Příklad recenze 5
Vladislav Zubok, Zhivago’s Children. The Last Russian Intelligentsia, Cambridge, Massachussetts London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2009, 453 pages, £25,95.
The book written by Vladislav Zubok, an Associate Professor of History at Temple University and the author of reputable books such as A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbatchev, is provocative and highly educated study of socio-cultural history of the Soviet Union after the Second World War with special focus on the 1960s. Zubok analysis is concentrated on the Russian intelligentsia (artists, poets, novelists, historians, scientists, teachers etc.) who refused Stalin’s authoritarianism and in long-term development morally contributed to the political disintegration of the Bolshevist regime. In his conclusion the author summarizes the profound impact of the Russian intelligentsia on “the evolution of Soviet society away from its revolutionary myths and totalitarian legacy”. Nevertheless, Zubok admits that behaviour of the post-war intelligentsia generation was also mingled with “conformism, cowardice, mutual denunciation, cynicism, and hypocrisy” and inability to “resist pressures from the secret police, let alone the temptation of self-aggrandizement, vanity, and profiteering”. Yet Zhivago’s children, as Zubok argues, “deserve empathy, not condemnation”. In his analysis the author emphasizes frequently underestimated role of culture and idealism not only in Soviet but also Western history. Despite an unquestionable contribution of the Soviet intelligentsia to the liberalization of the regime the author convincingly argues that their ideas resulted not from “Western notions of liberal democracy” but from ideals of noncapitalist, egalitarian, revolutionary and communist society. Yet in his remarkable comparison of the profound changes of the Western countries influenced by the movements of the 1960s he credits the role of Soviet intelligentsia for an impressive achievement transforming markedly even the Soviet society.
The book is divided into nine chapters (lined in principal chronologically) plus prologue and epilogue. The prologue, epilogue, and the first and the last chapter form an excellent framework (both chronological and contentual) to the main author’s interest to analyze contribution of intelligentsia in post-Stalinist period until the end of the Thaw and beginning of the long decline (1955-1968). Zubok’s analysis is based on an assessment of a large number of key intellectual figures, cultural phenomena and relations between cultural scene and governmental (party) politicians. An excellent prologue deals with the pre-war era and clarifies basic principles of the cultural policy during relatively “free” period of NEP and the Stalinist years in the 1930s transforming the cultural and intellectual milieu by imposition of the policy of socialist realism. Zubok explores in detail phenomenon important also for the following periods such as an aesthetic expression of the socialist (communist) art and culture, questions of autonomous position of artists or intellectuals, role of nationalism, collectivism, totalitarianism, anti-Semitism, war and homeland in experience of intellectuals etc. He introduces also a complex life of Boris Pasternak and imposes new term for post-war generation of the Soviet intellectual: the term “Zhivago’s children” supplements appropriately the former labels such as “Sputnik generation”, “Stalin’s last generation” or “Thaw generation”. According to the review by Stephen Bittner “it refers narrowly to the hundreds of people who gathered in the village of Peredelkino on June 2, 1960 to attend the funeral of the writer Boris Pasternak. Because Pasternak had been in official disgrace since the controversies surrounding the publication of Doctor Zhivago in Italy in 1957 and the Nobel Prize in 1958, and because his death had merited little mention in the Soviet media, Zubok calls the public outpouring at his funeral ‚the first sizable demonstration of unofficial civic solidarity in Soviet Russia’ (p. 19)”.
In the first chapter the author deals with many important topics defining the decade of post-war era in cultural and intellectual relations, such as an emphasis of the government on education of population, the co-existence of old intelligentsia generation and forming of the new one (very interesting is his analysis of the Arbat phenomenon), the campaign known as Zhdanovshchina, the anti-Semitic campaign of 1948-1953 (anti-Semitism is also pivotal for his analysis during the whole period – in this sense his research on the journal Novy Mir and its main proponent Alexander Tvardovsky is extremely predicative), the role of rebels and jazzmen and the phenomenon of the so called stiliagi. The second chapter is devoted to the short times of 1956-1958 being characterized by the shock caused by the Khrushchev “secret speech” at the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the USSR and to the impacts for artists and intellectuals. The shock was even deepened after bloody events in Hungary in 1956. Nevertheless, the effects of discovery of the Stalin’s cult and the thaw in relations with the West opened the intelligentsia new horizons and the travel abroad. The influence of the West and other foreign arts and intellectuals on Soviet counterparts is analyzed in the chapter three.
The fourth chapter explores the optimism of the last years of the 1950s coming from the Khrushchev’s supposed successes in industry, agriculture and science (Khrushchev’s New Deal). The symbol of achievements in science culminating both in cult of science and scientists in new Soviet society and in imposition of the campaign of militant atheism became the space flight of Yuri Gagarin. The following three chapters analyze diversity of intellectual Soviet scene and its ideas and manifestations in all aspects of cultural life, and naturally its relations with the political elite culminating in Khrushchev attack on intelligentsia in 1962-3 which brought many intellectuals on the frontier between reformists and dissent (chapter 8). The year 1968-1985 marks the long decline of the Soviet intellectuals and society during Brezhnev’s times.
Generally, Zubov wrote an excellent book based on a large bibliography including the most important archival sources and studies (monographs and articles), newspapers, journals, reports, interviews, internet resources and other sources in English, Russian and German language about the post-war Soviet Union. The book also includes an excellent index, picture material etc. The author is deeply acquainted with the Soviet (Russian) literature, “high” and “low” culture which is reflected in his valuable analysis. His work has an interdisciplinary character and the author uses his knowledge of many scientific fields – history, linguistic, art, theology, demography, sociology etc. The hardback publication is well elaborated and bears evidence of an excellent work not only of the author but also the publishing house The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. This study should be read by all research workers dealing with modern Soviet (Russian) history.
Stanislav Tumis
The book written by Vladislav Zubok, an Associate Professor of History at Temple University and the author of reputable books such as A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbatchev, is provocative and highly educated study of socio-cultural history of the Soviet Union after the Second World War with special focus on the 1960s. Zubok analysis is concentrated on the Russian intelligentsia (artists, poets, novelists, historians, scientists, teachers etc.) who refused Stalin’s authoritarianism and in long-term development morally contributed to the political disintegration of the Bolshevist regime. In his conclusion the author summarizes the profound impact of the Russian intelligentsia on “the evolution of Soviet society away from its revolutionary myths and totalitarian legacy”. Nevertheless, Zubok admits that behaviour of the post-war intelligentsia generation was also mingled with “conformism, cowardice, mutual denunciation, cynicism, and hypocrisy” and inability to “resist pressures from the secret police, let alone the temptation of self-aggrandizement, vanity, and profiteering”. Yet Zhivago’s children, as Zubok argues, “deserve empathy, not condemnation”. In his analysis the author emphasizes frequently underestimated role of culture and idealism not only in Soviet but also Western history. Despite an unquestionable contribution of the Soviet intelligentsia to the liberalization of the regime the author convincingly argues that their ideas resulted not from “Western notions of liberal democracy” but from ideals of noncapitalist, egalitarian, revolutionary and communist society. Yet in his remarkable comparison of the profound changes of the Western countries influenced by the movements of the 1960s he credits the role of Soviet intelligentsia for an impressive achievement transforming markedly even the Soviet society.
The book is divided into nine chapters (lined in principal chronologically) plus prologue and epilogue. The prologue, epilogue, and the first and the last chapter form an excellent framework (both chronological and contentual) to the main author’s interest to analyze contribution of intelligentsia in post-Stalinist period until the end of the Thaw and beginning of the long decline (1955-1968). Zubok’s analysis is based on an assessment of a large number of key intellectual figures, cultural phenomena and relations between cultural scene and governmental (party) politicians. An excellent prologue deals with the pre-war era and clarifies basic principles of the cultural policy during relatively “free” period of NEP and the Stalinist years in the 1930s transforming the cultural and intellectual milieu by imposition of the policy of socialist realism. Zubok explores in detail phenomenon important also for the following periods such as an aesthetic expression of the socialist (communist) art and culture, questions of autonomous position of artists or intellectuals, role of nationalism, collectivism, totalitarianism, anti-Semitism, war and homeland in experience of intellectuals etc. He introduces also a complex life of Boris Pasternak and imposes new term for post-war generation of the Soviet intellectual: the term “Zhivago’s children” supplements appropriately the former labels such as “Sputnik generation”, “Stalin’s last generation” or “Thaw generation”. According to the review by Stephen Bittner “it refers narrowly to the hundreds of people who gathered in the village of Peredelkino on June 2, 1960 to attend the funeral of the writer Boris Pasternak. Because Pasternak had been in official disgrace since the controversies surrounding the publication of Doctor Zhivago in Italy in 1957 and the Nobel Prize in 1958, and because his death had merited little mention in the Soviet media, Zubok calls the public outpouring at his funeral ‚the first sizable demonstration of unofficial civic solidarity in Soviet Russia’ (p. 19)”.
In the first chapter the author deals with many important topics defining the decade of post-war era in cultural and intellectual relations, such as an emphasis of the government on education of population, the co-existence of old intelligentsia generation and forming of the new one (very interesting is his analysis of the Arbat phenomenon), the campaign known as Zhdanovshchina, the anti-Semitic campaign of 1948-1953 (anti-Semitism is also pivotal for his analysis during the whole period – in this sense his research on the journal Novy Mir and its main proponent Alexander Tvardovsky is extremely predicative), the role of rebels and jazzmen and the phenomenon of the so called stiliagi. The second chapter is devoted to the short times of 1956-1958 being characterized by the shock caused by the Khrushchev “secret speech” at the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the USSR and to the impacts for artists and intellectuals. The shock was even deepened after bloody events in Hungary in 1956. Nevertheless, the effects of discovery of the Stalin’s cult and the thaw in relations with the West opened the intelligentsia new horizons and the travel abroad. The influence of the West and other foreign arts and intellectuals on Soviet counterparts is analyzed in the chapter three.
The fourth chapter explores the optimism of the last years of the 1950s coming from the Khrushchev’s supposed successes in industry, agriculture and science (Khrushchev’s New Deal). The symbol of achievements in science culminating both in cult of science and scientists in new Soviet society and in imposition of the campaign of militant atheism became the space flight of Yuri Gagarin. The following three chapters analyze diversity of intellectual Soviet scene and its ideas and manifestations in all aspects of cultural life, and naturally its relations with the political elite culminating in Khrushchev attack on intelligentsia in 1962-3 which brought many intellectuals on the frontier between reformists and dissent (chapter 8). The year 1968-1985 marks the long decline of the Soviet intellectuals and society during Brezhnev’s times.
Generally, Zubov wrote an excellent book based on a large bibliography including the most important archival sources and studies (monographs and articles), newspapers, journals, reports, interviews, internet resources and other sources in English, Russian and German language about the post-war Soviet Union. The book also includes an excellent index, picture material etc. The author is deeply acquainted with the Soviet (Russian) literature, “high” and “low” culture which is reflected in his valuable analysis. His work has an interdisciplinary character and the author uses his knowledge of many scientific fields – history, linguistic, art, theology, demography, sociology etc. The hardback publication is well elaborated and bears evidence of an excellent work not only of the author but also the publishing house The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. This study should be read by all research workers dealing with modern Soviet (Russian) history.
Stanislav Tumis
Naposledy změněno: čtvrtek, 27. září 2012, 14.44