Vėlyvojo sovietmečio epochos bruožų apibūdinimas kultūros sferoje

• Authors: Vilius Ivanauskas

Abstracts

EN

The article analyses the concept of late Socialism from the perspective of the Soviet cultural elite (or intellectuals), focusing on structural changes following Stalin’s epoch and posing the question what concrete event or fact could qualify as the beginning of late Socialism (the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Khrushchev’s speech, Prague Spring, etc.). The author suggests that the era of late Socialism could be identified as overlapping with the post-Stalinist period and lasting until Gorbachev’s perestroika. The epoch of late Socialism also includes several internal periods, the distinction of which is based on the Soviet leaders in power (Khrushchev, Brezhnev, etc.). These sub-periods of late Socialism were characterized by attempts to renew the course of political, cultural and economic development which would normally end in failure leading to the decline in the mobilization of ideology and regulation. Despite certain differences between these subperiods they manifested more common features as compared to Stalin’s era. They also illustrate the fact that Soviet cultural elite and Soviet intellectuals were not fully absorbed by the system as they did not become part of the proletarian structure retaining a certain level of personal or group autonomy. The analysis of Stalin’s era revealed that in the sphere of culture and ideology the intellectuals were actively involved into the practices of indoctrination. In Lithuania they quickly adapted to the new institutions, mastered the rituals of indoctrination as well as the practices of participating in official processes and felt the impact of the so-called zhdanovschina. However, the research of the later period of the Soviet era, which started immediately after de-Stalinization, requires more than mere analysis of the role the consolidation of the Soviet order played in the country leaving aside the definite dynamism of ideas and the increasing interest in the “national question.” The period after Khrushchev’s Thaw can be characterized as the epoch of late Socialism revealing not only dogmatism but also the dynamics of informal practices. Late Socialism started with the optimism of the Thaw but as a separate socio-cultural epoch it mainly reflected the norms, everyday life and standards of the so-called real Socialism declared during the Brezhnev period. In his famous study anthropologist Alexei Yurchak described the same period as the epoch of the last Soviet generation, in which a lack of belief in ideology was combined with ideological ritualization of everyday life. Brezhnev’s ruling style embodied the dogmatisms of ideology and official establishments, yet at the same time it ignored the growing number of informal and illegal practices. During real Socialism personal ties were stronger than official structures. As a result, power relations and socio-cultural and economical dynamics were concentrated in interpersonal relationships within various social networks. These supplemented official institutions and formal processes with informal everyday routines and the practical mind, in order to solve the shortages caused by ideology and the planned economy. Here, the concept of “social network” could be applied to illustrate how the structure of relationships around a person or group affected beliefs or behaviours. Several scholars have paid attention to the role of informal social relations as one of the most important tools to achieve not only better consumption (blat relations), but also as an informal space to share varying cultural-normative attitudes and values, mainly ones that differed from the dominated discourse of communist ideology. In doing so, they have demonstrated that all aspects of individual or group life were not controlled by totalitarian mechanisms.

• Publisher: Lietuvos istorijos institutas
• Journal: Lietuvos istorijos metraštis
• Year: 2011
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 97-112

Dates

published

2011

Contributors

author

Vilius Ivanauskas

• Lietuvos istorijos institutas

Identifiers

Biblioteka Nauki

57628892