1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910299793503321

Autore

Velikanova Olga

Titolo

Mass Political Culture Under Stalinism : Popular Discussion of the Soviet Constitution of 1936 / / by Olga Velikanova

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2018

ISBN

3-319-78443-9

Edizione

[1st ed. 2018.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XV, 260 p. 6 illus.)

Disciplina

947

Soggetti

Constitutional history - Soviet Union

Public opinion - Soviet Union

Politics and culture - Soviet Union

Russian, Soviet, and East European History

Political History

Modern History

Social History

Soviet Union Politics and government 1917-1936

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

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.

Sommario/riassunto

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.