Mass political culture under Stalinism : popular discussion of the Soviet constitution of 1936
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Mass political culture under Stalinism : popular discussion of the Soviet constitution of 1936
Palgrave Macmillan, c2018
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book is the first full-length study of the Soviet Constitution of 1936, exploring Soviet citizens' views of constitutional democratic principles and their problematic relationship to the reality of Stalinism. Drawing on archival materials, the book offers an insight into the mass political culture of the mid-1930s in the USSR and thus contributes to wider research on Russian political culture. Popular comments about the constitution show how liberal, democratic and conciliatory discourse co-existed in society with illiberal, confrontational and intolerant views.
The study also covers the government's goals for the constitution's revision and the national discussion, and its disappointment with the results. Outcomes of the discussion convinced Stalin that society was not sufficiently Sovietized. Stalin's re-evaluation of society's condition is a new element in the historical picture explaining why politics shifted from the relaxation of 1933-36 to the Great Terror, and why repressions expanded from former oppositionists to the officials and finally to the wider population.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.- 2. Sources.- Part I. Government Goals for the Constitution Revision and National Discussion.- 3. The Origins of Constitutional Reform.- 4. Moderation in the Policies of the Mid-1930s.- 5. Motives for the New Constitution.- 6. Soviet Sociopolitical Mobilizations.- 7. The State's Goals for the Nationwide Discussion.- Part II. Popular Perceptions of the Constitution.- 8. The Economic Situation at the Grassroots Level.- 9. Liberal Discourse.- 10. Voices against Liberties.- 11. Other Comments and Recommendations.- 12. Outcome of the Discussion: From Relaxation to Repression.- 13. On Russian Political Culture in the Twentieth Century.- 14. Conclusion.
by "Nielsen BookData"