Filtzer, Donald. The
Khrushchev Era: De-Stalinization and the Limits of Reform in the USSR,
1953-1964, London: Macmillan, 1993
Draws on parallels between
Gorbachev and Khrushchev. Regards Khrushchev as a product of Stalinist system,
but at the same time idealistic. Why reforms after Stalin’s death: poor labor
productivity, “terror and coercion were no longer effective” (9) – quite far-fetched,
they (a) were effective, (b) in 1953, they weren’t used much. So basically, his
main explanation is that de-stalinization was caused by economic problems and
by mass dissatisfaction of Soviet citizens with the oppressive regime.
Quite biased account,
anyway. “[after khrushchev’s speech] within a few months by the release of some
8 to 9 million political prisoners from the labour camps...” – whereas even the
Black Book of Communisms evaluates the number of Gulag prisoners in 1953 as ca.
2.5 million people in camps and ca. 2.75 million people in ‘special settlements’,
and then just one amnesty signed by Beria on 27 March 1953 released 1,2 million
prisoners.
A good brief account of
events in agriculture, industry and political life.
No comments:
Post a Comment