers, diplomats (who stand for the “first to a halt, sheds light on the rationale ministers in Norway immediately before the German defense”)12, and military men have more behind many strategic decisions. Seen invasion). Instead, he lets Maseng summarize the situ- to offer than do, for instance, political from this perspective, indeed, it can ation: scientists as far as the cognitive mapping hardly be rational to start a war as long of an outside threat, and how to avoid as it is cheaper to buy much-needed raw Had the Norwegian defense been at its post it, are concerned. Maseng is, however, a materials on the world market — some- and, together with Sweden, let England historian, albeit a historian with macro- thing Gunnar Myrdal has pointed out in clearly understand that it would defend theoretical aspirations. Long time-lines a number of interviews.6 its neutrality against every aggressor — as and historical relativism are probably a everyone knew it would have done during great help in the formulation of theoreti- I have not even come close to doing World War I — then the Western Powers, cally grounded predictions. Historians Maseng full justice. Historical demo- with their limited ground forces, would not are, however, doomed to hindsight.13 graphy is a theme omitted here, but it have been capable of initiating a landing en- The course of events leading up to an should not be ignored when planning terprise. Further, England’s general politics incident is turned into an object of idi- long-term security policies. Maseng’s would not have allowed it to fight and defeat ographic accounts; a juridical pattern is guiding principle is his loyalty to the a smaller nation that it knew was bent on up- used in order to assign responsibility. It botched Norwegian policy of armed holding its independence. — Germany would is far easier to predict that an incident neutrality. In his opinion, the Germans then in 1940 — in its own interest — have left will take place than it is to predict when it made a mistake when they accepted the Nordic people in peace. And later the will happen. In 1957, during a journey in Major Quisling’s self-appointment as war developed in a manner that made it ever Central Asia, Gunnar Myrdal wrote a long leader of the Norwegian Government more difficult for Germany to reserve forces unpublished double-letter to his wife, (this was done without consulting Ber- for secondary theaters of operations.7 in which he identified the tensions that lin). It is, seen superficially, somewhat more than thirty years later would lead of a paradox in a geo-strategic perspec- One may add that security-policy doctrines have short to the Russian empire’s implosion.14 Actu- tive that Norway’s exile government lives, and never constitute universal recipes. When it ally American sociologist Randall Collins chose to ally with precisely the govern- comes to relations between states, nothing is perma- predicted this in a book written in 1986 ment whose war planning — during the nent.8 Small states are, in times of unrest, like ships on (Weberian Sociological Theory), but does so-called Phony War and the Winter stormy seas, little bark-boats in a spring brook; it takes not give any definite date (which Myrdal War — had openly included plans to virtu combined with fortuna and with lucky timing to does not attempt to determine). Some infringe on Norwegian territorial integ- stay afloat, to avoid being pulled into conflicts raging political scientists were still predicting, rity, and who, by early April, had actu- in one’s immediate environment. It is often calm in in the late 1980s, that the USSR facing the ally begun to act on these plans. Had the center of the tornado, but a tornado moves. Swe- new millennium was stronger than ever. not Sweden denied France and Great den was in a very exposed position during the winter sven eliaeson Britain the right to transport troops to of 1940, at least up until June 1941.9 Finland, the sweeping domino effects As Gunnar Hägglöf writes: would have included war between the Western Powers and the USSR, which Is it not a habit that we Swedes have gotten 1 The scenario in 1918—1922 was not unlike that at this time was allied with Germany. into, and it is actually not found in any other of the early Cold War years. Had not Marshall Maseng attributes a decisive role to Brit- nation, namely discussing foreign politics as Pilsudski defeated a much larger Russian army ish influence on Norwegian intellectual if they were a matter of juridical concepts. outside of Warsaw (“The Miracle at Vistula”) in life, as well, of course, to the fact that It is seen as not entirely correct to speak of August 1920, a Bolshevik Europe extending all after the German invasion, there was no the balance-of-power, the number of army the way to the Rhine would have been a likely alternative. corps, the distance by plane across the Baltic outcome, given the revolutionary currents in, for example, Saxony and the Ruhr. — See Nor- One might argue that Norway’s mis- Sea, or the question of Sweden’s ability to de- man Davies, White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish- fortune was self-inflicted, which is not fend itself if the Russians had taken Finland. Soviet War 1919—20, London 2003. to excuse Germany’s attack — in defi- This is, of course, the sort of thing that ought 2 It appears that the initiative to discuss this ance of international law — on April 9, to be studied and discussed within the Advi- union was taken by Major Svante Påhlson of 1940, nor the Germans’ brutal occupa- sory Council on Foreign Affairs, rather than Rottneros, where the source material would tion policy, which included the use of all those Geneva Conventions, which have also be kept. See Wilhelm M. Carlgren, Svensk collective punishment. Reichskommis- never been anything but “scraps of paper”.10 utrikespolitik 1939—1945 [Swedish foreign poli- 51

Keeping an eye on a neighbor. A German look on Denmark

cy 1939—1945], Stockholm 1973, pp. 220 ff. Bernd Henningsen owhere else can one find to bite into the apple need to explain 3 In the German debate, the term Schicksalsgemeinschaft has Dänemark the kind of thankfulness that themselves. In Henningsen’s view, the conservative connotations, but it can also be used purely cogni- exists in Denmark, writes Danes have much to explain. tively. In the case of Finland/Sweden, we may just as well speak C H Beck. 2009 Bernd Henningsen in his in terms of “communicating vessels”. — See also Torkel Jans- N 229 pages book about the Danes, their culture, In Danes, there is a mildness of disposi- son, Rikssprängningen som kom av sig [The realm break-up that (From the series: Die drifted off course], Stockholm 2009. and their mentality. People are thanked tion that has been driven too far, says 4 By a fortunate coincidence I discovered that the article by Deutschen und ihre for a recent dinner or party, and are Henningsen. They translate sophrosyne, Professor Bruce Hopper in Foreign Affairs to which Myrdal Nachbarn) expected to be thanked for the food. moderation, with mediocrity. The truth refers was ghost-written by Swedish senior diplomat Gunnar “Say hello to grandma.” — “Yes, thanks.” lies in the middle, extreme accomplish- Hägglöf. See Gunnar Hägglöf, Diplomat: Memoirs of a Swedish “Thank you for noticing.” “What will ments do not impress, the competitive Envoy in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow & Washington, London, it be this time?” — “A Pilsner, thank spirit is not particularly prominent in Sydney & Toronto 1971, p. 203. Graham Green wrote the book’s you.” Denmark is, in sum, a thanking social life. Restraint in a Dane can be preface. society, where, indeed, thanking oc- the same as laziness, yet still not be re- 5 According to information conveyed to the Swedish banker Jacob Wallenberg by his good friend Carl Goerdeler, Germany curs not infrequently as an intensifier garded as a vice. “When a Tuborg tastes did in fact have plans for an assault on Sweden as late as in to itself: “Thanks thanks.” This, like so best?” the down-and-out man asks his February 1942 — plans that were given up because it involved many other external characteristics, is friend. “Every time.” This collective a force of 600,000, which could hardly be spared from Russia, something Danes share with other Scan- declaration of satisfaction, or even love where problems were mounting. — See Gunnar Hägglöf, Var dinavians. That it becomes especially of pleasure, prevents the Danish people försiktig i Berlin: Möten med Hitlermotståndare under krigsåren clear in Danish society may depend on from dealing with serious matters, the [Be careful in Berlin: Meetings with Hitler opponents during the fact that in Denmark, there is a lot Union for example. Denmark is the the war years], Stockholm 1986, p. 124. 6 This is a recurring theme in a majority of the interviews pre- to be thankful for; for the Danes are, most reluctant of all EU countries. In served in the Labour Movement Archive and Library (ARAB) according to all available survey data, several referendums a majority have in Stockholm, for example in James Angresano’s interviews, the happiest people in the world. They rapped politicians on the knuckles, which have also been published. feel at peace with themselves and their forced exemptions and concessions 7 Einar Maseng, “Hvem var det som dro Norge inn i krigsu- social and economic system. They are from Union commitments. The Faroe lykken?” [Who drew Norway into the misery of war?] (Natio- satisfied with their material abundance, Islands, a remaining possession in the nen, April 26, 1955.) Quoted, here, from Mjøset’s “Introduksjon: their functioning labor market, their , chose at the time of Danish Einar Masengs politiske biografi” [Introduction: Einar Maseng’s healthy public finances­— and their high entry in 1972 to remain outside; Green- political biography], pp. xlviii-xlix, Maseng 2005, vol. I. 8 Here, the relationship between Denmark and Sweden is made taxes. Self-satisfied, a foreigner would land, with overwhelming voter support, into somewhat of a feel-good story, with an account of how the say. Bernd Henningsen, born in the decided at the time of the achievement two former mortal enemies became, during the 1800s, good historic border area between Denmark of autonomy to withdraw. neighbors and put aside old conflicts. — In 1809, Denmark and and Germany, has no problem with that What annoys Bernd Henningsen Russia could have eliminated Sweden and forced through a word.1 in Danes’ view of the EU is that they Polish solution. Such plans did in fact exist. simply expect economic benefits from 9 According to Hägglöf, Foreign Minister Günther, on hearing Henningsen, a cultural historian work- it. They joined because they had to about Germany’s assault on the USSR, is to have exclaimed: “One has to have luck at least once.” ing in Berlin, with a research focus — because the United Kingdom, their 10 Gunnar Hägglöf (under the pseudonym Frank Burns), Paradis on Northern Europe, has published a main trading partner, won entrance. för oss [Paradise for us], Stockholm 1952, p. 247. book in a new series of short texts on They cannot leave the Union, even if 11 Journalists once asked Harold Macmillan what was most diffi- Germany’s neighbors. Helmut Schmidt they wanted to, because of concern cult to handle in politics, to which he answered: “Events, boys, and Richard von Weizsäcker, former for their business relations with the events.” History contains a long series of fateful coincidences. Chancellor, and, respectively, former Continent, particularly Germany. This 12 “First defense” is also the title of Swedish diplomat Håkan President of the Federal Republic of is simply to cherry pick, or to use the Berggren’s authoritative work Första försvar: Diplomati från Germany, are the patrons of the series. more expansive Swedish expression, ursprung till UD [First defense: diplomacy from its origin to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], Stockholm 2008. The contemporary historical context, of “to pick the raisins out of the cake”. No 13 Like the fictional characters Backlund and Stoltz, two mem- course, is that Germany — surrounded, responsibility is taken for anyone other bers of the “leisured classes” who in Birger Sjöberg’s novel or as it is sometimes said, “encircled”, than oneself. It is a “lovely country”, as Kvartetten som sprängdes [The quartet that broke up] stand on by many neighboring peoples — has we hear in one of the country’s two (!) the beach, commenting on what the lifesavers ought to have a great need to understand and learn national anthems, the language spoken done, with shouts and “good” advice. about the social climate and political is considered to be beautiful, although 14 Available in Myrdal’s Nachlaß at ARAB. culture in its immediate vicinity. But not even the closest, neighboring kin- it is also without a doubt true that the dred peoples can understand it fully, surrounding peoples are interested in people do not focus on realizing great how they are perceived and assessed by works, since the greatness of the coun- the state which again may take itself to try lies in the past, where it rests, quite be able to set the general direction that comfortable and uncomplicated. The Europe shall take, if not also, in a formal ”de-imperialization” of the Danish king- sense, to be the leader of Europe. Hen- dom — which once controlled the Baltic ningsen’s outlook is German, and it is Sea and large parts of the British Isles, normative. The European project to where the “Danelaw” was in force — has which Germany has committed itself created among the Danes of later years after its defeat in the war bears fruit a kind of pathos of defeat, a patriotism for everyone. Those who do not want of loss, which is not the same as listless- 52reviews

Continued. Keeping an eye on a neighbor

ness or indifference; but it is indeed dif- Struensee, a German from the then ficult to impress a Dane! Danish city of Altona, had, in his capac- ity as the head of government, tried to Now, Bernd Henningsen has not lam- make the country modern in the spirit pooned the Danes here.2 On the con- of the Enlightenment freedom for one trary, Henningsen’s method is both and a half years in the early 1770s, but empathetic and sympathetic. Thus was tortured and killed by the forces of anders björnsson he can simultaneously be honest and Reaction, his body publicly displayed. Editor-in-chief of Baltic unreserved. He recognizes the many Struensee is Henningsen’s man — a Worlds. Has contributed features of the Danish society that must strong and energetic European who to Nils Erik Forsgård, arouse admiration and perhaps also are takes time by the forelock. Maktbalans och stor- worthy of imitation. The Danish welfare And in the same way, Denmark, in maktskrig 1722–1814: system is flexible and decentralized. Henningsen’s interpretative frame- Krigen om Östersjön V If “The ” — according to work, is the isles of missed opportuni- [Balance of power the Danish-Norwegian novelist Aksel ties. A man is, in a Peer Gyntesque and Great Power wars Sandemose’s dictate, that “you should sense, “sufficient unto oneself”, and 1722–1814: The wars for not believe that you are anything” — that will do fine. It goes quite a long way. the Baltic Sea V] (2008), has become something of the “goals” That Denmark, perhaps Europe’s most edited the anthology clause of the Kingdom of Denmark, and demilitarized country, has provided the Skandinaviska vägval: rules out feats in the present, it has also military alliance NATO’s recent Secre- Det framtida norsk- given rise to a healthy pragmatism and tary General — das lässt tief blicken. This svenska samarbetet a consensual atmosphere in society as book helps us keep our eyes open. [Scandinavian routes: a whole. Despite the kingdom’s hav- anders björnsson The future of Norwegian- ing been amputated in war after war, Swedish cooperation] there is very little that has broken in the (2008) together with actual core of the country. There is an Bjørn Magnus Berge, institutional inertia or continuity that 1 According to data from the OECD, Denmark and published the book the Danes have been able to fall back on has fallen on the list of prosperous countries and has been surpassed in recent years by Palatset som Finland even in adversity — they have allowed Sweden, Australia, Austria, Ireland, and the räddade [The Palace that themselves to be thoughtful instead of Netherlands. The country is now in eleventh Finland rescued] (2009). getting carried away. Mediocrity is the place. The main reason for the decline is low philosophy of the middle class, and labor productivity in the economy. (Dagens Denmark the showpiece society of the Nyheter, December 24, 2009.) bourgeois middle-class. 2 Far from all commentators are as averse to the Danish EU-profile as Henningsen. Anglo- Saxon praise was received by the Danes in In some sense, Denmark is still Scandina- connection with the 2009 spring elections via’s bridge to Europe, though perhaps to the European Parliament. The Economist less so than when there was no fixed praised the Danish model for strengthening t ion : Ra g ni s v ensson link between Skåne and Zealand (Dan- the influence of the national parliament in ish: Sjælland). Traveling from Malmö the decision-making of the EU, namely, sum-

to Copenhagen can be a circuitous moning to the Folketing (the Danish Parlia- i ll us tr a route for those trying to reach the ment) “government ministers every Friday to Continent; on the other hand, that give them mandate for the following week’s meetings of national governments in the EU’s large parts of the Skåne landscape have Council of Ministers. If Danish ministers wish A new textbook. Reflections on the historiography of a era been integrated into the Danish labor to depart from this mandate in the course of market has become obvious and can negotiations in , they have to con- be seen as a return to a previous state sult the Folketing’s European committee by of normalcy. In his little book, Hen- telephone.” ( June 6, 2009) ningsen makes it clear to the reader the kind of richness Danish culture — in particular during the 1800s, the period I. of state bankruptcy and humiliating The 1990s were a golden age for profes- retreats — has constantly been able to sional historians in Russia. Various offer: the two golden ages, with Søren “veterans” of the 1960s “thaw” (ottepel’) Kierkegaard and as fixed resurfaced with publications on sub- stars, belong without question to the jects about which they could not have common European cultural heritage. published anything during the paralyz- And yet: Kierkegaard published his im- ing “stagnation” (zastoi) ushered in by portant works under pseudonyms, and Brezhnev’s inept re-Stalinization efforts Brandes, as a Jew, went into a multiyear in 1965. Following the primarily journal- exile in Berlin. Were they too great for istic efforts of theglasnost era, archive- the ordinary Dane? Johann Friedrich based research began to be published 53

Andrei Zubov (ed. and author) Istoriia Rossii XX vek. 1894–1939 Istoriia Rossii XX vek. 1939–2007

[The history of Russia: The 20th century. 1894– 1939; The history of Russia: The 20th century. 1939–2007] Moscow: Astrel 2009 1,023+829 pages

A new textbook. Reflections on the historiography of a reactionary era

on a large scale, and the former histori- tation (doktorskaia dissertatsia) serves as the basis for historical debate. In the early 1990s, the ography was revised in field after field. further research in the same area. Strictly specialized fundamental works by Edward H. Carr, In contrast to the predictions of some Russian researchers have gradually begun writing gen- Robert Conquest and Richard Pipes, to analysts in the West, the historians in eralizing and synthesizing works as well. Published mention only a few eminent scholars, post-Soviet Russia demonstrated com- archive documents in source volumes have expanded appeared in mass print runs. In recent mitment and enthusiasm as they came the opportunities for basic research. The so-called ar- years, the popular histories on Stalin- to terms with the mythologization of chive revolution and opening up to the outside world ism, , and the World War II by the country’s past. This pertained ini- have been significant in helping them acquire new Simon Montefiore, Anne Applebaum, tially to reassessments of, and new in- knowledge about the history of tsarist Russia and the and Anthony Beevor have likewise been put regarding, the history of Stalinism. Soviet Union. It has been customary for the last fifteen translated, albeit without making the By tradition, most Russian historians years to invite foreign historians to publish in the lead- same impression in Russia as in Western are dedicated professional specialists in ing Russian professional journals. Most of the leading Europe and the US. In the leading Rus- a single problem area during the bulk of historians from Western Europe, Japan and the United sian publishing companies for historical their active research careers. The topic States who specialize in Russian history have seen works, e.g. Rosspen and AIRO-XXI, the that they defend in their doctoral disser- their work translated and included in the Russian renowned scholars Nicolas Werth, Jörg 54reviews

Continued. Reflections on the historiography of a reactionary era

Baberowski, Marc Junge and Andrea new, general handbooks that present the country’s uative grounds for syntheses, general Graziosi have regularly published trans- history from the earliest times to the 2000s in cus- works about an era, a country, a war or lations of their books. The economic tomary scientific fashion. Particularly noteworthy is a social change, the authors of which do historians Robert W. Davies, Mark academy member Andrei Nikolaevich Sakharov’s two- not build on basic research, but are still Harrison and Paul Gregory have, to- volume history, which has been published in several assumed to be conversant with current gether with Russians scholars and PhD editions in recent years.4 research results. students, carried out several research Russian economic historians have, under the edi- Solzhenitsyn presented his concept lennart samuelson projects on the Stalinist command torship of Leonid Abalkin, come together to update for a new textbook about Russian his- Associate professor of economy and the Gulag camp system. the state of research after fifteen years of freedom tory to Andrei Zubov, Professor of economic history at the Agrarian historian Nikolai Ivnitskii from the dogmatic Marxist interpretations of the his- Religious History at the Moscow State Stockholm Institute of (born 1922) offers an illustrative exam- tory of Russia’s economy and economic thinking. Institute of International Relations Transitional Economics ple of what first became possible only The result is a substantial and comprehensive ency- (MGIMO). Zubov brought numerous (SITE), Stockholm School under post-Soviet conditions. Only clopedia that runs to nearly 3,000 pages and tends like-minded people into the project. of Economics. His in the wake of glasnost could Ivnitskii to offer lengthier articles about Russia’s economic Zubov is known for his strong com- recent research projects resume his research on forced col- history from the earliest times up until 1917.5 In their mitment to Russia’s “coming to terms concern the history of the lectivization in the 1930s, a subject foreword, the editors indicate that it is still too soon to with the past”. When Nikolai II and the Soviet military-industrial he had begun to research back in the write a corresponding reference work about the Soviet royal family were formally acquitted complex from the 1920s 1960s, before being stopped. In his first period, 1917—1991. in 2006 of the charges brought against to the Cold War era, monograph in 1972 on “class warfare Authors, actors, and journalists have also striven them by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, including a case-study in rural and the liquidation of to offer their views on Russian history in ways that are Zubov demanded that Lenin be posthu- monograph, Tankograd, the kulaks as a class”, he succeeded in more or less scientifically established, albeit some- mously charged as the one ultimately which is based on conveying a more accurate picture of times more in the nature of straightforward popular responsible for the murder of the royal archival research on the the violent transformation of the rural history. Shining examples of such writers who have family. He had the support of the vice- defense industries in villages thanks only to his use of Aeso- become known outside of Russia as well include Ed- director of the Academy of Sciences’ In- the Cheliabinsk region pian language. However, the subject vard Radzinsky and Aleksandr Bushkov, who have stitute of Russian History, Vladimir Lav- (published in Swedish by was subsequently declared taboo. After compiled countless biographies of various tsars and rov, who explained in a letter to the Rus- SNS in 2007, in Russian the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ivnit- prominent historical figures, from Ivan the Terrible to sian government that not only should by Rosspen in 2009 and skii resurfaced with no fewer than five the Mad Monk, Rasputin.6 Lenin’s mausoleum be torn down and in English by Palgrave works that provide a comprehensive The 1970 winner in literature, Alexan- his embalmed corpse removed, but Macmillan in 2011). picture of collectivization and dekulaki- der Solzhenitsyn, considered the task of depicting the the entire necropolis in Moscow’s Red In the academic year zation, of the role of the secret police in historical roots and course of events of the Russian Square had to be eliminated as an un- 2010–2011, he is Waern the persecution of the “kulaks”, of the Revolution to be one of his life objectives. Solzhenit- suitable relic of a totalitarian regime visiting professor at the “kulak families” who were banished syn continued to collect material on Russia’s past all that had oppressed the people for many Department of History by the thousands to “special towns” the way from 1937 when, as a devout Marxist, he wrote decades.9 of the University of in Northern Russia and Siberia and, the draft of “R-17”, to the 1980s, when he applied the What neither Zubov nor Lavrov took Gothenburg. finally, of the catastrophic famine that finishing touches toThe Red Wheel, while in the 1990s into account were the sensitive issues struck both Ukraine and large parts of he even went so far as to tackle the sensitive issue of concerning descendents’ burial rights Russia and Kazakhstan in 1932—1933.1 the history of the Jews in Russia from the late 1700s to to the remains not only of Party lead- Corresponding renascent basic the late 1970s.7 He viewed the mighty Gulag Archipela- ers but also of the cosmonauts, field research was conducted by historians go as a preliminary study for other, equally important marshals and scientists who have been both younger and older into practically works.8 At some point in the early 2000s the author given state burials and laid to rest near every aspect of modern Russian history: gained support for his idea of producing a history the Kremlin Wall. Nor does Zubov’s political and social life in late-tsarist textbook about Russia that would clearly tie in to his emotional article indicate what he Russia, the events of 1917, the Civil War view of the 1917 revolution as the great watershed in thinks about descendents’ burial rights from 1918 to 1921, the peasant revolt Russian history. to the mass graves in Red Square for the against the Bolshevik regime, through hundreds of members of the Red Guard the entire Soviet period and up to the who fell in the Battle of Moscow during history of everyday life in the 1960s and the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917.10 the dissent movement that was emerg- Their pronouncements provide ing at that time.2 Conditions, which in- II. some idea of how Istoriia Rossii XX vek clude opened archives and extensive re- has been presented as a strong anticom- search using primary sources, are thus A scholastic textbook must take into account that munist reaction to the former predomi- favorable for new syntheses of Russian only 50 class hours are allotted to modern Russian nant ideology. The authors who can history. At the turn of the millennium, history in the 11th grade (the final year of general edu- be identified as professional historians many “veterans” evinced radical new cation). This imposes heavy pedagogical demands include Aleksei Kara—Murza and Ser- ways of thinking about the entire pre- in terms of presentation and choice of subjects and gei Volkov. The chapter on the atomic ceding century, after having seemingly relevant facts, as well as assignments in which the weapon project was written by a spe- been fettered by the “Communist Party pupils are to conduct individual or group discussions. cialist in nuclear weapons technology, line” up until 1991.3 Every university of All textbooks are vetted by the Ministry of Education while the chapter on the space program note in Russia, including the Russian before being either “approved” or “recommended” was written by a doctor of technology Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Rus- (the latter often with reference to pedagogical merits). from Saratov. The art history section of sian History, has presented editions of Within academia there is also a tradition of other eval- the book was written by the director of 55

the Andrei Rublyov Museum, Gennady mulated “in close cooperation with Solzhenitsyn”. “From the Soviet Union Popov. The other coauthors are, how- Although Solzhenitsyn’s and Zubov’s original aim had to Russia’s rebirth, 1992— ever, neither historians nor experts, as been to write a new course text for use in schools or 2007” (II, pp. 579—810), is reflected in both form and content. universities, the final result became something else offers a comprehensive The authors of the book share the be- entirely. The book has failed as a textbook for the gen- chronicle of the most lief that “communism was catastrophic eral Russian 11-year school, and so far has only been recent events in Russian for Russia and the entire world”, but approved in history courses at the St. Petersburg Spir- history. they view the causes of communism itual Academy (Dukhovnaia Akademiia). and its consequences for Russia in dif- The size (1,800 pages) and the scope of the content ferent ways, and sometimes portray the make it impossible for one person to review Istorija Soviet society in terms that indicate that Rossii XX vek in the customary way.13 The 50-page it cannot even be considered to have introduction, “How Russia came to the 20th century”, III. been socialist in the usual sense of the that begins in Rus in the 800s and offers a sweeping word. In that regard, Istoriia Rossii XX overview up to the late 1800s, has a peculiarly retro- The book is written in popular-science veka is less sensational for a Western spective character. Given such a compressed format, style, with only a few references to en- reader, since practically all American a plethora of simplifications is unavoidable. The struc- tire works provided at the end of many, textbooks and most other syntheses ture and chapterization of the rest of the book differ but far from all, of the chapters. Nor are and instructional materials have been from the traditional approach in certain respects. It there any indications as to who among written from roughly the same perspec- is divided in sections (chasti), chapters (glavy) and the roughly forty collaborators wrote tive. In France, a more independent numbered sub-chapters. The first section, “The last what. The texts are interleaved with “A tradition of Slavistics and a Russophilic tsardom”, is divided in three chapters with 69 sub- historian’s perspective” (often quota- spirit after the Second World War fos- chapters, leading the narrative up to the February 1917 tions from known historians) or “The tered a tradition which, in the context Revolution (pp. 62—369). The second section, “Russia Editor-in-chief’s view”, in which Zubov of post-1945 textbooks, adopted a para- in revolution 1917—1922”, devotes one chapter to “The addresses the subject just presented in digm that, even if not communist, was provisional government, March—October 1917” (pp. freer terms, often with conclusions that pro-Soviet.11 393—468). The seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in go far beyond those that the author of Solzhenitsyn proofread various November that same year and the ensuing civil war the section in question was willing to chapters of the book. Each coauthor are covered in a 300-page section entitled “The War draw. The book also contains a large was clearly given free rein to write as for Russia” (I, pp. 469—765) in forty-seven sub-chap- number of document excerpts, so that much or as little as he or she wished, ters. This is followed by the first book’s third section readers can form their own opinions and the number of pages on some sub- on “Russia and the establishment of the Communist of what the historical actors said. Ex- jects piled up far beyond the number to regime, 1923—1939” with thirty-five sub-chapters. amples include Solzhenitsyn’s famous be expected in a textbook. Some eras Unfortunately, many specialists will find a lot in every letter “Live Not By Lies”, which was are given more space than others, with section of the book that seems disputable and relates published in the West the day after his no actual justification being provided only one of many historical schools of thought or indi- arrest in February 1974 and simultane- by the authors. vidual historians. ously spread via samizdat in the Soviet Solzhenitsyn was displeased, dis- Volume II is divided into three large blocks. The Union (II, pp. 422—424). tanced himself from the book and fourth section is entitled “Russia during the Second Zubov claims ultimate responsibil- forbade Zubov from using his name. On World War and the preparatio ns for the Third World ity for how the texts were written, and May 17, 2008, Solzhenitsyn wrote that War (1939—1953)”. Chapter one discusses the period for selecting which excerpts from the he had agreed to support the project of from September 1939 to June 1941 (II, pp. 3—37), that works of historians and philosophers creating a new school textbook about is, from the negotiations in Moscow between the So- have been included. Zubov is the target Russia in the 20th century. But viet Union and Germany up to the annexation of the of the criticisms that have been raised Baltic states and what is traditionally known as “The (even if he did not write the sections) when, under your editorship, Great Patriotic War, 1941—1945”, but which Zubov concerning the factual errors, tenden- this project assumed concrete instead calls “The Soviet-Nazi War 1941—1945 and Rus- tious presentations of numerical mate- forms that corrupted the origi- sia”, thereby emphasizing that it was supposedly not rial and downright falsified documents nal intent, I saw that I could no a war for Russia’s genuine cause but merely that of the that account for the failure of Istoriia longer identify with it. Specifi- communist state, and second, to accommodate the Rossii XX veka to live up to the aspira- cally, I do not agree with its un- Vlasov Army and others who fought for their Russia tions entertained by its authors.14 checked expanded scope, or while at the same time fighting the Soviet regime (II, Zubov has shunned “the Soviet its structure and form, or with pp. 37—187). The post-war reconstruction period is dis- spirit” that is said to have permeated many of the ideas and assess- cussed in chapter three under the thought-provoking earlier attempts at writing textbooks, ments it contains. I therefore heading: “Russia and Stalin’s preparations for the even after the breakup of the Soviet ask that my name not be asso- Third World War that never came” (II, pp. 188—291). Union. According to Zubov and his ciated with your work.12 The post-Stalinist society, its ideology, administrative colleagues, a political regime must be system and crisis economy, as well as the dissolution judged on the basis of how it makes it However, at the Moscow presentation of and resistance to the regime, are analyzed in the possible for individuals to grow spir- of Istoriia Rossii XX vek on November fifth section, “Russia in the degeneration of Commu- itually and materially, and whether it 18, 2009, Zubov took care to point out nist totalitarianism 1953—1991” (II, pp. 291—510). After enhances the worth of the individual or, Solzhenitsyn’s input, stating that the a brief description of Gorbachev’s reform attempts, conversely, leads to degeneration. All in “concept” for the book had been for- the sixth and final section of the two volumes, entitled all, individual growth and development 56reviews

Continued. Reflections on the historiography of a reactionary era

reveal whether the society tends to real- who found themselves on the losing General Staff in order to stem the Russian Army’s sum- ize “the good” or “the bad”. This would side after the 1917 Revolution and the mer offensive. Germany had nearly lost patience with seem an overly vague goal for anyone and then went into Lenin’s party by October 1917, having gotten nothing wishing to write a “History of 20th Cen- exile were able to get published or even in return for the millions of marks invested. According tury Russia”. noticed in the Soviet Union only in to Zubov, this was why Lenin began demanding that Zubov generally underestimates the exceptional cases. But in recent years, the Bolsheviks make a new attempt to seize power in pioneering work that has been done by much of what was written in exile by October (Vol. I, pp. 127, 332, 350, 365—366, 404—412, Russian and other historians over the Russian thinkers, authors and others 459—463). last 20 years. One looks in vain for any has entered the social debate through For Zubov, it is completely logical that the regime of the path-breaking works of the 1990s new editions issued by publishing in the Soviet Union ever since 1917 be characterized concerning the victims and agents of houses in Russia. The first large emi- as illegitimate (nezakonnyi). The support that Russian repression during the from grant colonies in Berlin and Paris in the socialist revolutionaries, anarchists and Bolsheviks re- 1918 to 1921 and more recent contribu- 1920s have been the focus of special ceived from Austria and Germany has been the subject tions on Stalinist repressions in the studies, as have the later waves of Rus- of various studies. But no one has distorted the aspira- 1930s. Zubov believes that the news sian exiles that occurred after 1945 and tions of the revolutionary movement of the 1910s as value of the book lies in the fact that it in the 1970s. Correspondence between Zubov has.16 Istoriia Rossii XX vek explains that Lenin is not interested mainly in the major tsarist Russian diplomats in exile and had, by 1914, become a traitor to his country, in the actors, but also addresses lesser-known generals from the White Army has been pay of the enemy and working as an agent of German individuals who shaped history. The published in heavily annotated source influence. Up until Gorbachev’s “new thinking”, the two-volume work is truly overflow- versions. In Zubov’s work these Rus- Communists were driven by their aspiration of subju- ing with biographies, excerpts from sians are placed in their chronological gating the Russian people and spreading their regime memoirs, diaries, and other private context, and their assessments of the throughout the world. testimonies. However, as strange as it development of the Soviet Union are Among the more peculiar elements in Zubov’s may seem, Zubov ignores in its entirety presented. Of particular interest are work is the Catholic legend of some children in the the social history research conducted the ways in which the various emigrant Portuguese Fatima who during 1916 and 1917 with an emphasis on the history of eve- groups aligned themselves at the out- received revelations from the Mother of God on a ryday life (istoriia povsednevnoi zhizni), break of the Second World War, and in number of occasions. Lucia, who was ten years old at which was consolidated after 1992, and 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked the the time, would then recount how the Mother of God in which Andrei Sokolov’s Center at the Soviet Union. had spoken to the children on the 13th of each month Institute of Russian History occupies a in 1917 from March to October and, oddly enough, prime position.15 warned them of what disaster was to befall Russia. Nei- Zubov’s own assessments deviate ther the ten-year-old Lucia nor her younger siblings at from what the coauthors in question first understood what the word “Russia” referred to. have written. For instance, the author i v. When they told of their experiences, the press began of the section about the autumn of writing about this unusual occurrence in Fatima. Huge 1939 and the first months of the Second The question is whether Andrei Zubov numbers of people gathered to attend what might be World War presents Stalin’s consid- and all his coauthors can explain why, the next revelation. Those present even claimed to erations in terms of realpolitik. But in 1917, it was Russia in particular that have observed strange phenomena, such as the sun Zubov, as the person responsible for became the first country in which the starting to move back and forth across the heavens. On the final version of the book, claims in originally 19th century socialist ideas October 13 the Madonna was said to have explained an insertion (II, p. 14) that if one views were tested. to the children that the people in Russia had not im- the Communist regime as having been Zubov’s simplified reconstruction is proved or prayed for the forgiveness of their sins. As illegitimate right from the start, then presented in the section on the World a result, the country was now to suffer a major calam- it is no longer possible to speak of any War I. Here we “learn” that Vladimir I. ity (I, pp. 455—458). The Catholic Church granted the legitimate claims on the part of the So- Lenin paid two secret visits to Berlin in Miracle of Fatima official status in 1967. The reader viets in 1939 vis-à-vis western Ukraine June and July of 1914, and reached an will no doubt wonder what Zubov and his coauthors or western Belarus, both of which were agreement with highly placed military intend to explain with regard to Russian history in the incorporated into the Soviet Union after officials to undermine the Russian home 20th century by bringing up the well-known legend of the crushing of Poland. front during the coming war. The leader the Madonna at Fatima. Does this open the way to the For Zubov, “Russia” refers not only of the Bolsheviks allegedly received 70 idea that higher powers somehow “intervened” in the to the geographical/administrative ele- million German marks in return. The events in Russia? On the other hand, Zubov’s accounts ment within the Soviet Union, but also imminent events thus came under the of the Orthodox Church’s relationship with the Tsar to the entire cultural sphere, including control of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Ger- and of the Communist regime’s fight against Christian- the Russian diaspora. Perhaps one of man General Staff. The military in Ber- ity and other religions during the interwar period are the best features of the book is that it lin had prepared a plan to “carry out the objective and mostly matter-of-fact. includes accounts of how the Russian ” as far back as 1916! After these different takes on what is traditionally groups in exile not only adapted to life But events forced them to postpone known as the Russian Revolution of 1917, the reader in China, Serbia, Germany, France or their initiative for one year, until Lenin will not be surprised to find that Zubov devotes a 300- elsewhere, but also passed on the Rus- had returned to Russia. Zubov explains page section of the book — “The War for Russia” (Voina sian cultural heritage and the traditions that the spontaneous workers’ revolt in za Rossiiu) — to the Russian Civil War and the efforts of of the . The Petrograd in July 1917 was instigated by foreign interventionist troops to destroy the Bolshevik philosophers, historians and journalists Lenin on the directives of the German regime between 1918 and 1921. This section reflects, to 57

a greater extent than most of the others, this work to describe how “the more noble, more hon- how the authors have in fact incorpo- est and more patriotic part” of the Russian population rated both the classic accounts written lost the battle for Russia during the Civil War falls into by the White generals in exile and the the realm of preconceived notions. numerous documents and archival pub- The widespread famine of 1921—1922 is referred to lications in recent years that have shed as “the planned famine” or “killing by famine” (pervyi light on the White Armies and on condi- golodomor in Russian). Zubov adopts a controversial tions in the areas that were periodically interpretation which was originally introduced by controlled by the White side. nationalist Ukrainian historians in Canada in the 1980s The execution of the Tsar’s family and again in Ukraine after 1991 to paint the famine in on 17 July 1918 is described in detail, Ukraine 1932—1933 (holodomor in Ukrainian) as an act but approached in an unusual way of genocide that was intentionally controlled by the with respect to German considera- Kremlin in order to exterminate the Ukrainian peas- tions. Because the executed Tsar had antry. Historians outside of Russia are very divided not approved the Brest-Litovsk Peace on this interpretation, although no serious scholar Treaty of 1918, but rather had clung to denies the famine of 1932—1933. The documentation at his belief that the White forces would hand hardly lends itself to this genocide thesis. First, retake those areas and continue the war the catastrophic famine of 1932—1933 was attributable against Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm sup- not only to Stalin’s requisition policies, but also to the posedly gave his consent to allow Lenin reduction in the amount of land under cultivation and to execute Nikolai II and the members a severely dry summer in 1932, which destroyed large of his family. This curious twist of other, parts of the grain crop in Ukraine and southern Rus- rication made to legitimize the Commu- usually anti-Semitic, myths surrounding sia. In addition, there is no evidence that the famine nist Party’s struggle to reconnect to the the execution of the Tsar’s family will was especially severe solely in Ukraine. Zubov thus original ideals of the Lenin era, which certainly give rise to doubts on Zubov’s applies the term golodomor to the catastrophic famine had implicitly been trampled by Stalin general worldviews. of 1921—1922 as well, thereby parting ways with the after 1929. Given Zubov’s expressed aim The authors’ accounts of the vari- majority of historians and economic historians, who of writing an anti-communist and sup- ous armies on the White side, and their certainly do accept that the bad conditions in the rural posedly truer history, it is remarkable attempts to offer the unwillingness of villages were attributable to many years of requisition that such tales are found in the book. the Russian people to fight for their policies. However, none of them has denied that it was Pure historical falsifications often country, their lack of any real sense of the exceptionally dry summer in 1921 that made the diminish the value of Zubov’s commit- nationhood and their tendency to think famine a reality, or that the Bolshevik regime did what ted anti-communism and, in the long mainly of their own best interests as a it could to try and relieve the distress, and accepted term, run the risk of undermining con- comprehensive explanation for why the foreign aid for those affected. On these grounds, fidence in his purpose, even when his was victorious on all fronts Zubov’s use of the term golodomor would appear to be positions are reasonable. Allow me to will, along with many similar “generali- incorrect. offer a flagrant example. The millions zations” and moralizations, undoubt- Zubov’s work is, in certain respects, in line with a of street urchins present in the 1920s edly put Zubov’s Istoriia Rossii XX vek in neo-patriotic interpretation prevalent among Russian and early 1930s were a scourge on the a category all by itself. journalists and political scientists, who describe the society. They had become homeless Zubov’s lack of elementary source- period immediately following the seizure of power by or lost their parents during the World critical thinking is clearly evident in that the Bolsheviks as being significantly bloodier than has War, the subsequent Civil War, or the he could not bring himself to include been customary in Soviet works. Lenin’s reign from famine of 1921—1922. Various People’s even the serious discussions being con- 1917 up to the early 1920s is considered, not only by Commissariats took active steps to ducted regarding the Red and White means of the Red Terror and acts of war, to have im- care for these besprizornye in special Terror. Zubov has failed to include re- posed a significantly higher cost in terms of human life orphanages, where they were able to cent research, e.g. by A. Litvin, I. Ratko- than did Stalin’s “top-down revolution” of the early participate in normal schooling and vskii and M. Shilovskii, on the campaign 1930s. Zubov’s work is consistent with that of historian even receive some occupational train- of terror engaged in by the Bolshevik Natalia Narotchnitskaïa, who repudiates Lenin and his ing. Childrearing methods, radical for regime against resistors. Zubov instead era in especially strong terms, and is prepared to put the time, were employed at some of giddily provides, without reservation, forth the most hyperbolic data about the persecutions these orphanages, drawing interest old myths and widely inaccurate figures during the early 1920s.17 from far beyond Soviet Russia. The on the extent of repression against The description of the NEP period is comparatively authorities solved the worst aspects of priests, teachers, doctors, the military, succinct, and addresses only the most important eco- poverty in the postwar years when the the police, peasants and workers. The nomic debates and the conflicts within the Orthodox rapid industrialization process and col- figures were obtained from the Novem- Church during the 1920s and up until Stalin’s “top- lectivization of farming in 1928—1932 re- ber 7, 1923, (sic!) edition of the Edin- down revolution” of 1929—1932. created a social scourge of more or less burgh newspaper The Scotsman, which Zubov resurrects the legend, abandoned by schol- criminalized street urchins.18 Under the however “failed to provide any source” ars, that a group of “clear thinking” communists at heading “The liquidated street urchin (I, pp. 552—553). It is said that “history is the 17th Party Congress in 1934 approached Leningrad problem” (likvidirovannaia besprizor- written by the winners”, and that histo- Party Secretary Kirov in an attempt to remove Stalin nost), Zubov conversely and absurdly riography is consistently one-sided and as the Party’s general secretary. This legend was circu- posits that the disappearance of some tendentious. But what is presented in lated in the Khrushchev era, and may be seen as a fab- five million street urchins who were 58reviews

Continued. Reflections on the historiography of a reactionary era

present in the 1922 statistics but not 10 expect this to be evident in a synthesis in December of 1939 and which no serious historian years later is attributable to repression such as Zubov’s book. The Great Terror viewed as an authentic record of Stalin’s explanation by the GPU, or security police, and to of 1937 can be traced to two initiatives as to why he was prepared to enter into a non-aggres- the great famine of 1932—1933. Zubov on the part of the top political leader- sion pact with Nazi Germany.22 attempts to tie the problem to the no- ship. First, a series of national opera- torious law passed in April 1935 that tions in which supposedly untrustwor- lowered the age of criminal liability to 12 thy individuals of the same ethnic and also extended the death penalty to origins as were present in the countries minors. Zubov claims that the purpose neighboring Russia (Poland, Latvia, Fin- V. of the law was to give the secret police land, Korea, etc.) were subjected to re- free rein to execute street urchins (I, pression, banishment and punishment Zubov believes that reason becomes superfluous pp. 927—928). This is, of course, not (Gulag or execution). Second, a mass when it comes to the behavior of the Soviet Union in the case, but rather has been extracted operation that was somewhat mislead- an international context. As a result of this attitude, from the most reactionary legends that ingly named the “anti-kulak operation”. Istoriia Rossii XX veka provides no assessments of the have circulated about Stalinist terror Collectively these NKVD operations realpolitik or even geopolitical factors that the Krem- ever since the Nazis escalated their accounted for the bulk of the nearly lin may have considered at one time or another. The “Judeo-Bolshevism” propaganda in the 700,000 executions that were carried reader is inundated with postulated truths about the 1930s. No historical works are even tied out in 1937—1938.21 But Zubov intro- regime’s expansionist aspirations rather than refer- to this section, although there are refer- duces, with regard to the Great Terror, a ences to research on the foreign policy of the Soviet ences to defected agent historical background that is unknown government during the interwar period and the vari- and his 1939 “memoirs”, co-written to the research community. The 1937 ous phases of the Cold War. Zubov’s description of the with the journalist Isaac don Levine. census revealed that the majority of the annexation of Polish, Romanian, and Baltic territories The reader will no doubt wonder why Russian people still characterized them- in the first phase of the Second World War 1939—1940 Zubov indicates that there were hun- selves as believing Christians. Zubov is straightforward and the narrative underlines the dreds of thousands of such executions, claims, alone among Russian historians, crash realpolitik of that epoch. The extent of repres- or even more. The well-known Latvian that the Great Terror was focused pri- sion in the sovietized territories is emphasized, as is documentary The Soviet Story by Edvins marily on the various groups of believ- the fact that several Western powers never recognized Snore likewise absurdly asserts that the ers in the Soviet Union. the Soviet annexations. According to Zubov some “street urchin problem” of the 1930s In the chapter on the years leading 700,000 inhabitants of the former Baltic states were was solved through mass executions.19 up to the Second World War, Zubov victims of repression by the NKVD or secret police, Other sources must be consulted to see buys into the view, commonly held in by means of elimination of the political elite and mass how trade schools and daycare centers Eastern Europe, that Stalin sought to deportations of whole families to distant settlements gave “society’s unfortunate children” provoke a war between Germany and in Siberia (II, p. 16—20). a second chance in life. The theories of Great Britain. This could have been one As noted, the authors do not use the term “Great Anton Makarenko and others on child- of Stalin’s conceivable scenarios in 1939. Patriotic War, 1941—1945”, which is the common term, rearing helped tens of thousands of But Zubov makes the mistake of citing even in modern Russia, but which, for obvious rea- street urchins return to society during in support of his thesis a speech sup- sons, is called into question by Ukrainian and other the interwar years. posedly given by Stalin to the Politburo nationalists. Zubov also attempts to distinguish Rus- Western and Russian experts have on August 19, 1939. No such session sia from the regime that was established. Because he analyzed the actual extent of the crimi- was held that day, and the archival considers the post-1917 regime to be illegitimate, hav- nality of under-age groups in the 1930s. document cited is, in fact, a speech ing established an oppressive state over the Russian Russian historian Oleg Khlevniuk has in French (!) that was found in the so- people, it could not have fought for the Fatherland in provided a weighty and thoughtful called Trophy Archive (now part of the the true sense. Here he differs from Natalia Narotch- background to the change in the law, Russian State Military Archives, RGVA) nitskaia, who conversely believes that, when the its origins, and its application. Of the among other documents that the Red existence of the Russian nation was threatened by the roughly 110,000 street urchins arrested, Army discovered in corresponding Nazi Nazis in 1941, Stalin’s regime became the sole guaran- approximately two-thirds were restored trophy archives in Berlin. To be sure, tor of the survival of the Russian people.23 to their parents or relatives, some the author refers significantly enough to Zubov aligns himself with a group of military histo- 30,000 were placed in orphanages, and the Russian translation of the text pub- rians in Russia who vigorously defend defected GRU around 10,000 were actually sentenced lished by historian Tatiana Bushueva agent Vladimir Rezun’s hypothesis that, in May 1941, to lengthy terms in the camps. On the in the literature magazine Novyi mir in Stalin and the General Staff of the Red Army prepared other hand, very few minors were sen- 1994, without devoting a single word to for an attack on the Nazi and other troops concen- tenced to death. The new law elicited the provenance of the document. The trated along the borders of the Soviet Union. To date it strong protests in the West at the time, source-critical review that Sergei Sluch has not been possible to substantiate this hypothesis, and Stalin tried to persuade French presented in the early 2000s establish- which Rezun (under the pseudonym Viktor Suvorov) author that it had been es beyond a doubt that the document has asserted since 1985, with archival documents.24 adopted mainly as a scare tactic.20 was drafted by French journalists or in- On the contrary, most of the Red Army’s plans for Stalin’s repression of the cadres in telligence agents purely for propaganda 1941 indicate that it was prepared only for a defensive the Party and the Army and the mass purposes in the autumn of 1939. Also war in the event that Nazi Germany should attack. operations of 1937—1938 are among the relevant is a similar “speech by Stalin” Even on logistical grounds, that is, troop transport most thoroughly analyzed topics of that enjoyed widespread dissemination capacity by rail, it was clear to the Soviet General Staff research in recent decades. One might in the Western European press back that, in 1941, the Red Army could not undertake any 59

major operations for anticipatory or dissident movement, are described in vibrant and 9 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty http:// pre-emptive purposes. On the other dynamic fashion. On the other hand, a reader will look www.rferl.org/content/Tsar_Murder_Probe_ hand, many hundreds of thousands of in vain for connections to the debates that have raged Raises_Divisive_Questions_About_Bolshe- men were mobilized during the spring between Russian and Western historians, particularly vik_Crimes/1961860.html accessed on 2010- and early summer of 1941, all in hopes intense since glasnost in the 1980s and following the 04-18. 10 Regarding the sensitive issue of burial rights, of being able to stave off the impend- opening of the Russian archives in the 1990s. which is hardly ever discussed in connec- ing attack from Nazi Germany for a tion with demands from Russian politicians few more years. As is known, Stalin lennart samuelson to tear down the Lenin Mausoleum, see ultimately reasoned that Germany Aleksei Abramov, Pravda i vymysel o krem- would not repeat previous historical lëvskom nekropole i mavzolee [The truth and mistakes and start a two-front war, 1 Nikolai Alekseievich Ivnitskii, Klassovaia borba v derevne i likvi- lies on the Kremlin Necropolis and Mauso- against Great Britain in the west and datsiia kulachestva kak klassa (1929—1932 gg.) [The class struggle leum], Moscow 2005. 11 Regarding the French textbooks’ tendencies Russia in the east. Unfortunately, little in the countryside and the liquidation of the kulaks as a class, and connections to the Soviet-Marxist para- of the extensive Russian debates since 1929—1932], Moscow 1972; Kollektivizatsiia i raskulachivanie (nachalo 30-kh godov) [Collectivization and , digm, see Laurent Jalabert, Le Grand Débat: the late 1980s concerning the legacy of 1929—1932], Moscow 1996; Repressivnaia politika sovetskoi vlasti Les Universitaires francais — historiens et the 1937—1938 repressions of thousands v derevne (1928—1933 gg.) [The repressive policy in the country- géographes — et les pays communistes de 1945 of officers, the failure of the Soviet side by the Soviet Power, 1928—1933], Moscow 2000; Sudba à 1991, Toulouse 2001. leadership to disentangle intelligence raskulachennykh v SSSR, Moscow 2004; Golod 1932—1933 godov 12 Solzhenitsyn, facsimile of letter, http://pics. reports from its own agents from smart v SSSR (Ukraina, Severnyi Kavkaz, Povolzhe, Centralnaia Cher- livejournal.com/russia_xx/pic/00005893/ German disinformation, and eventually nozemnaia , Zapadnyi Sibir, Ural) [The fate of the deku- accessed on 2010-02-25. 13 The Harvard history professor Richard Pipes Stalin’s guilt in failing to heighten the lakized peasants in the USSR]; Golod ... Ural [The 1932—1933 Famine in the USSR (Ukraine, Northern , the Volga was among the first to laud Zubov’s book as alert in the final weeks before the Nazi Region, the Central Black-Earth Region, Western Siberia, the something radically new in Russian histo- attack on June 22, 1941, is reflected in Urals)], Moscow 2009. riography, compare radio RFE/ RL http:// Zubov’s book. Similar to the versions of 2 For an overview of the more recent Russian historiography on www.rferl.org/content/A_New_Russian_His- some other writers, Zubov’s account of part of the Soviet epoch, refer to John Keep’s and Alter Litvin’s tory_Thats_Sensational_For_The_Right_Rea- the course of the war from 1941 up until excellent overviews of the history of Stalinism: Stalinism: Rus- sons/1895990.html (accessed on 2010-05- the Battle of Berlin in 1945 has a cut- sian and Western Views at the Turn of the Century, London & 25), and as quoted by Sophia Kishovsky, “A history of 20th-century Russia, Warts and and-dried character. Like many others New York 2005; idem, Epokha Stalina v Rossii: Sovremennaia All”, New York Times, December 3, 2009. who limit their perspective to “history istoriografiia, Moscow 2009. 3 See here the radical re-interpretation of the Soviet period by However, the present reviewer seriously from below”, i.e. that of the individual Efim Gimpelson, Rossiia na perelome epokh: Osmyslenie XX doubts that Professor Pipes, on closer in- soldiers, Zubov repeats the descrip- stoletiia rossiiskoi istorii [Russia at the turns of epochs: Re- spection of Zubov’s two-volume History, tions of putatively meaningless tactical flections on the Russia’s 20th century history], Moscow 2006. would approve of its presentation of the 1917 battles that demanded the sacrifice of Among Gimpelson’s earlier publications on the Soviet system Revolution or endorse the explanations on thousands of men. The fact that, in a of management can be mentioned Velikii Oktiabr i stanovlenie the Stalinist “revolution from above in the series of strategic operations (Stalingrad sovetskoi systemy upravleniia narodnym khoziaistvom (oktiabr 1930s”. Furthermore, Pipes’s sweeping gen- eralizations of an alleged lack of attention and Kursk in 1943, Belorussia in 1944), 1917—1920) [The Great and the formation of the Soviet system of management of the people’s economy by Russia’s professional historians to their the Red Army marshals, generals and (October 1917—1920)], Moscow 1977. Western colleagues bear little resemblance colonels outshone the most prominent 4 Andrei N. Sakharov (red.), Istoriia Rossii s drevneishikh vremën to their interrelation with foreign scholars in field commanders in theWehrmacht do kontsa XVII veka, [A history of Russia from eldest time to the recent two to three decades. should be made clear in any synthe- the end of the 17th century], Moscow 2003; idem, Istoriia Rossii 14 One of MGIMO’s vice rectors has even taken sis, and here Zubov could have made s nachala XVIII veka do nachala XXI veka [A history of Russia exception to the book as being directly un- significantly better use of the research from the early 18th century to the early 21st century], Moscow suitable for students, based on the excessive number of dubious interpretations and pure done by Western and Russian military 2003 and later editions. See also p. V. Leonov (ed.), Istoriia Ros- factual errors encumbering it. historians in recent years. sii s drevenishikh vremën do kontsa XX veka [A history of Rus- sia from eldest times to the end of the 20th 15 Cf. Lewis Siegelbaum & Andrei Sokolov, Sta- Zubov presents the period after 1953 century], Moscow 2002, for its discussion of in a more conventional manner, and his decisive historical turning points. account can be read as a standardized 5 Ekonomicheskaia istoriia Rossii s drevneishikh depiction of the Cold War era. Middle- vremën do 1917: Entsiklopediia [Russia’s eco- aged and older Russian readers will find nomic history from eldest times to 1917: An isolated deficiencies in Zubov’s mul- encyclopedia], edited by Leonid Borodkin tifaceted account of living standards, and others, Moscow 2009. 6 See for example Edvard Radzinskii, Stalin, altered housing conditions and new Moscow 1997; Alexandr Bushkov, Stalin: Ledi- or elusive career opportunities under anoi tron [Stalin: The ice throne] St. Peters- Khrushchev and Brezhnev. What is val- burg 2004. uable in Zubov’s work are his accounts 7 Alexander I. Solzhenitsyn, Dvesti let vmeste of how the Russian exile groups (in the (1795—1995) [Two hundred years together, US and Western Europe) were able to 1795—1995], Moscow 2001; idem, Dvesti let begin establishing serious contacts with vmeste [Two hundred years together], Mos- freethinkers and “dissidents” in the cow 2002. 8 See for instance Edward E. Ericson Jr. & Alexis Soviet Union, starting in the late 1960s. Klimoff,The Soul and the Barbed Wire: An In- Both international conflicts and internal troduction to Solzhenitsyn, Wilmington 2008, Soviet complications, particularly the pp. 150—161. 60reviews

Research on Russia from a Finnish horizon. Avoiding collapse by framing institutions

linism as a Way of Life: A Narrative in Docu- Russia Lost or Found? n the summer of 2009, the Finnish Ministry of to the population and contributed only ments, New Haven & London 2004. Patterns and Foreign Affairs arranged a conference to mark to a certain increase in the standard of 16 Cf. Stefan T. Possony, Lenin: The Compulsive Trajectories Finland’s annexation to the Russian Empire 200 living. Revolutionary, Chicago 1964, pp. 151—184, on Edited by Hiski years earlier. The volume Russia Lost or Found? Lenin’s and the Bolsheviks’ contacts with I Russian reform-minded millionaires, with Haukkala and Sinikukka is based on papers from the conference, written by Whenever a single natural resource so the Austrian and German authorities on Saari six Finnish and three foreign scholars. They analyze totally dominates the income of a coun- matters of financial support for the Party’s present-day Russia and its domestic and foreign poli- try like energy in the case of Russia, it newspapers and organization; for a modern Helsinki: Ministry cies from economic, political, and historical perspec- always becomes a curse. In Russia it account of Lenin that rejects the foreign, of Foreign Affairs tives in an effort to better understand what is currently is even worse, says Alexander Etkind, and purportedly German, control of the & Edita 2009 happening in Russia. who characterizes the situation as a Bolsheviks, see Helène Carrère d’Encausse, 217 pages The geographical proximity of Finland to Russia “dual curse of raw materials”. Accord- Lénine, Paris 1998. 17 Natalia Narotshnitskaïa, Que reste-t-il de no- posed a problem for Finland and set limits on Finnish ing to Etkind, the Russian regime is tre victoire? Russie-Occident: Le Malentendu, politics throughout the last century. This proximity dominated by old-fashioned geopoliti- Paris 2008, pp. 43—60. also influenced Finnish research on Russia, which, up cal thinking, and winks at the soft sec- 18 See Alan M. Ball, And Now My Soul Is Hard- to the early 1970s, avoided any serious study of Soviet tors in the society. The demographic ened: Abandoned Children in Soviet Russia, society. The ever-intensifying economic ties at that trends are frightening, with extremely 1918—1930, Berkeley, Los Angeles & London time created a need for knowledge and stimulated re- high mortality rates, a bad healthcare 1994. search. But in his overview of Finnish Russian studies, system, an under-financed educational 19 Edvins Snore, “The Soviet Story”, DVD, Raimo Väyrynen notes that such research did not ac- system, and a totally inadequate social 2008. 20 Oleg Khlevniuk, Khoziain: Stalin i utverzhde- tually commence until the 1990s. As a member of the safety net. Living conditions are un- nie stalinskoi diktatury [The boss: Stalin and EU, Finland made a commitment to conduct research necessarily harsh for many Russians, the consolidation of the Stalinist dictator- on Russia; the Aleksanteri Institute was founded in which explains the extremely high lev- ship], Moscow 2009, pp. 237—239. 1996 as the hub of a research network, and the Finn- els of alcohol consumption.1 Etkind as- 21 Vladimir Khaustov & Lennart Samuelson, ish Academy provided generous funding. A number serts that a commitment to soft sectors Stalin, NKVD i repressii, 1936—1938 gg. [Sta- of research centers with a focus on Russia devel- has played an important role for posi- lin, NKVD, and the repressions, 1936—1938], oped. Finland’s proximity to Russia now became an tive economic development in many Moscow 2008. 22 Sergei Sluch, “Rech Stalina, kotoroi ne asset. countries. bylo” [Stalin’s speech that never was held], The “curse” inherent in the domi- Otechestvennaia istoriia, 2004:1, pp. 113—139. Analyses of Russia tend to share a common weakness. nance of one natural resource derives 23 Narotchnitskaïa, Que reste-t-il, pp. 129—131. Researchers and journalists often base their work on from the fact that energy extraction 24 Viktor Suvorov, The Ice-Breaker: Who Started declarations by the Russian government rather than employs only a small part of the popula- the Second World War? London 1985. The actual policies and the results of these policies. This tion (1.6 percent of the workforce), and Russian debate in defense of Rezun-Suvo- book also contains contributions where the conclu- occurs in isolation. It is controlled by rov’s theses may be found in, for example sions are based mainly on declared policy. It is, in only a few oligarchs, state officials, and Pravda Viktora Suvorova: Perepisyvaia istori- iu Vtoroi Mirovoi, [Viktor Suvorov’s truth: my view, difficult to describe Russian foreign policy politicians, who also control the welfare st to rewrite the history of World War II], as successful in the first decades of the 21 century if revenues and their distribution. This Moscow 2006. Arguments against Rezun- you follow what has occurred. The rhetoric of Russian elite has no personal interest in improv- Suvorov have been put forward by, among leaders may have become more militant, but Russia ing the quality of the workforce and others, Alexander Pomogaibo, Psevdoistorik has in reality become politically isolated, unable to de- its standard of living, or in investing in Suvorov i zagadki Vtoroi Mirovoi Voiny [The velop an economic policy that is attractive to states on other industries. For them, it is enough pseudo-historian Suvorov and the enigmas former Soviet territory, and has experienced several to make the necessary investment in of World War II], Moscow 2002, and Aleksei Isaev, Anti-Suvorov: Desiat mifov Vtoroi Mi- foreign policy setbacks. the energy sector. The rest is used for rovoi [Anti-Suvorov: Ten myths about World The authors have mostly avoided the trap of de- consumption or to buy property in War II], Moscow 2005. claratory policies, or historical determinism, gener- the West. Nor does the elite have any alizations or schematic trend extrapolations. They interest in coming to grips with corrup- exhibit methodological awareness. The book focuses tion, since that is part of the system. It on the structures, institutions (in the sense of ground permits no opposition to its policies, rules), processes, and actors that could contribute to a and expands the security apparatus. change of the system. Moreover, says Etkind, the population The main message of the book is that Russia is in as a whole also prioritizes private con- need of profound structural reforms. A number of sumption, maintains a passive attitude, contributors make it clear that the Russian political and does not seek change. and economic system has run aground. They empha- So is the picture completely bleak? size the severity of the situation by noting that the Soili Nysten–Haarala hopes that the ac- systems lacks incentives for change. Those in Russia tors in the market economy, the compa- who could have an impact have no personal interest nies, will be agents of change. When for- in change, while those who want to change the system mal institutions are weak, and laws and have no influence. The relative prosperity that result- regulations are not enforced, informal ed from the high world-market prices for energy prod- institutions (practices, attitudes, un- ucts in the early 21st century made the small group of regulated processes) tend to take over. people who controlled natural resources extremely Such informal institutions have a long wealthy, while a portion of the surplus trickled down tradition in Russia, and they have en- 61

joyed extensive freedom of action over ion polls show that a majority of young, well-educated After having followed Russian cul- the last two decades. Nysten-Haarala Russians want to settle abroad, not only to qualify for tural life in situ in Moscow for over four believes that individual companies can better future jobs in Russia, but because they have no years, I can vouch for the existence of a assume continued importance in such a comfort, security, or confidence in a good future in dynamic spirit of innovation and crea- context. They often rely on the goodwill their homeland. tivity in Russian cultural life that bodes of local governments to be able to oper- well for the future, albeit over the long ate, but they also play an important role Timo Vihavainen is a historian who views current Rus- term. Culture in the form of art, film, in contributing to the social services in sian society in terms of the legacy from the past. Even and theater communicates a different Lena Jonson the given area. Local governments are though he carefully discusses how this legacy of many perspective on the future than the lam- PhD in political science, poorly financed, and are unable to of- centuries could conceivably impact on the present entable stagnation that characterizes head of the Russia fer satisfactory social services to their situation, his chapter displays a spirit of historical Russia’s political life, with its destruc- Research Programme citizens. As a legacy from the Soviet era, determinism. It is obvious that the shadow of history tive consequences in terms of both so- at the Swedish Institute this responsibility rests with the com- hangs over Russia. But Vihavainen looks at opinion cial development and individual life. of International Affairs. panies. It is a heavy responsibility, but polls showing strong popular support for Stalin, a be- Etkind summarizes the book and the Cultural Counsellor at it does give the companies a means of lief in Russian exceptionalism, a Russian Sonderweg, concerns of its authors in the following the Swedish Embassy in exerting influence at the local level and, and imperialistic dreams of a Great Russia in light of way: Moscow 2005–2009. through their actions, an opportunity the country’s long tradition of a dominant authoritar- to help reshape informal institutions. ian state. He offers a similar explanation for the heavy Deep changes in Russia will We may recall that the Ikea furniture voter support garnered on TV shows (such as “Russia’s follow deep changes in the company became a popular role model Name”) by people who have defended Russia against world. The best hope is that when it fired three Russian managers in invasions from the West, such as Alexander Nevsky, or in response to these changes, the fall of 2009 for turning a blind eye to tsarist Russian conservative ministers like Peter Stoly- Russia will not collapse, as corruption and bribery. pin. I disagree with Vihavainen’s analysis, because did the Soviet Union, but will he cannot explain the changes in public opinion over engage itself in a deep and Markku Kivinen takes a look at efforts by time, such as the fact that support for Stalin in public productive perestroika, which the Russian government to reform the opinion polls rose in the early 21st century after having will transform the economic social welfare system. The old system declined over the preceding decades. Leading Russian and biopolitical foundations provided small but reliable benefits to sociologists point out that this support was to a large of the nation. a host of weak social groups. It was a extent a product of the number of TV programs. With complicated system which was to be re- encouragement of the political regime, the programs To help Russia carry out this process, placed with cash benefits. Because the influenced the more than 80 percent of the popula- both the authors and the Finnish Minis- government failed to embed the reform tion for whom TV is the primary information source. try of Foreign Affairs recommend that via political discussion, it was met with TV series, documentaries and fiction have explained, everything should be done to create a strong popular protests. Russian pen- comprehended, and humanized Stalin, to say nothing framework for a lasting and mutually sioners took to the streets in early 2005, of how his name has been linked to the government’s cooperative relationship in order to re- and the government backed down. intensified political rhetoric over the last ten years re- duce the threat both from and vis-à-vis Such public reaction is an indication garding Russia’s victory in World War II. Russia. With this we can only strongly that there exists a potential for change. concur. But popular protests are still a rarity. There is another aspect to this. Vihavainen looks only lena jonson From a theoretical standpoint, the at one tradition in Russian political thought. He forgets growing middle class could become a that there has been and remains another tradition, force for change. Kivinen concedes that, one that, while certainly significantly weaker, has run 1 See “Na zdorovye! Gender and binge drinking so far, there are no signs that this is the parallel to the dominant tradition of thought over the in Russia”, Baltic Worlds, vol.II:1. case in Russia. The middle class seeks centuries. In his great work on Russia and Europe individual solutions. When it becomes from 1492 to 1921, the Russian-American historian Al- politically active it does so within the exander Yanov argues that for centuries there existed framework of the loyalist United Russia two schools of thought in Russia, and he shows how party. the pendulum has swung from one to the other. If the first school falls back on “conservative” concep- I would supplement Kivinen by noting tions of Russian uniqueness, then the second is based that any close examination of the behav- on more “liberal” ideas about how Russia can be ior of the middle class reveals a spirit of reformed by and learn from the experiences of other total resignation which characterizes nations. Yanov does not date these viewpoints to the Russia at present. Not only does the late 19th century struggles between “Slavophiles” and middle class obtain private insurances, “Westernizers”; he finds them also in the 16th century. use private doctors, send children to According to Yanov, every “liberal” attempt to reform private schools or, even more prefer- has failed. Each half-implemented reform program ably, schools abroad, buy apartments in has been followed by a reactionary backlash and a pe- the rest of Europe, and settle in oases of riod of political restoration. Even though the “liberal” housing tracts on the periphery of Mos- alternative has not always been accorded its proper cow named after Western countries and place in the public sphere, it has been present in the isolated from the rest of society. Opin- political discussion among intellectuals. 62reviews

Brodsky’s credo. Aesthetics is the mother of

Bengt Jangfeldt o those who cannot speak aesthetics as the mother of ethics. He believed that a with a variety of subjects — from stories Språket är Gud Russian, the works of Joseph person who developed good artistic taste would be- and anecdotes about traits and idi- Anteckningar om Brodsky may to some extent come immune to moral and political evil. He proposed osyncrasies of the poet to political and Joseph Brodsky Tremain foreign. Brodsky that classic literature should fill the pages of news- aesthetic discussions. Jangfeldt writes agreed with the sentiment expressed papers in the post-communist countries rather than about Brodsky’s enthusiasm for Sweden [Language is God: Notes in the title of Bengt Jangfeldt’s knowl- current events — yet another point for which Brodsky and about his many sojourns there, as on Joseph Brodsky] edgeable, empathetic, and sympathetic received no understanding. well as his relationship with American Stockholm: Wahlström & book: Language is God. And this mainly traffic police, in the poet’s eye govern- Widstrand 2010 applied to poetry, the pinnacle of the Jangfeldt mentions Brodsky’s “combination of ment authorities no better than KGB 367 pages human use of language. Jangfeldt, an as- intuition-driven energy and inadequate logic” as a agents. These fragments all build on sociate professor in , thinker and explains this by the fact that he was self- Bengt Jangfeldt’s personal memories of says: “Poetry was the breath of life for taught. The authority on which he rested was, as one Brodsky, making them not only authori- Iosif Brodskij, it occupied his being might imagine, his mastery as a poet. And therefore tative, but also alive and captivating. more than anything else; an obsession. the consequences are so extensive that the major- He proclaimed that poetry was older ity of the world’s poetry readers will never be able michel ekman than and would also outlive politics — a to fully appreciate the greatness of the poems — and higher form of human activity, higher, why Brodsky is undeniably enigmatic. Even as an es- to be sure, than political language, but sayist — where he sometimes wrote in English — he Note: This review was first published in also more perfect than prose. A friend leaves a mixed impression. When Brodsky departs Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm. Michel Ekman who shared a taxi with him on the way from his own field, the brilliant poetry analyses, a PhD, researcher and to the Leningrad airport the day he was strange condescending and nonchalant tone often en- literary critic for Svenska deported from the Soviet Union remem- croaches — as in the unusually unpleasant controversy Dagbladet (Stockholm) bers that the conversation was mainly with Milan Kundera about Dostoyevsky’s ideology, and Hufvudstadsbladet about poetry and not, as might have where Brodsky manages to marginalize the ancient (Helsinki). been expected, about politics and the Russian tyranny of its neighboring countries, blaming impending exile.” the Western world for Soviet communism (because Add Brodsky’s strongly traditional Marx was German ...) and implying that he himself, view of poetry: he considered its most because of his high moral and ethical qualifications, important characteristics to be meter resisted the totalitarian power more successfully than and rhyme. Through the power of his Kundera. As would appear to be natural, Brodsky was innovative command of these elements largely a product of both his own experiences of Soviet he became one of the most significant oppression and of the spiritual climate of ancient Rus- poets of the . The cen- sian totalitarianism. When he expressed himself on tral theme of Brodsky’s poetry is time conditions in the Western world he could appear to be and the ability of the poem to conquer insightful, but also somewhat bizarre, in essence dis- it. The form both perpetuates culture — tanced from the problems of equality and democracy. with links to past works — and provides Bengt Jangfeldt’s book provides an excellent expla- structure. Meter and rhyme overcome nation for the contradictions that typify Brodsky. As a the limitations of the present by refer- Slavicist, an expert on the Russian tradition of poetry, ring both backwards and forwards and as Brodsky’s translator, Jangfeldt has both person- within the text, keeping both memory al and professional credentials. But most importantly: and expectation alive. he was Brodsky’s friend and is both sympathetic to, and deeply understanding of, the poet — which does Such ties are of course difficult to con- not prevent him from occasionally resorting to mild vey in another language; consequently, irony. Unpretentiously, he subtitled his book Anteckn- some of the beauty and perfection of ingar om Joseph Brodsky [Notes on Joseph Brodsky], Brodsky’s verse is lost. But the conse- but his very candor and soft-spoken approach to the quences are even more serious. They equations that may not always fully compute open the diminish the reader’s ability to under- way for an understanding of the man and his works. stand the great demands that Brodsky Jangfeldt wrote his book in three parts. The first, a makes as a thinker and linguistic philos- biographical essay about Iosef Brodskij, the young opher. His view of language was highly Jewish poet from Leningrad, presents his background, controversial. Jangfeldt summarizes it: his first steps as a poet, the contacts with Anna Ahma- “Time is greater than space, but lan- tova, persecution by the authorities, exile to Siberia, guage is greater than time.” Therefore and finally deportation at the age of 32, when Brodskij language is God. amazingly quickly transformed himself into Joseph Of course this ahistorical interpreta- Brodsky, cosmopolitan American poet and university tion of language is inconsistent with lin- professor. guistic teachings and Brodsky received considerable criticism for this view The second essay focuses on Brodsky’s language, even during his lifetime. Meanwhile, for poetry, and ethics. The third, entitled “Fragments”, him personally it led to a perception of occupies almost half of the book. Its short texts deal main contributors BALTIC W O R L D S

Sergey Zhuravlev Philip Hanson Margareta Tillberg & Jukka Gronow Gudrun Persson

Professor emeritus of the political Associate professor of history and Sergey Zhuravlev is a senior resear- Gudrun Persson, PhD in history from economy of Russia and Eastern Europe, theory of art and design at the Linnaeus cher at the Institute of Russian History the London School of Economics and University of Birmingham. Associate University, writes about design, art, and at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Political Science; researcher. She spe- Fellow of the Royal Institute of Inter- technology in 20th century Russia. Among his books is “Malenkiye liudi i cializes in the periods of reform in Rus- national Affairs Russia and Eurasia Currently working on a monograph bolshaya istoriya”: Inostrantsy mos- sian history. Her most recent publica- Programme (Chatham House, London). about design and art, ergonomics, kovskogo Elekrozavoda v sovetskom tions are Learning from Foreign Wars: Interested in comparative economic observation and cybernetics, collabora- obshchestve 1920-kh–1930-kh gg. Russian Military Thinking 1859–1873 systems, the Soviet and Russian tion and innovation within the planning Jukka Gronow is a professor of socio- (forthcoming) and Varför föll Sovjetunio- economies, and economics of transi- system in the Soviet Union from 1945 logy at Uppsala University. His previous nen? [Why did the Soviet Union fall?] tion. Author of The Rise and Fall of the until today. publications include Caviar with Cham- (2006). Currently, she is working on a Soviet Economy (2003). Her PhD thesis, Coloured Universe pagne: Common Luxury and the Ideals book about the Soviet Union and post- and the Russian Avant-Garde, was of the Good Life in Stalin’s Russia. Soviet Russia’s search for a national translated into Russian. It is the first memory. close study on practices of a so-called Together Gronow and Zhuravlev have laboratory in an art- and science insti- written a history of pre-war – up to the tute in the Soviet Union in the 1920s. late 1940’s – Soviet fashion, Krasota In 2010, visiting scholar at the Max pod kontrolem gosudarstva: Osoben- Planck Institute for the History of Sci- nosti i etapy stanovleniya sovestkoi ence, Berlin. mody.

The hybrid Russian military

t the time of its dissolution than 20 percent of all men in a given to 90 percent of cases contract soldiers conscripted recruits are weaker than in 1991 the Soviet Union had age group complete obligatory military are recruited from the ranks of those the average young man in relation to the world’s largest standing training. The trend to reduce the num- fulfilling national service. Intervention a number of indicators: they have less army, with 3.4 million sol- ber and percentage of conscripts in the by the Minister of Defense in 2003 led to education, poorer health, they have dif- diers. Two million (almost 60 percent) Russian armed forces was underpin- a compromise, which partially satisfied ficulties adapting and are drug abusers, were conscripts. The Armed Forces of ned by the perception among leading the generals, resulting in both conscript they have a criminal record”. the Russian Federation, established politicians that professional military and contract forces — thereby effecti- in May 1992, was at first composed of units are superior to conscript armies vely ending the Yeltsin decree. At the The Russian conscript armed forces will just over 2.7 million men, including 1.5 on the battlefield, a view largely shared same time military service was cut from probably remain as the base for and a million (approximately 55 percent) con- by the general public. A two-year basic two years to one year. complement to mercenary soldiers — a scripts. The strength of the forces was training program was considered was- Defenders of conscription have faced feature unique to Russia compared with cut by 60 percent during the Yeltsin era teful and overly challenging, especially public relations problems because of other major military powers. In the and at the end of Yeltsin’s presidency among Russia’s elite. Recruitment of the physical attacks (including mai- late 1990s the reputation of the armed the percentage of conscripts was down conscripts after deferments has also ming and murder) to which recruits forces was at its worst, with underlying to one third of all personnel. At that been socially stigmatized. have traditionally been subjected in factors such as conscripts apparently at point, the current size of the force was the Russian army by older comrades risk of being sent to trouble spots like achieved, which according to official This major overhaul of the traditional and officers. During the demoralizing Chechnya. Since then public opinion figures is 1.13 million. The goal is a force troop-heavy Russian army is discus- 1990s, this brutal hazing became par- has become somewhat less negative. of 1 million in 2016. sed by Norwegian expert Rolf-Inge ticularly disturbing. At the same time, However, according to Vogt Andresen, In 1996 issued a pre- Vogt Andresen (“Framtiden for russisk extensive exemptions and deferments the fact remains that conscripted units sidential decree ordering a gradual verneplikt” [Conscription and the new cause the military to lose the very sol- consisting of troops with mixed ethnic transition from conscripts to contract Russian army] Nordisk Østforum 1:2010). diers who would benefit it most, writes backgrounds will continue to be a point professionals for defense and other The Russian military leadership has had Vogt Andresen, because those most of conflict within the Russian army.≈ armed forces. At the same time the a restraining effect on the transition to qualified “view military service as a task number of grounds for exemption from a professional army with exclusively en- for others, not for themselves or their conscription doubled so that no more listed personnel; specifically since in 80 relatives”; “it is well documented that

Arming the people and democratization went hand in hand. Now democracies want mercenary armies. A quarterly sponsored by the Foundation for Baltic and BALTIC East European Studies W O R L D S

A question of self-atonement? When hatred and humiliation abound

yodor Dostoyevsky wrote his novel The Insulted and Humili- ated after returning from his exile. He wanted to establish himself as a modern author at the very moment in history when Russian society was on the brink of compulsory modernization. Russia was exhausted following wars and centuries of serfdom. The Russians had learned to suffer under extremes. Sentimentality and delusions became logical expres- sions of an escapism that led inward — toward intimacy and self-sacrifice. This early book contains subjects that would fully blossom in novels such as The Idiot and The Adolescent. Loqua- ciousness ends up in close proximity to inner dialog, the daily reality check confronted by everyone, that addresses the price of survival. The characters in Dostoyevsky’s novels range from villain- ous to naive, and their demise may be encountered at any given point along the way. Most vulnerable are those who dare to believe in honesty and sincerity, for such people, we learn, are always betrayed by their beliefs.

A scrupulous prince who is used to living off the resources and misfortunes illustration: katrin stenmark of others is given the role of anti-hero in this novel. He belongs to a cosmopoli- venture to the extreme, even to anti- the misdeeds, desecration, and self- hand of an old peasant woman on a par- tan class of parasites and lives off the Semitic outpourings, as in A Writer’s deprecation continue. ticularly dreary day in the early 1990s gullibility of the oppressed. The author Diary, in his appeal for a Russian re- For Oksanen, the Russians bring avenges all previous injustices. makes it clear that change is impossible birth — no room for nuances, only for the atrocities and spread them in their Or is it a question of self-atonement? when such individuals are permitted to contrasts. wake, whether addressing the deporta- That woman once murdered an unhap- run rampant. The freedom he enjoys tions that occurred during the era of na- py love — freedom fighter or terrorist, consists of breaking every promise and tional humiliation, or sexual trafficking depending on one’s perspective — be- violating every agreement, while sow- A similar approach can be found in under the capitalist free market system. cause he would not abandon the futility ing misery and insanity everywhere Sofi Oksanen’s award-winning novel Everyone exploits everyone. There is of his life as a sniper in the Estonian around him. Meanwhile, his life is com- Purge, in which a small and insignificant no heavenly choir. The smell of alcohol forests. Stalin was still alive at that time. pletely worthless because he creates people are hounded. The Estonians are hangs heavy over the destitution of the The dream of liberation had to be bur- nothing and only consumes, especially subjected to war and occupation for Estonian countryside, like the smell of ied for the foreseeable future. What was trust. which they are in no way responsible. sperm in the room of a rootless young later dug up was not always pleasant to Russia had no choice but to rid itself However, due to these circumstances woman who winds up there by neces- behold. It swept away a resentment that of this black soul in aristocratic guise. they are so abused that their own deeds sity, after a childhood in Siberian exile. resembled ethnic hatred. ≈ For Dostoyevsky, spiritual renewal was become devoid of moral substance. Her pimps are both ethnic Russians. the preferred course of action. He could Even at the hour of liberation in 1991, Their violent death by the cold-blooded