Colin Potter
Dr. Stephanie Brown
ENGL 306
Research Paper – Soviet
Nonconformist Movement: Annotated Bibliography
Peer-Reviewed Books/Chapters on
Historical Context
Fowkes,
Ben. “The National Question in the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev: Policy
and Response.” Brezhnev Reconsidered,
edited by Edwin Bacon and Mark Sandle, Palgrave MacMillan, 2002, pp. 68-89.
In the essay, “The National Question
in the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev: Policy and Response,” in the book Brezhnev Reconsidered, which was published in 2002, Ben Fowkes describes
the social, economic, and political policies of Brezhnev during the time in
which he governed the USSR, and he asserts that these policies helped preserve
the Soviet Union for a few decades. To do this, Fowkes goes into detain about
the statistics behind the Russification of literature and education, and the
specific policies of Brezhnev, investigating the effects of these to determine
the lasting effects of Brezhnev. The goal of this investigation is to pose a relatively
new theory that Brezhnev was not, in fact, the leader who paved the way for the
fall of the Soviet Union, but a leader who was able to preserve it. Using
scholarly language and style, combined with factual evidence and a plethora of
citations, Fowkes is able to build ethos and logos and relate to his audience
of primarily scholars and students interested in Brezhnev.
Harrison,
Mark. “Economic Growth and Slowdown.” Brezhnev
Reconsidered, edited by Edwin Bacon and Mark Sandle, Palgrave MacMillan,
2002, pp. 38-67.
This is another essay in the book Brezhnev Reconsidered, published in
2002, entitled, “Economic Growth and Slowdown,” and written by Mark Harrison
who investigates the pattern of economic slowdown under Brezhnev and its
causes, finally concluding that the economy did suffer under Brezhnev but was
not yet hopeless as many scholars believe. He begins with an examination of the
national income of citizens and the average economic growth rates as a way to
provide quantitative evidence for his claim, and eventually identifies the
corruption and shadow economy (private trading within communism) as the main
sources of economic concern. Harrison hopes to show the Brezhnev was not
responsible for a hopeless economic situation after he died and left office,
but rather a situation that, while bad, could be overcome, arguing for a change
in the general scholarly consensus. The use of data, figures, citations, and
scholarly format and style allow Harrison to build ethos and logos with his
intended audience of scholars and students interested in the economics of the
Brezhnev era.
Kotkin,
Stephen. Armageddon Averted: The Soviet
Collapse 1970-2000. Oxford University Press, 2008.*
In the book, Armageddon Averted: The Soviet Collapse 1970-2000, published in
2008 in Oxford, Stephen Kotkin attempts to analyze the true trajectory and
cause of the Soviet Collapse, serving as a geographical and political analysis
rather than a persuasive work and stating that the initial analysis of the
Soviet collapse was tempting to accept but is fundamentally flawed. Kotkin
begins with the concept of socialist idealism under Gorbachev, which had been
developing in the USSR for some time before he attained power, then he proceeds
to investigate the world views of the citizens living with this socialist
idealist policy, and finally economic and institutional dynamics in the decades
leading up to the Soviet collapse in 1991. Kotkin’s overall purpose seems to be
to revise and clarify the situation and causes underlying the Soviet collapse,
from the social, political, and economic perspectives. His audience is scholars
and students interested in studying the Soviet collapse, and his writing style
and consistent use of citations is what allows him to build a relationship with
his audience.
Pipes,
Richard. The Formation of the Soviet
Union: Communism and Nationalism 1917-1923. Harvard University Press, 1997.
Richard Pipes’ book, The Formation of the Soviet Union: Communism
and Nationalism 1917-1923, was published in 1997 and attempts to provide a
secondary historical account of the events, people, and situations that led to
the collapse of the Russian Empire and the establishment of the Soviet Union.
To do this, Pipes begins his investigation from the ideological side,
discussing the idea of socialism and communism as well as the key actors
involved in the widespread adoption of the idea, progressing to the military
conquests of the newly established Soviet Union, and finally concluding with
the establishment of soviet socialist republics to provide a comprehensive set
of data on the formation and spread of the Soviet Union. The purpose here is to
inform the reader of causes of the establishment of the Soviet Union, and
inform the reader of the progression of events that eventually led to the political
policy, economy, and society of the Soviet Union. Pipes builds an effective
relationship with his audience by providing clear evidence and citations to
support much of the data presented, and writing in a scholarly manner to build
ethos with his intended audience of scholars and students.
Suny,
Ronald Grigor. The Revenge of the Past:
Nationalism, Revolution, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Stanford
University Press, 1993.*
In Ronald Suny’s book, The Revenge of the Past: Nationalism,
Revolution, and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, published in 1993, he
examines the role of nationalism in the collapse of the Soviet Union, asserting
that nationalism is the main cause of the Soviet Union’s collapse. Suny begins
his book with an investigation of class and nationality as social identities,
not necessarily related to specific ones in the Soviet Union at the time, and
then proceeds to investigate how nationalism impacted the fall of the Soviet
Union through revolutions, policy making, and under Gorbachev’s policies. As an
aside, this book was written only 2 years after the fall of the Soviet Union in
1991, which some authors assert is not the official end of Soviet policy and
leadership, and that the real end was a progression that lasted throughout the
next decade, so this book is good as a specific investigation on nationalism,
but not as a comprehensive guide to the fall of the Soviet Union. This makes
Suny’s thesis a little more difficult to accept. Suny’s purpose in this book is
to show the reader how nationalism affected, and indeed was the main cause of,
the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, making an impact in the state of
knowledge of the Soviet Union’s history. He writes in a formal manner typical
of scholarly writing, and provides sources and figures throughout the book,
allowing him to build an effective relationship with his intended audience of
scholars and students.
Peer-Reviewed Books/Chapters on Protest Itself
Barghoorn,
Frederick C. “Regime—Dissenter Relations after Khrushchev: Some Observations.” Pluralism in the Soviet Union, edited by
Susan Gross Solomon, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1983, pp. 131-168.*
Frederick Barghoorn’s essay, “Regime—Dissenter
Relations after Khrushchev: Some Observations,” in the book, Pluralism in the Soviet Union, published
in 1983, Barghoorn investigates the post-Khrushchev regime’s policy towards
dissent such as the samizdat asserting,
among other things, that the new regime in the Soviet Union after Khrushchev
showed a delineation between policy and attitude towards dissent. To make this
claim, he provides evidence of Khrushchev’s policies that were relatively
lenient to protest, moving onto dissent after Khrushchev, the attitudes that
were created by regime policy that led
to this delineation, and the manner with which dissent was punished as a
driving force behind dissent itself. All of this was done in an effort to
analyze the relationship between the regime and the dissent in the Soviet
Union, providing an informative source for scholars to investigate dissent in
relation to the policies of the post-Khrushchev era. It is primarily the
adherence to scholarly academic writing style, citation, and format that allow
the author to access his audience of other scholars, and his effective use of
these allow him to establish a relationship with that audience.
Neumaier,
Diane, general editor. Beyond memory:
Soviet nonconformist photography and photo-related works of art. Rutgers
University Press, 2004.*
The book, Beyond memory: Soviet nonconformist photography and photo-related works
of art, edited by Diane Neumaier and published in 2004, provides a more
informative and analytical approach to the Soviet nonconformist art movement,
and contains the analyses of photographs and paintings by many scholars.
Throughout the book, images of photographs, paintings, newspaper clippings, and
other primary sources provide examples of the nonconformist movement from the
Khrushchev era to near the end of the Soviet Union, and are coupled with a few
narratives but mostly scholarly analyses to provide a comprehensive analysis of
the many styles of art that arose from this movement. The purpose of this
publication was designed to make insights into a relatively new (at the time) genre
of art, both for scholarly research and to spread this art and its importance
to the public at large to some extent. The narrative in the Preface is an effective
way of establishing a relationship with a more non-scholarly audience, and the
scholarly analyses which follow conventional style and composition rules in
scholarly writing establish a relationship with the scholarly audience.
Schmelz,
Peter J. “Andrey Volkonsky and the Beginnings of Unofficial Music.” Such Freedom, If Only Musical: Unofficial
Soviet Music During the Thaw. Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 67-130.
In the book, Such Freedom, If Only Musical: Unofficial Soviet Music During the Thaw,
published in 2009, Peter Schmelz discusses the life and influence of nonconformist
composer, Andrey Volkonsky, in the chapter, “Andrey Volkonsky and the
Beginnings of Unofficial Music,” arguing that Volkonsky played an instrumental
role in the beginning of the unofficial music movement and that he played an
musically oppositional role, not a directly oppositional one in the movement.
To argue this, Schmelz first investigates the life of Volkonsky, proceeding to
analyze 3 of his most famous works and the effects that they had on the nonconformist
movement and his listeners. This chapter was written to provide some context
for the rest of the book through a case study, but beyond that it serves as a
comprehensive analysis of the biography and works of Volkonsky, providing a new
view on his life and the effect he had on the nonconformist movement. The intended
audience for this work is scholars, as indicated by the structure, citations,
and style of the whole chapter, and these things allow Schmelz to establish a
relationship with this audience of scholars and students interested in
nonconformist music.
Peer-Reviewed Books/Chapters on Protest Identity
Graffy,
Julian. “Zinoviev’s Art and its Context.” Alexander
Zinoviev as Writer and Thinker, edited by Philip Hanson and Michael
Kirkwood, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1988, pp. 113-117.*
Julian Graffy’s essay, “Zinoviev’s
Art and its Context,” in the book, Alexander
Zinoviev as Writer and Thinker, published in 1988, analyzes the art that
accompanied Zinoviev’s writings, investigating them as another literary tool
with convey his message during the nonconformist movement and arguing that this
art used the style of Soviet “official” art and served to embolden the movement
to make nonconformist culture more visible. To do this, Graffy examines a few
key historical events that exemplify the growing boldness of the movement
overall, and links thematic elements of Zinoviev’s art to other artists and
trends overall in the movement. The purpose of doing this is to call to
attention the presence of Zinoviev’s art, something that is often overlooked
and poorly understood because of his prolific nonconformists writing, and
provide a more comprehensive picture of Zinoviev. It is primarily the style and
content of this essay that reveal the audience to be students and scholars
interested in nonconformist art and Zinoviev, and Graffy establishes a
relationship with this audience through well-formed ideas and a concise and
informative style.
Sabbatini,
Marco. “The Pathos of Holy Foolishness in the Leningrad Underground.” Holy Foolishness in Russia: New Perspectives.
Edited by Priscilla Hunt and Svitlana Kobets, Bloomington: Slavica Publishers,
2011, pp. 337-352.
In his essay, “The Pathos of Holy
Foolishness in the Leningrad Underground,” published in the book, Holy Foolishness in Russia: New Perspectives,
published in 2011, Marco Sabbantini explores the cultural values and the
identity of those in the underground Soviet nonconformist movement, specifically
in Leningrad, positing that there was a duality within writers and thinkers
between exhibiting provocative and subversive behavior, and engaging in
meaningful philosophical debates in response to Soviet “utopia”. To show this,
Sabbantini first analyzes the style and customs of these writers and thinkers,
taking into consideration the political and rhetorical context of the movement,
moving into the intellectual approach to religion and religious belief in the
movement by quoting poetry and literature produced on religion, finally showing
examples of this duality in a very convincing and informative manner. His
purpose in writing this is primarily to provide an analysis showing that this
idea is correct, providing a deeper understanding and a contribution to the
scholarly knowledge on the nonconformist movement. Sabbatini’s writing is
engaging and logical, appealing to his scholarly audience effectively and
establishing a relationship with scholars in the field and interested in the nonconformist
movement.
Sandle,
Mark. “A Triumph of Ideological Hairdressing? Intellectual Life in the Brezhnev
Era Reconsidered.” Brezhnev Reconsidered,
edited by Edwin Bacon and Mark Sandle, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, pp. 135-164.
In the book, Brezhnev Reconsidered, published in 2002, Mark Sandle’s essay, “A
Triumph of Ideological Hairdressing? Intellectual Life in the Brezhnev Era
Reconsidered,” investigated the intellectual life during the Brezhnev era,
asserting that the nonconformist movement allowed many intellectuals to develop
and share ideas and as meaningful questions about the issues facing the Soviet
Union. To do this, Sandle first investigates the structure of post-Stalin
intelligista, calling special attention to the ways in which intelligista
formed a heterogeneous culture of mixed ideas in a homogenizing society, then
he goes on to look at a number of specific works, both primary and secondary,
to look at the different events and groups that were a part of the
nonconformist movement, and finally conclude by saying that these events are
very important for the intelligista culture. The purpose of this essay is to
draw attention to the nonconformist movement and correct a false notion that
society in the Soviet Union was homogeneous, and that intellectual pursuits
were scripted. Sandle’s audience here is scholars and students interested in
studying the Brezhnev era and specifically interested in the nonconformist
movement and the life of intellectuals in the Soviet Union, achieving this
through his style and content.
Schmelz,
Peter J. “Unofficial Venues, Performers, and Audiences.” Such Freedom, If Only Musical: Unofficial Soviet Music During the Thaw.
Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 179-215.
In the book, Such Freedom, If Only Musical: Unofficial Soviet Music During the Thaw,
published in 2009, Peter Schmelz addresses the unofficial venues in which
performers and audiences gathered to listen to nonconformist music in the
chapter, “Andrey Volkonsky and the Beginnings of Unofficial Music,” arguing
that the governmental attitude and policies towards nonconformist music
provided the structure in which the music was disseminated and experienced. To
argue this, Schmelz examines the use of music as a political criticism and dissent
and how Soviet society was simultaneously bleak and optimistic, how the
aesthetics of the venues and safe spaces in which music was performed represented
broader political and social concerns, finally tackling the identities of the
performers and audience. This chapter was written to examine the interplay of Soviet
“official” and “unofficial” society and how that affects the music and
experience of nonconformist participants, expanding the existing knowledge on
non-conformist music. The intended audience for this work is the same as the audience
for the book overall, i.e. scholars, as indicated by the structure, citations,
and style of the whole chapter, and these things allow Schmelz to establish a
relationship with this audience of scholars and students interested in
nonconformist music.
Peer-Reviewed Source on Theoretical Examination of Protest
Johnston,
Hank. “Talking the Walk: Speech Acts and Resistance in Authoritarian Regimes.” Repression and Mobilization, edited by
Christian Davenport, Hank Johnston, and Carol McClurg Mueller, University of
Minnesota Press, 2005, pp. 108-137.*
Published in the book Repression and Mobilization in 2005,
Hank Johnston argues in his essay, “Talking the Walk: Speech Acts and Resistance
in Authoritarian Regimes,” that not all protests and forms of collective action
adhere to the conventional structure and concept of protest usually used to
describe protest movements, particularly that in authoritarian regimes where
the punishment for conventional protest is very severe, simply engaging in
oppositional speech and expression qualifies as a form of protest. To show
this, Johnston first outlines the specifics of this claim before diving in to
describe the structure of various dissents in Soviet Eastern Europe, from
religious, social, and recreational groups, including a mention of the samizdat, to graffiti, events, and
symbolism, looking at how each of these underground methods of dissent are
effective forms of collective action. The purpose of this essay is to develop
and support the idea that a nonviolent, underground movement is still a form of
collective action and protest in authoritarian regimes where other methods of
protest are necessarily limited. Johnston’s audience is the scholarly sphere
concerned with protests and collective action, from scholars to students in the
field, and he establishes a relationship with the audience by taking a long
time to develop his relatively controversial thesis and supporting it well to
an audience that may not necessarily accept this claim at the beginning of the
essay.
Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Articles
Dolinin,
Vyacheslav È., Severyukhin, Dmitry Ya. “Samizdat: The Literary Self-Publishing
Movement in Leningrad 1950s – 1980s.” Enthymema,
vol. 12, 2015, pp. 166-173.
The publication, “Samizdat: The
Literary Self-Publishing Movement in Leningrad 1950s – 1980s,” published in
2015 in the journal Enthymema, provides
a historical survey of the unofficial culture in Leningrad, specifically the
Soviet samizdat, positing no controversial argument other than that this is an
accurate representation of the facets of the culture and history of the
samizdat movement. First, the authors go into the history of publishing uncontrolled
literature in Russia and the consistent oppression of culture from the Soviet
regime, and then further investigating the spread of the samizdat movement
across the Soviet Union, and singles out many events and key actors in the
movement. The purpose of this article is to inform the audience, attempting to
build upon and enhancing the historical record of the Soviet Samizdat while at
the same time provide a review of a bunch of existing literature. To this end,
the audience of the article is a scholarly one, consisting of scholars and students
interested in the Soviet samizdat movement, its history and its implications in
the short and long term.
Komaromi,
Ann. “The Material Existence of Soviet Samizdat.” Slavic Review, vol. 63, no. 3, 2004, pp. 597-618.
Ann Komaromi’s article, “The
Material Existence of Soviet Samizdat,” published in the Slavic Review, published in 2004, investigates the samizdat movement
in the Soviet Union, challenging the conventional notion that the samizdat was
a heroic political resistance and dissidence, and positing that the reality of
the movement was that it was a complex cultural phenomena, influencing the
lives of citizens during and after the Soviet Union and creating a uniqueness
to the samizdat itself. To support this thesis, Komaromi begins by clearly
outlining her thesis, clarifying points along the way before addressing the
historical context of the samizdat and its disappearance, bringing in actual
samizdat publications as evidence, before investigating the cultural impact of
these works and the subversive rhetoric that was a part of the samizdat
movement. Komaromi’s purpose here is to challenge an existing idea that the
samizdat publishers were heroic in their political discourse but this was the
extent of the samizdat itself, and replace this notion with the concept that
the samizdat had a huge and impactful cultural effect throughout the Soviet
Union during the Soviet Union and that extended after its fall. The audience of
this article is definitely scholarly, including scholars and students
interested in the samizdat as well as Soviet culture.
Kurg,
Andres. “Empty White Space: Home as a Total Work of Art during the Late-Soviet
Period.” Interiors:
Design/Architecture/Culture, vol. 2, no. 1, 2011, pp. 45-68.
In “Empty White Space: Home as a
Total Work of Art during the Late-Soviet Period,” an article published in Interiors: Design/Architecture/Culture
in 2011, Andres Kurg investigates the spaces in which two Estonian artists
showed their art to the public, stating that this space became a gathering
place for intellectuals and artists during the Soviet nonconformist movement,
and arguing that these kinds of spaces were often permeated by public interests
and values. Kurg begins his argument by describing one such space, an apartment
in particular, where unofficial art was shown, and then continues on to present
several critiques of these art spaces, the disparity between male and female
artists, and finally describes the structure of these apartment spaces and how
aspects of society were brought into the space in different ways. Kurg’s
purpose here is to investigate the relationship between the design of
nonconformist artist apartments and the society in which they lived, and
contribute new ideas on the interplay of design and culture. The audience here
is still scholarly, however it is for the field of interior design and
aesthetics, targeting those interested in the interplay between design and the
nonconformist movement, and how Soviet and nonconformist culture interact.
Troncale,
Joseph C. “The Space of Freedom.” The
Space of Freedom: Apartment Exhibitions in Leningrad, 1964-1986. Richmond,
Virginia: Joel and Lila Harnet Museum of Art, University of Richmond Museums,
2006, pp. 27-39.
Joseph Troncale’s article, “The
Space of Freedom,” in The Space of
Freedom: Apartment Exhibitions in Leningrad, 1964-1986 from 2006 takes a
look at a the spaces in which nonconformist artists showed their work in the
Soviet Union, showing that these artists were fighting a cultural battle to
preserve and perpetuate ideas and culture that was being oppressed by the
Soviet Union. Troncale uses historical photographs, primary accounts, and
secondary essays to establish that these artists were in fact perpetuating an
underground culture, and then turns to the effects of this culture and the
threat of repercussion on the artists themselves and their community, and even
covers the effects of religion and other factors on this cultural development.
The purpose of this article is to give insight into the artistic culture of the
nonconformist movement and provide an account of how this movement was able to
perpetuate an underground culture during the Soviet Union. Troncale’s audience
is fairly clear here, being the scholarly population interested in Soviet
nonconformist art and its perpetuation, however artists as well would be an
audience for this, and the presence of artifacts, photos, and scholarly style
establish a relationship with this audience.
Wyszomirski,
Margaret J., Oleszczuk, Thomas A., Smith, Theresa C. “Cultural Dissent and
Defection: The Case of Soviet Nonconformist Artists.” Journal of Arts Management and Law, vol. 18, no.1, 1988, pp. 44-62.
In the article, “Cultural Dissent
and Defection: The Case of Soviet Nonconformist Artists,” in the Journal of Arts Management and Law, the
above authors investigate the nonconformist art of the Soviet Union, arguing
that this art was hugely important to the voices of dissent in the
nonconformist movement, and that these artists were often especially targeted
by the KGB and Soviet government. To argue this, the authors investigate the
social and cultural significance of art and Soviet policy, taking into account
specific policy and how it affected the art of the time, continuing on to the
evolution of Soviet policy throughout the Soviet Union, and finally looking at
individual cases of artists being targeted and their specific works. The
purpose of this is primarily to inform, but it absolutely asserts that,
contrary to American belief, the art in the nonconformist art movement played a
huge role in the policy and culture in the Soviet Union. The audience of this
article is scholars and students interested in the nonconformist art movement, and
the style and content allow the authors to establish a relationship with this
group.
*I
am still waiting for the full text for these citations, but I was able to
obtain a preview, either from google books or another source, that gave me a
good idea on what the source contains. These sections are written based on the
previews I’ve been able to find.
Primary Sources From:
Hoptman,
Laura J., Pospiszyl, Tomáš. Primary
Documents: A Sourcebook for Eastern and Central European Art since the 1950s.
The Museum of Modern Art, 2002.
Neumaier,
Diane, general editor. Beyond memory:
Soviet nonconformist photography and photo-related works of art. Rutgers
University Press, 2004.
Schmelz,
Peter J. Such Freedom, If Only Musical:
Unofficial Soviet Music During the Thaw. Oxford University Press, 2009.
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