Soviet Historians and Perestroika: The First Phase The First Phase

The Soviet historical profession is in ferment. For decades it was relegated to the task of obfuscating the past, gilding the status quo and papering over the "blank spots" in Soviet history - events that defied even the most brazen attempts at falsification. Today it is engaged in an often painful process of self-examination. Initially rather timid, the internal discussion was soon propelled by external events - the scuttling of history textbooks, official disclosures of formerly "classified" facts and the explosion of candour in the depictions of the past in memoirs, journalistic writing and fiction. This volume gives voice to the lead actors in the "first phase" of this process - the senior historians, their journalistic "challengers" and those charged with responsiblity for the institutions of research, training and publication in the field of history.

Part 1 Soviet Historians and Perestroika; Part One Giving Clio a Face-Lift; Chapter 2 The Energy of Historical Knowledge, Iu. Afanas'ev; Chapter 3 Apropos of lu. Afanas'ev’s Article; Chapter 4 Talking about the Past, We Must Keep the Future of Socialism in Mind, Iu. Afanas'ev; Chapter 5 Some Questions Regarding the Work of Soviet Historians, S. L. Tikhvinskii; Chapter 6 The Historian and Perestroika, V. A. Kozlov; Part Two The Development of Soviet Society, Party History, and the Soviet Memory Hole; Chapter 7 Basic Stages of the Development of Soviet Society; Chapter 8 The Role of the Journal “Voprosy istorii KPSS” in Restructuring Party History, F. N. Smykov; Chapter 9 On the Personality Factor in the History of the CPSU, V. G. Veriaskin; Part Three Rewriting the History of the Great October Revolution; Chapter 10 On Restructuring in the Study of the October Revolution, I.I. Mints; Chapter 11 The Study of the History of the Great October Revolution; Part Four The Challenge from the Publicists; Chapter 12 Roots, Vasilii Seliunin; Chapter 13 “He Wanted to Make Life Over Because He Loved It”; Chapter 14 Khrushchev, Fedor Burlatskii; Part Five Soviet Historians Respond; Chapter 15 Historical Science under Conditions of Restructuring;

Donald J. Raleigh