Studies in Russian and Soviet History: Peoples, Cultures,
Histories
History 233
Spring 2005
Tuesday/Thursday 9:40-11am
Sam Mather 202
Professor: Eliza Ablovatski
Office: Seitz 5
PBX 5892
Email: ablovatskie@kenyon.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesday/Wednesday 2-4:30pm
and by appointment
Course Description:
This is a mid-level survey of the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union in the twentieth century. Its objectives are to introduce students to
the region, to familiarize them with the major periods of modern Russian
history, and to help them to understand some of the important historical issues
and debates. Students should develop an
appreciation for the ethnic, social, and cultural diversity of both the Russian
Empire and the Soviet Union as well as for the
ways in which political events shaped the personal lives of the country’s
population.
Though
focusing on twentieth-century history, this course will begin with an introduction to the social structures, ethnic composition
and political problems of the late Russian Empire. We will cover the Russian Revolution and
early Soviet History continuing this focus on social structures and
diversity. We will then turn our
attention to Stalinism, Collectivization, Terror and the Second World War. In the post-WWII era we will examine the
failure of the Khrushchev reforms and the period of “stagnation” under
Brezhnev, before turning to Gorbachev and the reforms of Perestroika. At the end of the semester we will approach
the end of the Soviet Union and its legacy for the many successor states (not
only Russia). Although organized along the lines of
political periodization, the class will emphasize the perspectives of social
and ethnic diversity, culture and gender.
Assignments: In addition to a midterm and final exam,
there are 3 short essays due throughout the semester (see schedule for due
dates), and 2 presentations in class. For
these, each student will sign up to represent a “nationality” of the Russian Empire/USSR
and will present twice, once on the general background history of their
nationality, and then the final class will be a mock conference of the Soviet
successor states, for which each will prepare an issue sheet with information
and resolutions on behalf of their republic or nationality group.
Grading: Professionalism: 15%
Essays
(3): 30%
Presentations
(2): 20%
Midterm:
15%
Final:
20%
Professionalism: Class
Participation and attendance are mandatory; we are covering a wide amount of
material and will be moving quickly. In
addition, students should arrive in class on time and prepared to discuss the
themes and issues raised in the readings. Students are expected to learn and follow the
norms of historical scholarship, as well as the Kenyon Honor Code. They should
show respect to classmates and the professor, turn in all work on time, address
problems as they arise, locate the readings ahead of class or alert the library
staff or professor if they have trouble finding them, and attend any out of
class film screenings that we schedule.
Students should bring all assigned reading (print out a copy of online
sources) with them to class to aid in discussion.
Honor Code and
Lateness Policy: Please read the Kenyon
College policy “Academic
Honesty and Questions of Plagiarism” in the Course of Study carefully. It is expected that all work that you turn in
for this course is your own and that you will follow the general guidelines of
academic honesty, as well as the norms of the historical profession for
citation, when writing for this class.
Any questionable work or cases of possible infractions of the Honor Code
will be turned over to the Academic Infractions Board. You will receive a “zero” for any plagiarized
work. In order to be fair to all
students, late work will be marked down for each day that it is late and will
not be accepted after one week. The
midterm and final may not be postponed or rescheduled.
Note on
Disabilities: If you have a disability and therefore may need some sort of
accommodation(s) in order to fully participate in this class, please let me
know. In addition, you will need to
contact Erin Salva, Coordinator of Disability Services (x5145). Ms. Salva has the authority and expertise to
decide what accommodations are appropriate and necessary for you.
Required Texts:
- John
M. Thompson, A Vision Unfulfilled: Russia
and the Soviet Union in the Twentieth
Century
- Olga
Semyonova Tian-Shanskaia and David Ransel (ed.), Village Life in Late Tsarist
Russia
- James
Von Geldern and Richard Stites, Mass Culture in Soviet Russia:
Tales, Poems, Songs, Movies, Plays, and Folklore, 1917-1953
- Veronique
Garros, et.al., Intimacy and Terror: Soviet Diaries of the 1930s
- Venedikt
Erofeev, Moscow
to the End of the Line
Other readings will be available
(as noted in the syllabus): online, on reserve at Olin Library and in Seitz
House, or will be handed out in class.
Syllabus online:
The syllabus will be available online through Professor Ablovatski’s website on
the History Department page.
Schedule of Classes and Assignments:
Tuesday, January 18 – Introduction and course
information.
Thursday, January 20 – Russia
under the Old Regime
Tuesday, January 25 – Village Life in Tsarist Russia,
Ethnography
- Semyonova,
Introduction and Chapters 1-7
Thursday, January 27 – The Russian
Empire – Reform or Revolution?
Tuesday, February 1 – 1905 Revolution
- In
class film, “Battleship Potemkin,” (Eisenstein, 1925)
- Essay
1 Due: Could the Russian Empire have survived through reform?
Thursday, February 3 – The World War and Revolution
- Thompson,
Chapter 3
- Sign
up for chosen nationality
Tuesday, February 8 – The Meaning of October
- Ronald
Suny, “Toward a Social History of the October Revolution,” The American
Historical Review, 88/1 (Feb.1983), 31-52, available on JSTOR.
- Martin
Malia, “The Hunt for the True October,” Commentary 92/4 (Oct.
1991), 29-35, available online through CONSORT.
Thursday, February 10 – The Civil War
- Thompson,
Chapter 4
- In
class film “Storm over Asia” (Pudovkin,
1928) or “Arsenal”(Dovzhenko, 1928)
- Mass
Culture: “Letters from
the Eastern Front” (17-21), “Chapaev” (56-68) and Red Army poems and songs, various
(3-16) (bring book to class)
Tuesday, February 15 – Nationalities in Revolution
and Civil War
- Presentation:
Nationalities
- Yuri
Slezkine, “The USSR
as a Communal Apartment, or How a Socialist State
Promoted Ethnic Particularism,” Slavic Review 53/2.
(Summer 1994), 414-452, available on JSTOR.
Thursday, February 17 – NEP and 1920s
- Thompson,
Chapter 5
- Mass
Culture: “Bublichki” (70-1), “Songs of the Underworld” (72-3), “Blue
Blouse Skit” (85-86), “Anecdotes” (118-20), and “Leninist Fairy Tales”(123-7).
Tuesday, February 22 –Revolution in Daily Life
- Alexandra
Kollontai, “Sexual Relations and the Class Struggle”
http://www.marx.org/archive/kollonta/works/1921/sex-class-struggle.htm
- Alexandra
Kollontai, “Sisters”
http://www.marx.org/archive/kollonta/works/great/ch02.htm
- Kollontai,
“The Loves of Three Generations”
http://www.marx.org/archive/kollonta/works/great/ch03.htm
- In
class film: “Bed and Sofa” (Abram Room, 1927)
Thursday, February 24 – The Stalin “Revolution”
Tuesday, March 1 – The Cultural Revolution
- Yuri
Slezkine, “From Savages to Citizens: The Cultural Revolution in the Soviet
Far North, 1928-1938,” Slavic Review 53/2 (Summer,
1994), 414-452, available on JSTOR.
- Mass
Culture: “How the Steel was Tempered” (163-71), “Stalin’s White
Sea-Baltic Canal” (190-200), “In Praise of Modesty” (274-6), “Chronicle of
Komsomolsk-on-the-Amur” (243-56), and “Anecdotes,” (212-3 and 284-5)
- Hand
out Midterm questions
Thursday, March 3 –MIDTERM
SPRING BREAK – no classes (read Garros, et.al, Intimacy and Terror)
Tuesday, March 22 – Collectivization and Five Year
Plan
- Sheila Fitzpatrick, “How the Mice Buried the Cat:
Scenes from the Great Purges of 1937 in the Russian Provinces.” Russian Review 52/3 (July 1993), available on JSTOR.
- Mass Culture: “Swell the Harvest,” “Rammed it
Through,” “Bread,” and “Pavlik Morozov” (142-56)
- In class
film: excerpts from “Earth” (Dovzhenko, 1930) and “Famine 33” (Yanchuk,
1991)
Thursday, March 24 – Terror and Stalinism
- Thompson,
Chapter 7
- Mass
Culture: “Two Purge Poems” (301-3), “History of the CPSU (Short
Course)” (321-5), and “Anecdotes,” (328-30).
Tuesday, March 29 – Intimacy and Terror
- Jan
Gross, “A Note on the Nature of Soviet Totalitarianism” Soviet Studies 34/3 (July 1982), 367-376, available on
JSTOR.
- Garros,
et.al, Intimacy and Terror,
introduction and first half.
Thursday, March 31 – Intimacy and Terror
- Essay
2 Due: Purges and Terror in USSR
- Garros,
et.al., finish reading.
Tuesday, April 5 – the Great Patriotic War
- Thompson,
Chapter 7
- Mass
Culture: “Smolensk Roads” (336-7), “Tanya” (341-4), and war songs: “My
Beloved,” “The Blue Kerchief,” “Wait for Me,” and “Holy War” (333-5, 340)
- Film,
“Come and See” (Klimov, 1985) or “Cranes are Flying” (Kalatazov, 1958)
Thursday, April 7 – WWII and Holocaust
- Lisa
Kirschenbaum, “Gender, Memory, and National Myths:
Ol'ga Berggol'ts and the Siege of Leningrad.”
Nationalities Papers 28/3 (Sept. 2000), available online
through Consort.
- Mass
Culture: “Conversation with a Neighbor” (378-80), “Good is Stronger
than Evil” (380-86), “The Justification of Hate” (401-5), “Soviet State
Anthem” (406-7), and “Anecdotes” (407).
Tuesday, April 12 – Stalin’s Death, the new Empire, Khrushchev
and the Thaw
- Thompson,
Chapter 9
- Mass
Culture: “To Stalin from the Peoples of the World” (455-9), and
“Anecdotes” (486-9).
Thursday, April 14 – Stagnation under Brezhnev
- Thompson,
Chapter 10
- Natalia
Baranskaya, “A Week Like any Other,” on reserve.
- Film,
“Moscow
Doesn’t believe in Tears,” (Menshov, 1979)
Tuesday, April 19 – Dissent and Popular Culture
- Erofeev,
Moscow
to the End of the Line
- In
class, the music of Vladimir Vysotskii (visit the Vysotskii website: http://www.kulichki.com/vv/eng
Thursday, April 21 – Gorbachev and Perestroika
- Essay
3 Due: on State of the USSR
in 1985
- Thompson,
Chapter 11
- In
class film, ““Homecoming” (Interviews with soldiers from Afghanistan)
Tuesday, April 26 – Chernobyl and Glasnost
- In class film, “Chernobyl: Chronicle of Difficult Weeks”
(Shevchenko, 1986)
- Film,
“Little Vera,” (Pichul, 1988)
Thursday, April 28 – End of USSR
- Thompson,
Chapter 12 and Epilogue, “What went Wrong?”
Tuesday, May 3 – National Revival and the Successor States
- Constitution
of the Russian
Federation, available online at: http://www.fipc.ru/fipc/constit/
- In
Class film: “Brother” (Balabanov, 1997) or “Prisoner of the Mountain”
(Bodrov, 1996)
Thursday, May 5 – The Post-Soviet States
- Mock
Conference of CIS States
FINAL EXAM: during Exam Period