Questions on Daniels for Tuesday, Week 14
The Promise of the Brezhnev Era (Brezhnev's report to the 1966 party congress)
What problems in the Soviet economy did Brezhnev identify in this speech?
How did he explain the causes of these problems?
What sort of targets did Brezhnev want set for the next five year plan?
Did Brezhnev's speech promise a cultural thaw? Explain.
Suny says that the Brezhnev regime paid little attention in practice to the ideals of Bolshevism. Did Brezhnev's rhetoric in this speech "sound Bolshevik"? Explain.
Did Brezhnev's speech recognize that there were tensions between nationalities in the USSR?
The End of the Thaw--The Sinyavsky-Daniel Trial (from Izvestiia, Jan. 1966)
For what crimes were Sinyavsky and Daniel arrested?
How did this essay in Izvestiia explain their "crimes" (and their motivation)?
Did this case indicate a continued thaw in cultural policy? Explain.
Were their any antisemitic undertones to this case? Explain.
The Attempt at Economic Reform: Liberman (essay by Liberman, 1962/essay by Liberman, 1972)
We talked about the Liberman economic proposals last week. Read over these two documents. How did the 1965 reforms differ from Liberman's original 1962 proposals and how were they similar to the 1962 proposals? (Be prepared to discuss this in detail!)
Currents of Dissent
a) Liberal Dissent--Sakharov
What are Sakharov's main criticisms of the Soviet system?
Was he anti-socialist?
What does he seem to value above all else, and how is this a criticism of Soviet/Party rule?
What specific crimes of the Soviet regime does Sakharov mention?
What proposals for change does he make?
b) Conservative Dissent--Solzhenitsyn
Who does Solzhenitsyn seem to be blaming for the crimes of stalinism?
Remember back to the first two weeks of class, when we talked about Slavophiles and Westernizers--into which of these groups would you fit Solzhenitsyn? Explain why.
Is Solzhenitsyn anti-authoritarian? Explain.
According to Solzhenitsyn, what can save Russia, and how should Russia be ruled?
c) Marxist Dissent--Medvedev
What is Medvedev saying must be changed in the USSR?
How does he propose these changes should be made?
What examples does he cite as models of attempts to make such changes?
Is Medvedev anti-Leninist? Explain.
Soviet Consumerism (Kosygin's report to the 1971 party congress)
List (and explain) at least five goals that Kosygin identified as target of the next five year plan.
Brezhnev's Constitution (1977 report to the CC)
List and explain the five major points that Brezhnev said must be included in the new Soviet constitution in 1977.