Study Questions on R. G. Suny, The Structure of Soviet
History: Essays and Documents (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2003). Week XII, pp.
Suny Intro (329-330)
How does Suny describe the "mood" in the USSR after Stalin's death in 1953?
What Stalin-era policies did the Party-State leadership immediately end? What policies did they leave in place?
Evtushenko, from A Precocious Autobiography (338-340) [note that the document heading spells his name wrong!]
How does Evtushenko describe his own response, and that of other people, to the news of Stalin's death?
What strikes you most about his description of going to see Stalin's coffin?
Remember, Evtushenko was a poet--an artist; do you see any poetic/artistic purpose or subtext in his description of scene in Trubnaya Square?