Reform, Revolution, Terror: Russia, 1900-1939

 

 

            The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the establishment of the Soviet Union are among the most important and influential events of the twentieth century. Not surprisingly, almost every aspect of the Revolution and the emergence of the Soviet system has aroused intense controversy, from the origins of these events and processes, to their character and the forces driving them, to the nature and meaning of their outcome. The purpose of this seminar is to enable students to explore the sources and process of revolution in early twentieth-century Russia and the controversies the Revolution continues to provoke through both common readings and a substantial independent research project. Class meetings therefore will be devoted both to the discussion of common readings intended to familiarize students with the main aspects and interpretations of the Revolution (defined broadly as the period from roughly 1900 to 1939), as well as with some of the sources on which these interpretations are based, and to helping students with their research. Topics for general discussion include the prospects for non-revolutionary change prior to 1914, the substance and significance of Marxist-Leninist ideology and Bolshevik political culture, the interplay of social, political, ideological, and cultural forces in shaping the revolution and the new Soviet order, the process of cultural revolution, and the origins and nature of Stalin’s “revolution from above” and the “Great Terror” of 1937-1939. Research topics will be chosen by each student in consultation with the instructor and can concern any aspect of Russian history between 1890 and 1941.

 

 

BOOKS

 

The following books can be purchased at the Williams College Bookstore:

 

S. Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution

S. Fitzpatrick and Y. Slezkine, eds., In the Shadow of Revolution

N. Harding, Leninism

E. Wood, The Baba and the Comrade

L. Viola, Peasant Rebels Under Stalin

E. Osokina, Our Daily Bread

R. Suny and T. Martin, eds., A State of Nations

 

In addition, a packet of photocopies should be obtained from the History Department Secretary, Mrs. Swift (310 Stetson), for a charge that partially covers reproduction costs.

 

 

REQUIREMENTS

 

            Course requirements include thoughtful and active participation in each class (20% of the final grade), seven short papers (2 pp.) responding critically to the assigned reading for the week (25% of the final grade), two oral presentations to the class (15% of the final grade), and a research project (40% of the final grade). Extensions will not normally be given for papers.

 

 

SHORT PAPERS BASED ON CLASS READINGS: A two-page (double-spaced) essay responding critically to the assigned reading for the week will be due at the beginning of each class (not including classes in which you are giving an oral presentation). While the precise topic of your essay obviously will depend on how you react to the reading, your essay should present and support a clearly defined argument. You therefore should not merely summarize the reading for the week, but should respond critically to it and should draw from it at least some tentative conclusions. Any references to course readings made in your essay should be placed in parentheses within the text (e.g., Kotkin, “1991,” 341, or Wood, 51). During the semester, you may decide not to write an essay for up to two classes; in any case, only the highest seven essay grades will be counted toward your final grade.

 

 

RESEARCH PROJECT: Each student will be expected to pursue an independent research project over the course of the semester. The project may be on any topic related to the revolutionary era, defined broadly as the period between 1890 and 1941, but the topic must be approved by me. The project will involve the submission of a research prospectus and one-page bibliography (due in my box in Stetson by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 21 October) and a short interim statement (2-3 pp.; due in my box in Stetson by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 22 November), and will conclude with a final research paper (20-30 pp.), due in my box in Stetson by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, 17 December. The research prospectus and bibliography and the interim statement will be graded, and the grades for these exercises will be incorporated into the final grade for the research project. The final research paper should define a clear thesis and support it using appropriate evidence, which should include a significant body of primary sources. The paper also should discuss the historiography of the topic chosen and state the significance of the findings for our understanding of the Revolution. All references in the research paper should be contained in footnotes or endnotes and conform to the styles indicated in the Chicago Manuel of Style, which can be accessed on the web through the Williams College site via History>Research>Research in Russian and Soviet History/Library. The latter site also contains lists of bibliographic, reference, and other resources for research in Russian history, as well as a list of primary sources relating to this period. Web resources can be accessed through History>Research>Research in Russian and Soviet History/History Site. I will be happy to meet with students to discuss their research projects at any time during the semester.

 

 

ORAL PRESENTATIONS: Students will be divided into pairs, and each pair will be responsible for making two presentations to the class based on the readings for the particular week in question. The presentations should not exceed fifteen minutes and should not consist of merely a summary of the readings, but should offer an interpretation of the readings and a set of questions to guide further discussion in class. An outline of the presentation, and a list of the questions to be asked, will be due at the beginning of class. I will be happy to meet prior to class with the students who are responsible for making the presentation for a particular class.

 

 

CLASS MEETINGS

 

Wednesdays, 1:10-3:50 p.m.

 

 

FILMS

 

Required: Two films will be shown in conjunction with the course, and viewing them will be required. Both films are available on reserve in Sawyer and students should view them on their own prior to the relevant class.

 

“Stalin: The Red God”– before class no. 9 (2 November)

 

“Kolyma”– before class no. 12 (30 November)

 

 

OFFICE HOURS

 

Tuesdays, 1:30-3:00 p.m., and Thursdays, 1:30-3:00 p.m., or by appointment, Stetson 310 (ext. 2394)

 

***NOTE: This is the History Department office***

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

 

1. September 8 Introductory Meeting

 

 

2. September 14 Overviews and Interpretations: Understanding the Russian Revolution

                        Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, all

                        Malia, “To the Stalin Mausoleum,” photocopy

                        Kotkin, “1991 and the Russian Revolution,” photocopy

 

            Second part of class: Choosing a research topic and conducting research

 

 

3. September 21 Late Imperial Russia: Reform, Revolution, and Civil Society

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 15-39)

                        Nord, “Introduction,” photocopy

                        Engelstein, “The Dream of Civil Society,” photocopy

                        Suny/Martin, State of Nations, pp. 23-57

                        Perrie, “Russian Peasant Movement,” photocopy

                        Emmons, “Constitutional Movement,” photocopy

                        McDaniel, excerpts from Autocracy, Capitalism, and Revolution, photocopy

Thurston, excerpts from Liberal City, Conservative State, photocopy

                        Becker, excerpts from Nobility and Privilege, photocopy

                        Wcislo, “Soslovie or Class?,” photocopy

                        McDonald, “United Government,” photocopy

 

 

4. September 28 The Role of Ideology: Lenin, Bolshevism, and the Russian Intelligentsia

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 23-31, 49-52, 65-7, 83-7, 96-102)

                        Harding, Leninism, pp. 1-196, 264-280

                        Pipes, “Origins of Bolshevism,” photocopy

                        Lewin, excerpt from Making of the Soviet System, photocopy

 

 

5. October 5     Experiencing Revolution: Interpreting Revolutionary Voices

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 40-49, 52-83, 87-96, 129-47)

Pipes, “The October Coup,” photocopy

Suny, “Toward a Social History of the October Revolution,” photocopy

Kolonitskii, “Antibourgeois Propaganda,” photocopy

Excerpts from Steinberg, Voices of Revolution, photocopy

Fitzpatrick/Slezkine, In the Shadow, pp. 33-65, 82-110, 123-139, 169-187 (to the end of the first paragraph)

 

 

6. October 12   Revolutionary Transformations: Women, Gender, and the Party-State

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 53, 86, 145, 160-61; 72-8, 87-92, 102-111)

                        Wood, The Baba, all

Fitzpatrick/Slezkine, In the Shadow, pp. 187-218, 243-251, 277-281, 350-353, 359-366, 419-423

View images of women on the class web site

 

7. October 19   Revolutionary Transformations: Nationalism, Communism, and the Soviet Empire

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 69-70, 114-15, 129-30, 150-51, 154)

                        Harding, Leninism, pp. 197-218

                        Suny/Martin, State of Nations, pp. 67-82, 111-242

           

            Second part of class: Discussion of research prospectus and bibliography

 

 

*** Note: Research prospectus and bibliography due by 5:00 p.m., Friday, 21 October, in my box in Stetson ***

 

 

8. October 26   Culture Wars: Art and Revolution

(review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 85-7, 141-5, 156-63)

                        Stites, “Iconoclastic Currents,” photocopy

                        Mally, “Intellectuals in the Proletkult,” photocopy

                        Groys, “Birth of Socialist Realism,” photocopy

                        Stites, “Stalinism,” photocopy

                        Clark, excerpts from Petersburg, photocopy

                        Excerpts from Rosenberg, ed., Bolshevik Visions, photocopy

                        Maiakovskii, poems, photocopy

                        View images on the class web site

 

 

FILM: “Stalin: The Red God”–View on your own in Sawyer before class on 2 November

 

 

9. November 2 Stalin and the “Revolution from Above”

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 120-63)

                        Volkogonov, “Stalin,” photocopy

Harding, Leninism, pp. 243-63

                        Tucker, “Stalinism as Revolution from Above,” photocopy

                        Lewin, “The Social Background of Stalinism,” photocopy

                        Von Laue, “Stalin in Focus,” photocopy

                        Stalin’s letters to Molotov, photocopy

                        Stalin’s speeches, photocopy

 

 

10. November 9 Revolutionary Transformations: The Peasantry and Collectivization

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 135-41, 152-3)

                        Viola, Peasant Rebels, all

                        Fitzpatrick/Slezkine, In the Shadow, pp. 219-242, 305-323

 

 

11. November 16 Fashioning the Soviet Order: The Economy and Society

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 129-34, 150-63)

                        Osokina, Our Daily Bread, all

                        Fitzpatrick/Slezkine, In the Shadow, pp. 252-276 & 394-418, 286-301, 324-341

 

*** Note: Interim statements due by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, 22 November, in my box in Stetson ***

 

 

FILM: “Kolyma”–View on your own in Sawyer before class on 30 November

 

 

12. November 30 Understanding the “Great Terror”

                        (review Fitzpatrick, Russian Revolution, pp. 11-13, 76-7, 163-70)

                        Starkov, “Narkom Ezhov,” photocopy

                        Getty, “Forging the Totalitarian Party” and “Politics of Repression,” photocopies

                        Thurston, “Stakhanovite Movement,” photocopy

                        Archival documents, photocopy

 

 

13. December 7 Summation

 

 

** Note: Final research papers due by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, 17 December, in my box in Stetson **

 

 

 

Have a pleasant and relaxing break!!