Soviet Dissidents

Pussy Riot’s surprise punk prayer at the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ Our Savior instigated significant controversy in Russia and resulted in the conviction of three Pussy Riot members on the charge of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.” While the Russian Orthodox Church swiftly condemned the performance as blasphemous, Pussy Riot has contended that its punk prayer is consistent with the message of the Gospels. This study investigates the punk prayer controversy in relation to the figure of the holy fool, a radical behavioral model canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and secularized in Russia’s literary and artistic traditions.

Wayne Vucinic Book Prize 2007, "for the most important contribution to Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences." 

Endorsement by Slavoj Zizek:

"Alexei Yurchak's Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More immediately seduced me by its very title with a profound philosophical implication that eternity is a historical category--things can be eternal for some time. The same spirit of paradox runs through the entire book--it renders in wonderful details the gradual disintegration of the Soviet system from within its ideological and cultural space, making visible all the hypocrisy and misery of this process. I consider Yurchak's book by far the best work about the late epoch of the Soviet Union--it is not just history, but a pleasure to read, a true work of art." (Slavoj Zizek, author of In Defense of Lost Causes)

Abstract:

Soviet socialism was based on paradoxes that were revealed by the peculiar experience of its collapse. To the people who lived in that system the collapse seemed both completely unexpected and completely unsurprising. At the moment of collapse it suddenly became obvious that Soviet life had always seemed simultaneously eternal and stagnating, vigorous and ailing, bleak and full of promise. Although these characteristics may appear mutually exclusive, in fact they were mutually constitutive. This book explores the paradoxes of Soviet life during the period of "late socialism" (1960s-1980s) through the eyes of the last Soviet generation.

Представлено на конференции "Личность и творчество А.И. Солженицына в современном искусстве и литературе. К 100-летнему юбилею А.И. Солженицына", 15–17 марта 2017, Государственный Институт Искусствознания.

Presented at "A.I. Solzhenitsyn and his work in contemporary art and literature", 15–17 March 2017, State Institute of Art Studies.

Artiklis on vaadeldud  Ukraina läbiviidud venestamisi ja ukrainiseerimiskatseid  läbi ajaloo. Põhjalikumalt on käsitletud Ukraina rahvuslikku vastupanu  Stalini järgsel perioodil. Tegemist oli mittevägivaldse vastupanuga, mille taktikaks oli Moskva dissidentide eeskujul võitlus inimõiguste eest. Sisuliselt aga oli Ukraina vastupanijate eesmärgid venestamise peatamine ning ukraina keele ja kultuuri kaitse. Ukraina vastupanu oli kõige massilisem rahvuslik vastupanu NLiidus ning seal leidsid aset ka kõige suuremad repressioonid vastupanijate vastu. Selle vastupanu vaim on kandnud nii Oranži revolutsiooni ja Maidani kangelaslikku võitlust.  Ja see annab lootust, et Ukraina suudab välja rabelda sovetiaja taagast, vabaneda Venemaa hukutava mõju alt ning saada euroopalikuks õigusriigiks.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago, its Western Reception and Impact in the Media (1974-1978): a Cold War shock

This article presents the comparative critical analysis of three documents: a report of the Soviet Political Police (KGB) on the publication of The Gulag Archipelago (1974), a letter from Senator Jackson welcoming A. Solzhenitsyn in “the free world”, and an extract of Between Two Millstones. Sketches of exile, in which the author evokes the reactions of the Western press (1978). The study decodes the mechanism of a large-scale impact, mobilizing in various ways the governments and the media, and revealing the importance of cultural soft-power in the 1970s. The effects will be undeniably considerable, contributing greatly to accelerate the deterioration of the image of the Soviet regime in the West. The issue of totalitarianism becomes a transnational debate.

Raamatus on käsitletud Stockholmis 1978. aastal Ants Kippari poolt moodustatud ja pikka aega juhitud Eesti Vangistatud Vabadusvõitluse Abistamiskeskuse (EVVA) tegevust. EVVA oli esimene pagulasorganisatsioon, mis lõi kontaktid vastupanuliikumisega okupeeritud Eestis. Vastupanuliikumise jaoks kujunes EVVA väliskeskuseks, mis vahendas Eestist väljatoimetatud avalikke protestikirju ja muid materjale lääne väljaannetele. Raamatu teksti koostamisel on põhiallikatena kasutatud EVVA arhiivis säilitatud dokumente, väliseesti ajakirjanduses ilmunud artikleid ning EVVA tegevuses osalenute kirjalikke ja suulisi mälestusi. Raamat on avaldatud e-pub formaadis

Eric J. Schmaltz.  "Carrots, Sticks...and Demonstrations:  Yuri Andropov's Failed Autonomy Plan for Soviet Kazakhstan's Germans, 1976-1980."  Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (Lincoln, Nebraska), Vol. 39, No. 3 (Fall 2016):  pp. 1-21.  (Revised and expanded reprint version.) 

The original article appeared in the Eurasia Studies Society Journal of Great Britain and Europe, Vol. 3, No. 1. (Jan. 2014):

https://eurasiahistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/eric-schmaltz-tess-eurasia-studies-soc-journal-vol-3-no1-jan-20141.pdf

Copyright permission is granted from original journal publisher.  This revised version contains updates, additions, and minor modifications.  Research on the topic grew out of one of the author’s dissertation chapters completed in 2002 for the fulfillment of his Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  German- and Russian-language translations are the author’s unless otherwise noted.  The author included some of these findings in his presentations at the 2016 AHSGR Convention, held in July in Concord, California.

Many scholars are unaware of the resources available at the AHSGR.  See link to AHSGR Website for this and so many other fine research materials: 

https://ahsgr.site-ym.com/store/default.aspx?

Суми: видавничо-виробниче підприємство «Мрія-1» ТОВ, 2012.– 300 с.

У збірнику подані документи, що висвітлюють історію протестних настроїв та проявів інокодумства комуністичному авторитарному режимові 
на території Сумщини, починаючи з часів хрущовської «відлиги» до періоду пізньої «перестройки». Документи стосуються найважливіших форм "антисовєтських проявів» – від випадкових розмов,розповсюдження листівок, дисидентства інтелігенції і до створення підпільних організацій.
Для дослідників історії національно-визвольного руху, краєзнавців, учителів,студентів, усіх, хто цікавиться новітньою історією України.

Alljärgnevalt on tehtud katse anda kronoloogiline ülevaade NLiidu aktiivse vägivallatu vastu-panu episoodidest aastatel 1940-41 ja 1945-1987. Taktikalise poole pealt saab seda vastupanu jagada kaheks. Kuni 1970ndate keskpaigani seisnes vastupanu põrandaaluste vastupanurüh-mituste või üksikisikute tegevuses, seejärel muutus see peamisest Moskva õiguskaitsjate te-gevusele osaks saanud suure rahvusvahelise tähelepanu tõttu avalikuks. Muidugi esines ka hiljem põrandaaluse vastupanu ilminguid mitmesuguste kõlavate nimetustega organisatsioo-nide poolt Läände saadetud avalduste näol, kuid nende kõlapind jäi võrreldes avaliku vastu-panuliikumise poolt läkitatud apellide kõrval marginaalseks.

Beliakova N. A. ‘“We Report about the Crimes against Justice…”: Believer’s Appeals and Complaints in the Brezhnev USSR’, Modern History of Russia, vol. 8, no. 3, 2018, pp. 640–658. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu24.2018.307
Abstract: In the article are analyzed the appeals, complaints, and letters of believers in the Soviet Union as one of the long-standing cultural forms of communication with the authorities. The religious people, using the legitimated by the soviet authoritarian system channel of communication, fill it with opposition/protest content. The writing of appeals and complaints, which contained the information on the needs and requirements of believers, who did not hide their religious affiliation, becomes mass since the Khrushchev era. A number of letters reflect the soviet civic formation, for example, the recognition of individual and civil rights is used to demand freedom of conscience. The article shows, how a form of communication approved by the government and designed for demonstrating sympathy towards the regime was privatized by common people and filled with a new meaning. Religious people strove to show that their actions were in accordance with the current law, and local authorities are represented as law-breakers. Furthermore, their action against believers / religion undermine the confidence and even discredit the Soviet power. The propaganda of the Helsinki agreements and the new Constitution led to appropriating the “eхport” (for the bourgeois society) ideas/concepts inside the soviet society. Apprehended the article “The Soviet Law and the Freedom of Conscience” in the newsletter “Izvestija” (1976) as a sign about the change / the turn of religious policy inside the country, the believers’ petition campaign for their rights protection significantly increased

The essay deals with the activities of the Relief Centre for the Political Prisoners in the USSR (Eesti Vangistatud Vabadusvõitlejate Abistamiskeskus – EVVA), established in Stockholm in 1978 and managed by Ants Kippar. The EVVA was the first emigre organization that created contacts with the resistance movement in occupied Estonia. For the Estonian resistance movement, the EVVA became the foreign center, which mediated public protest letters and other materials of the Estonian resistance movement from Estonia to the Western media. According to the statute, the EVVA was a humanitarian organization for the relief of imprisoned freedom fighters. Practical relief activities consisted of moral and financial support of political prisoners and their family members. This support could be done by writing letters and sending support parcels to them. With the regard to the assistance of political prisoners, the EVVA co-operated with international organizations such as the United Nations Organization, Amnesty International, the Baltic Prisoners of Conscience Group, and other relevant organizations.
The essay is the translation of the book “The EVVA. Eesti Vangistatud Vabadusvõitlejate Abistamiskeskus”, which was published in Estonian as the eBook in 2013.

An Exhibition by Dr. Orysia Kulick, Research Fellow in Ukrainian Studies, School of Languages, Cultures and Literatures, TCD.

The last century of Ukrainian history has been shaped by war, revolution and the struggle for statehood. The Russian Revolution of 1917 swept away the Romanov dynasty, unleashing five years of social upheaval in the southwestern borderlands. The Euromaidan Revolution of 2014 precipitated Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of war in the Donbass. The decades in between saw civil war, famine, the Stalinist purges, mass repression and surveillance, as well as attempts by Soviet Ukrainians to reform and humanise socialism from within.

Through striking works produced by several generations of writers and artists, this Exhibition on one hundred years of cultural opposition in Ukraine will provide visitors with a deeper understanding of Ukraine’s complex historical legacies, as well as various modes of cultural resistance. Featuring prominently will be reproductions of paintings, graphics, photographs, and texts produced by individuals, who fought for greater cultural and political autonomy for Ukraine within the Soviet system. The Exhibition ties struggles of the Soviet era to current events by showing images of human rights activists and political prisoners, many of whom served lengthy sentences in strict regime hard labour camps in Siberia in the 1960s and 1970s, participating in the protests of 2014. To give visual representation to the human costs of war and revolution, the Exhibition displays works by photographers Joseph Sywenkyj—a recent recipient of the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography—and Anatolii Stepanov, who has spent the last four years photographing on the frontlines of the war in the Donbass.

Introduction 1
Costica Bradatan and Serguei Alex. Oushakine

I. The Sickle, the Hammer, and the Typewriter
1 Ideas against Ideocracy: The Platonic Drama of Russian Thought 13
Mikhail Epstein
2 Asking for More: Finding Utopia in the Critical Sociology of the Budapest School and the Praxis Movement 37
Jeffrey Murer
3 Aesthetics: A Modus Vivendi in Eastern Europe? 53
Letitia Guran
4 Changing Perceptions of Pavel Florensky in Russian and Soviet Scholarship 73
Clemena Antonova

II. Heretics
5 The Totalitarian Languages of Utopia and Dystopia: Fidelius and Havel 95
Veronika Tuckerová
6 Philosophy and Martyrdom: The Case of Jan Patocka 109
Costica Bradatan
7 Anticommunist Orientalism: Shifting Boundaries of Europe in Dissident Writing 131
Natasa Kovacevic

III. In Search of a (New) Mission
8 Somatic Nationalism: Theorizing Post-Soviet Ethnicity in Russia 155
Serguei Alex. Oushakine
9 Balkanism and Postcolonialism, or On the Beauty of the Airplane View 175
Maria Todorova
10 Anxious Intellectuals: Framing the Nation as Class in Belarus 197
Elena Gapova

IV. Reinventing Hope
11 The Demise of Leninism and the Future of Liberal Values 221
Vladimir Tismaneanu
12 “Politics of Authenticity” and/or Civil Society 243
Ivars Ijabs
13 Mihai ¸Sora: A Philosopher of Dialogue and Hope 261
Aurelian Craiutu

Index 287
About the Contributors

The chapter covers the main state terror campaigns initiated by the Soviet regime in the Moldavian SSR starting from the fist year of Soviet occupation of Bessarabia (1940-41) up to 1989. The author uses a wide range of archival unpublished sources as well as published ones both in East and West and tries to put the Moldavian case in a wider Soviet context.

Алег Дзярновіч. Грамадская думка ў Беларусі 1960-х – 1970-х гадоў: гісторыя, нацыя і незалежнасць // Палітычная сфера. № 15 (2), 2010. С. 85—101.

Aleh Dziarnovich
Social Thought in 1960s-1970s’ Belarus: History, Nation and Independence

Keywords: public opinion, public debate, ‘samizdat’ (self-publishing), the concept of independence.

Author of the article draws attention to the fact that only from the standpoint of political history it is impossible to understand the evolution of the Belarusian society during the second half of the 20th century. As it turns out, in the era of the Soviet stable, in the 1960th – 1970th, in Belarus pulsated public opinion. In the mid of the 1960th there was a previously unheard of (and later) Public historiographical debate on history of culture and on genesis of the Belarusian culture of late Medieval and early Modern time. In the 1970th these discussions will be no longer possible. Therefore, the polemical public opinion has to flow to the pages of ‘samizdat’. In the 1975—1976 in samizdat editions “Hutarki” (“Conversations”) Mikola Ermałovič formulated the concept of the independence of Belarus.

У сваім артыкуле аўтар звяртае ўвагу на тое, што толькі з пазіцый палітычнай гісторыі немагчыма зразумець эвалюцыю беларускага грамадства на працягу другой паловы ХХ ст. Як высвятляецца, у эпоху савецкай стабільнасці, у 1960—1970-х гадах, у Беларусі пульсавала грамадская думка. Сярэдзіна 1960-х гадоў адзначана нечуванай раней (і пазней) публічнай гістарыяграфічнай дыскусіяй па праблемах гісторыі культуры і культурагенезу познесярэдневечнай і раннемадэрнай Беларусі. У 1970-х гадах падобныя дыскусіі сталі немагчымыя. Таму палемічная грамадская думка стала пера- цякаць на старонкі самвыдату. А ў самвыдатаўскіх “Гутарках” Міколы Ермаловіча ў 1975—1976 гадах быў сфармуляваны канцэпт незалежнасці Беларусі.

Ключавыя словы: грамадская думка, палітычныя ідэі, самвыдат, канцэпт незалежнасці, дысідэнцкі рух

В своей статье автор обращает внимание на то, что только с позиций политической истории невозможно понять эволюцию белорусского общества в течение второй половины ХХ в. Как выясняется, в эпоху советской стабильности, в 1960-1970-х годах, в Беларуси пульсировало общественное мнение. Середина 1960-х годов отмечена неслыханной ранее (и позднее) публичной историографической дискуссией по про- блемам истории культуры и культурогенезу позднесредневековой и раннемодерной Беларуси. В 1970-х годах подобные дискуссии стали невозможны. Поэтому полеми- ческое общественное мнение стало перетекать на страницы самиздата. А в самиздатовских «Разговорах» Миколы Ермоловича в 1975-1976 годах был сформулирован концепт независимости Беларуси.

Ключевые слова: общественно-политическая мысль, политические идеи, самиздат, концепт независимости, диссидентское движение

The proposed article focuses on a crucial year in the diplomatic and cultural relations between the Soviet Union and Italy, the West-European country with the largest Communist Party. In 1977, Soviet authorities planned several commemorations of the 60th Anniversary of the October Revolution in major Italian cities, mostly governed by Communist mayors. The Venice Biennale, at that time headed by Socialist Carlo Ripa di Meana, announced, for the end of the same year, the “Biennale del dissenso culturale”, devoted to different expressions of underground culture from numerous socialist countries. As a first reaction, the Soviet Embassy in Rome made pressure on both the Italian Government and the Communist Party, in order to prevent that event, perceived as an evident manifestation of anti-Soviet feelings. The actions and counter-actions undertaken from both sides (Biennale and Moscow) raised an unprecedented national debate and an international affaire, resulting in a huge publicity to the Biennale’s enterprise, which finally opened on November 15, only a week after the celebrations of the October Revolution.
Thanks to the support of the Venice establishment and local Communist intellectuals, Soviet authorities managed to organize, in record-time and in the iconic location of St Mark’s Square, the blockbuster shows “The Gold of the Scythians”, in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum, and “German classic and romantic painters in Italy”, with loans from museums of the German Democratic Republic. As ultimate response, the Soviet Ministry of Culture boycotted all the events organized by the Biennale for the following four years, reopening its national pavilion at Giardini only in 1982.
The article investigates the shift of the Soviet strategy from a self-celebrating intention to commemorate the October Revolution, to a defensive position, aimed at contrasting the notorious “Biennale del dissenso culturale” with historical and, apparently, un-ideological counter-shows.
The article is based on press reviews and unpublished documents from Italian and Russian archives, such as the Biennale’s Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts (ASAC) in Venice, and the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI) in Moscow.

This article explores ideas of right-wing Soviet dissidents, using the example of
writer and theorist Gennady Shimanov. The author interprets the evolution of Shimanov’s
ideas during the 1960s-1980s within the framework of fundamentalism studies. With the
tacit agreement of Soviet officials, Shimanov set forth a utopian concept of the ideal state,
drawing from Orthodox religion and the structures of Soviet imperialism.

The volume presents the results of a study of formal and informal groups and mechanisms within Armenia’s political, economic and military elites, aiming to reveal trends in formal institution-building and the changing role of informality in Armenia’s power system since its independence from the USSR. The study relies on data from over 50 interviews with elite actors, backed up by archive materials, media stories, and expert opinions. A separate case study looks at the emergence and evolution of the Armenian army.

This article examines the debate between Soviet dissidents Andrei Sakharov and Roy Medvedev in the 1970s concerning the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and détente. Although both dissidents stood for East-West détente and democratization of the Soviet system and believed in the possibility of a dialogue with Soviet leaders until 1970, they later diverged in their views about methods of action. As Sakharov lost faith in the possibility of influencing the Soviet regime headed by Leonid Brezhnev, he shifted to a more radical position, adopting the language of human rights and turning to Western politicians and public opinion as an audience for his calls. Sakharov's public embrace of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment was in line with his advocacy of freedom of emigration and his belief that the West should extract concessions in the field of human rights before granting trade benefits to the Soviet Union. Medvedev, by contrast, argued that the amendment was counterproductive insofar as it risked alienating Soviet leaders and triggering adverse results. He considered that détente should be encouraged for its own sake, with the hope that over time it would spur democratization in the country. Medvedev's argument had much in common with the West German leader Willy Brandt's notion of “change through rapprochement,” a concept invoked as a rationale for Brandt's Ostpolitik. Although Sakharov's position earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, the Helsinki Accords showed how détente could serve the cause of human rights even with the Cold War under way.

Arvustuses on vaadeldud Riigiarhiivi poolt publitseeritud dokumenide kogumikku "Dissidentlik liikumine Eestis aastatel 1972-1987". Tallinn, 2010. Kogumiku koostaja Riigiarhiivi publitseerimisosakonna spetsialist Arvo Pesti oli omal ajal aktiivne dissident ning ka poliitvang.  Kogumik sisaldab Eesti NSV Ülemkohtus toimunud poliitiliste kohtuprotsesside toimikumaterjale ning on varustaud põhjaliku ülevaatega dissidentlikust liikumisest Nõukogude Liidus ja Eestis.  Raamat tekitas Eestis avalikkuses suurt ärevust, kuna levis arvamus, et selles on ära toodud KGB informaatorite nimed.  Avaldatud ajakirjas Akadeemia 7/2010, lk 1303-1312. (Käesolev kirjutis on esitatud Akadeemiale esitatud kujul.)

From the beginning of the sixties to the end of the seventies, the singer-songwriter, poet and actor Vladimir Vysotsky (1938-1980) embodied an archetypical Soviet Russian dissident: while ostracized by the Brezhnev regime, he was very popular and beloved by Russian people, to whom he was known for his prolific concert activity and career as a stage and film actor. After the fall of the USSR, his life and work were the subject of a growing body of studies, with publications of texts and new multimedia offerings from both the Russian community (as an emblematic example, the V.S. Vysotsky State Cultural Centre and Museum, founded in Moscow during the early ‘90s) and at the international level. This article will investigate Vysotsky’s poetics in relation to Soviet society of his time, within an Italian context. In doing so, it will review the reception of Vysotsky’s work in Italian academic, journalistic and musical sources, and explore the bibliography, discography and audio and video offerings, such as a television documentary by Demetrio Volcic (1979-1982), utilizing historical-critical evidence to understand Vysotsky’s work in relation to an Italian frame of reception.

A selection of 103 poems translated into English from Azerbaijani, written by Azerbaijan's distinguished poet Vagif Samadoghlu, son of Vurghun.

Most of these poems were written during the Soviet period but could not be published then because of their dissident content. So Vagif stashed them away in drawers until Azerbaijan gained its independence (1991).

This is the first time Vagif’s poems have been published as a book in English. Editor, Betty Blair. Translators: Jala Garibova, Aida Huseinova, Sevinj Seyidova, Konul Samadova, Vafa Mastanova, Aynur H. Imecer, and Aynura Huseinova.

Vagif's poetry is short, succinct, free verse and usually has only one major image. Excellent. And timeless.

Vagif's book presentation was held at the Literature Museum in Baku on September 16, 2014. Vagif was present as was Betty Blair from Los Angeles. Also attending were the French Ambassador, representatives from the Norwegian Embassy, and poet Ramiz Rovshan and Fikret Goja. The event was emceed by Rafael Huseinov, Director of the Museum of Literature in Baku, and Member of Parliament, and one of Azerbaijan's representatives to the Council of Europe Parliament.

Describing briefly the events that took place 50 years or more ago, I fulfill, at least partially, my promise to my late friend, artist Valery Korenblit (Sonin). Shortly before his passing away, he called me. He urged me again to write my memoirs about those days that played a significant role in the fate of the Jewish people of the Soviet Union, in the history of the State of Israel in general, and participants in these events, in particular.
I am grateful to David Maayan (Chernoglaz), Dr. Anna Isakova, Professor Eliezer Trachtenberg, Boris Gershuni, Shimon (Grisha) Abramovich, Vladimir (Vova) Davidson and Felix Dektor for their feedback and comments, which allowed clarifying some details of those events.

Thirty years after the purge, during perestroika, elderly former national communists Eduards Berklavs and Vilis Krūmiņš emerged from obscurity to become founding members of Latvia’s Popular Front and the Latvian National Independence Movement. In their memoirs and serialised writings, they strove to redefine their image: from apparatchiks who had climbed the Party ladder to maverick dissidents, working from inside the Party to secure greater rights and autonomy for Latvians and Latvia. This paper examines the problems associated with the national communists’ memoirs and asks several questions. How and why were the national communists’ memoirs influenced by the tumult of the early 1990s? What were the motivations of the national communists in writing their memoirs? Were they attempts to justify their actions or to settle old scores? Who was the intended audience? How did the national communists use their memoirs to alter the Latvian public’s perception of them from collaborators to dissidents? Is there historical value in the national communists’ memoirs despite inaccuracies and omissions and can they be overcome? The national communists provide invaluable insight and insider impressions of the Khrushchev era Thaw and their participation at the highest levels of the Latvian Communist Party and government in their published recollections. Ultimately, this paper seeks to make the case for the continued use of their memoirs as historical sources.

This paper establishes a line of continuity between the Soviet, Brezhnev-era dissident historical journal Pamiat' and the post-Soviet human rights organization Memorial. It examines the differences and similarities of their histories, contexts of action, and goals.

В статье речь идет о том, как покаяние ФРГ за преступления национал-социализма представляла себе советская и постсоветская интеллигенция, прежде всего в 1960–1990-е годы. Также рассматривается косвенное влияние западногерманских дебатов на репрезентации сталинизма внутри СССР. Примерами служат фильм «Обыкновенный фашизм», биография Гитлера «Преступник номер 1» и дискуссия между Александром Солженицыным и Григорием Померанцем. Тезис статьи заключается в том, что более или менее явное сравнение нераскаянной России с кающейся Германией зачастую оказывалось непродуктивным приемом, который не столько окрылял, сколько умалял собственные российские усилия по осмыслению преступлений прошлого.