Stalinism: Its Nature and Aftermath - Essays in Honour of Moshe Lewin

Series: Studies in Soviet History and Society

In a reflection of the international masshtabnost' of Moshe Lewin’s influence, the twelve contributors to this festschrift reside in France, Germany, England, Scotland, Brussels, the United States and Canada. The varied essays address subjects on which Lewin has often led the way. Lewis Siegelbaum extends his own forays into Soviet labor relations with an essay on foremen—“the sergeants of an industrial army,” in Marx’s piquant phrase—who as of 1941 “retained most of the power they had at the outset of industrialization.” Maureen Perrie examines the familiar analogies between Stalin, Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible, all of whom in their own way battled Russia’s “backwardness.” Alec Nove offers a partial annotated bibliography of the derevenshchiki, reiterating the value of literature for the study of history and the importance of “the rural nexus.” Hans-Henning Schroder summarizes the research on upward mobility and mass repression during “the big drive,” focusing on changes in the structure and composition of the Communist Party. Jean-Paul Depretto, echoing Lewin on the socio-political significance of the dearth of mechanization in the construction industry, recapitulates the debate concerning the extent and contribution of forced labor (without, however, the benefit of recently declassified sources or Lewin’s aperçu concerning the need to relate the prevalence of chernorabochie, “free” and slave, to the rule of an elite). Peter Solomon investigates legality in Soviet political culture during “the Gorbachev phenomenon” and Peter Kneen testifies that Lewin’s analysis of “political undercurrents” in effect “predicted” perestroika.