Stalin and Stalinism - Summary

1. Introduction: The Problem

• In 1945, the USSR's rise to power prompted the West to analyze its system.

• The Soviet model challenged capitalism by rejecting the market, private ownership, and the rule of law.

• The concept of totalitarianism emerged, portraying the USSR as a dictatorship with total control enforced by coercion.

• The Communist Party had a monopoly, suppressing opposition and religion, and using pervasive propaganda.

• Academic research in the Soviet Union was restricted.

2. Historical Perspectives

• Soviet émigrés provided information, but their bias was questioned.

• The Smolensk archives offered detailed insights into Soviet policy.

• Comparisons were drawn between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany due to similarities in political power, goals, and methods of control.

• Fear of communism in America led to McCarthyism and concerns about World War III.

3. Revisionist Interpretations

• The Vietnam War triggered a reassessment of the totalitarian model, leading to revisionism in the 1970s.

• Revisionist historians argued that the Bolsheviks had support and challenged the view of a coup led by foreign activists.

• Stephen Cohen argued for Bukharin's gradualist approach as a feasible alternative to Stalin's policies.

• Revisionists were criticized for downplaying the brutality of the Stalinist period.

4. Social History

• Social historians researched the level of support for the Stalinist regime from below.

• Sheila Fitzpatrick studied the new cultural elite and social mobility.

• Lynne Viola, Hiroaki Kuromiya, and William J. Chase examined workers and collectivization.

• Some scholars viewed the Soviet Union as a bureaucratic state that exploited workers.

• Moshe Lewin criticized the Stalinist system for its hierarchical nature and use of coercion.

• The Great Purges were documented by Robert Conquest, leading to debates between totalitarians and revisionists.

5. Post-Revisionism

• Post-revisionism emerged in the 1990s, emphasizing ideology and cultural history.

• Scholars drew inspiration from French and German social theorists.

• Stephen Kotkin presented Stalinism as a new civilization in his study of Magnitogorsk.

• Cultural studies focused on everyday discourse, rituals, and practices.

• Terry Martin examined Soviet nations and nationalities, noting the unintended consequences of affirmative action.

• Oleg Khlevniuk's research on repression during the 1930s, based on archives, revealed new insights into the Stalin era.