92674 - History of Modern and Contemporary Russia (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will know and be able to apply the main methods of analysis to cultural and historical processes in Russia over the modern and contemporary eras, whether in the specific geo-historical context or through interaction with other complex cultural worlds. They will be able to place political, religious and cultural phenomena in historical context, critically examining the interconnections (including comparison with other cultural areas), and use specific cases to illustrate various aspects of the encounter among different cultures. They will be able to recognise and analyse the documentary and textual sources relevant to the areas in question. They will know how to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different cultures and viewpoints, spotting tie-ups among the different disciplines involved in interpreting cultural and historical phenomena.

Course contents

The course aims to provide the most up-to-date knowledge on the political and social history of Russia/USSR in the 20th century, up to the beginning of the Putinist period. Although the course focuses on the specific history of the USSR/Russia, students will be able to contextualize it in a broader framework through the study of the ways in which Russia's international projects influenced its domestic agenda.
After an extensive 'introduction' reflecting on the current use of history by Russian power, the idea of 'Great Russia,' and the historical proclivity of Russian leaders to reject liberal principles in politics, the major phases of the Russian and Soviet twentieth century will be covered, with a stronger focus on the years 1945-1999, which we might call the period from postwar Soviet power to Russia's international decline, but also to the country's first real democratic experience.
The lectures will cover the impact of World War II on the Soviet Union in demographic, economic but also political and cultural terms (the 'late' Stalinism), the real scope and limits of Khrushchev's "thaw," and finally the main features of the last years of the USSR. The 1990s will be examined from the point of view of the population's expectations and hopes regarding its living conditions and political rights, but also from the point of view of political power and the crucial decisions taken with respect to the manifestations of autonomy of some peripheries (Chechnya) or again to the resistance of a part of the political class against liberalization and/or economic reforms (1991, 1993).

Readings/Bibliography

Some readings are mandatory:

• before the first class on September 19 - Prologo di Graziosi, Andrea. L'Urss di Lenin e Stalin : storia dell'Unione Sovietica, 1914-1945. Bologna : Il mulino, 2007 (downloadable from the Virtuale of the course)
• before each specific class (see the agenda below)

As the course does not follow a strict chronological line, it is really recommended to read carefully a general overview of contemporary Russian and Soviet history before the beginning of the classes, for instance one of the following:

- Cigliano, Giovanna. La Russia contemporanea : un profilo storico, 1855-2005. Roma: Carocci, 2005.

- Graziosi, Andrea. L’Unione Sovietica, 1914-1991. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2011 (an ebook format exists on AlmaRe)

- Graziosi, Andrea. Dai Balcani agli Urali : l’Europa orientale nella storia contemporanea. Roma: Donzelli, 1999, parte II "Il comunismo sovietico", pp.71-116.

- (in English, see this very concise and recent synthesis): Mark Edele, The Soviet Union. A Short History. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2019.

- Benvenuti, Francesco. Russia oggi. Roma: Carocci, 2013.

- De Stefano, Carolina. Storia del potere russo. Dagli zar a Putin. Brescia: Morcelliana, 2022.

General synthesis of Russian history in the XXth century form the background of the work in class, that will use more specific studies for collective discussion (journal articles, book chapters, monographs. See below the indicative bibliography.

Teaching methods

Most lectures are built around a primary document (textual and graphic) or a specific concept that delves into crucial aspects of the topic and is based on recent or foundational first-hand research in relevant archives.
The list of these texts will be identified on this page and downloaded to the 'Virtuale' of the course a few days before classes begin.
Through the study of key texts and documents and concepts for academic knowledge of contemporary Russian history, primary source analysis methodologies will also be addressed.
During the classes, students are also expected to acquire or improve their skills in historical methodology in order to address the most relevant events in the internal politics of the Soviet Union and Russia from 1945 to 1999. Students are particularly expected to develop a critical approach to all types of historical sources, as well as a good command of essential academic interpretations and debates.

Agenda (please see the Italian version of this page for updates)
Lecture 1 (Monday, Sept. 19). In today's Kremlin: a manipulated history
Mandatory reading: the FR president's speech on February 24, 2022. (vedi il Virtuale del corso).

Lecture 2 (Tuesday, Sept. 20). In today's Kremlin: a manipulated history, end.

Lecture 3 (Monday, Sept. 26). In today's Kremlin: the vision of "the Russian people"

Mandatory reading: the introduction by Benvenuti, Francesco. Russia oggi. Rome: Carocci, 2013

Lesson 4 (Tuesday, Sept. 27). Russian imperialism: interpretations of the 19th century.
Mandatory reading: "What is Asia for Us?", Fiodor Dostoevsky, Diary of a Writer. (1881).

Lecture 5 (Wednesday, Sept. 28). Russian imperialism: stages and dynamics, academic interpretations.
Mandatory reading: chapter one 'The Original Characters" up to page 31 of Benvenuti, F. History of Contemporary Russia, 1853-1996 (Rome: GLF editori Laterza, 1999)

Lecture 6 (Monday, Oct. 3). Liberal principles in Russia-a difficult history. Autocracy, 1905 and the missed opportunity, 1917 and the war, 1993

Mandatory reading: Petition Prepared for Presentation to Nicholas II, 9 (22) January 1905 (‘Red’ Sunday)

Lecture 7 (Wednesday, Oct. 5). The Russian revolutions of 1917, an episode in the "continuum of crisis" (Peter Holquist).

Mandatory reading: excerpt from Vera Aleksandrova's memoir Quello che ho vissuto.

Lecture 8 (Monday, Oct. 10). Stalinism, 1

Lecture 9 (Tuesday, Oct. 11). Stalinism, 2

Lecture 10 (Wednesday, Oct. 12). World War II in the USSR, between national myth and profound upheaval.

Lecture 11 (Monday, Oct. 17). Today in the Kremlin: denouncing a "genocide" and conducting "denazification"

Lecture 12 (Tuesday, Oct. 18). From the Stalinist re-toughening to the Khrushchevian thaw.

Lecture 13 (Wednesday, Oct. 19). Soviet society and political engagement during "developed socialism"

Lecture 14 (Monday, Oct. 24). From perestroika to the collapse of the USSR.

Lecture 15 (Tuesday, Oct. 25). The 1990s, between the spirit of freedom, disappointments and social violence

 

Assessment methods

• ATTENDING STUDENTS

The grade for attending students will consist of two parts:

1. The first part will be assigned on the basis of an oral presentation, during lectures, of a historical document or an essential concept (e.g.: 'Great Purges', 'Restoration', 'command economy'...). The grade assigned to the presentation will be based as much on the methodology followed (depth of analysis - paraphrasing is forbidden) as on the intelligibility of the presentation (structure and language skills) and on the research done by the students to interpret the documents/article in their own context (the bibliography used by them).
   In the evaluation of the test, particular account will be taken of the student's ability to know how to navigate within the sources and bibliographical examination material in order to derive useful information that will enable them to illustrate themes and problems and to know how to link them together.
   Therefore, the following will be assessed:
   - The mastery of content
   - The ability to synthesize and analyze themes and concepts
   - The ability to be able to express oneself adequately and in language appropriate to the subject matter.
2. The second part of the grade corresponds to an oral test, with questions designed to test the student's knowledge of the topics studied during the lectures. Accordingly, the reading of one of the 6 books mentioned above, the texts studied during the lectures, and the presentations uploaded on the course Virtual lecture by lecture will be tested. The student's achievement of an organic view of the topics covered in lectures jointly with their critical utilization, a good command of expression and specific language will be evaluated with grades of excellence. A mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter together with synthesis and analysis skills articulated in correct but not always appropriate language will lead to fair grades.  Formative gaps and/or inappropriate language - albeit in the context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades that do not exceed sufficiency. Formative gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered during the course will be negatively graded.

 

• NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students will be required to pass an oral test, with questions designed to test the student's knowledge of the literature listed below.

The highest grade will be awarded to the student who shows a general understanding of the topics discussed in the literature to be studied, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of appropriate terminology.

READINGS FOR EXAMINATION (NON-ATTENDING)

In addition to one of the above-mentioned 6 books, non-attending students should study one monograph from the following :

- Abašin, Sergej. Qishloq. Il secolo sovietico in una valle dell’Asia Centrale. Roma: Viella, 2022.

- Caroli, Dorena. Un Welfare State senza benessere : insegnanti, impiegati, operai e contadini nel sistema di previdenza sociale dell’Unione sovietica (1917-1939). Macerata: EUM, 2015.

- Caroli, Dorena. Ideali, ideologie e modelli formativi: il movimento dei pionieri in URSS (1922-1939). Milano: UNICOPLI, 2015.

- Chlevnjuk, Oleg V. Storia del Gulag: dalla collettivizzazione al grande terrore. Torino: Einaudi, 2006.

- Ferretti, Maria. L’eredità difficile. La Russia, la rivoluzione e la memoria (1917-2017), a cura di Alexis Berelowitch, Maddalena Carli, Leonardo Rapone, and Antonella Salomoni. Roma: Viella, 2019.

- Moretto, Giovanni. La strada dell’abbondanza: consumi e comunismo in URSS ai tempi di Nikita Chruščëv. Milano: UNICOPLI, 2018.

- Narskij, Igor’. Vivere nella catastrofe: la vita quotidiana nella regione degli Urali, 1917-1922. Roma: Viella, 2018.

- Osokina, Elena A. Dietro l’eguaglianza: consumi e strategie di sopravvivenza nella Russia di Stalin, 1927-1941. Roma: Viella, 2019.

- Pianciola, Niccolò. Stalinismo di frontiera : colonizzazione agricola, sterminio dei nomadi e costruzione statale in Asia centrale, 1905-1936. Roma: Viella, 2009.

- Werth, Nicolas. L’isola dei cannibali. Siberia, 1933: una storia di orrore all’interno dell’arcipelago gulag. Milano: Corbaccio, 2007.

- Werth, Nicolas. Nemici del popolo: autopsia di un assassinio di massa : URSS, 1937-1938. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2011.

- Zalambani, Maria. Censura, istituzioni e politica letteraria in URSS (1964-1985). Firenze: Firenze University Press, 2009.

- Zubkova, Elena. Quando c’era Stalin: i russi dalla guerra al disgelo. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2003.

 

Graduation Policy

The final overall grade will be in the range 18-30:

- 30 cum laude (outstanding, sure grasp of all the material and many interesting insights)

- 28-30 (excellent, sure grasp of all the material and some interesting insights)

- 26-27 (very good, competent grasp of all the material)

- 24-25 (good, competent grasp of some the material)

- 21-23 (satisfactory, partial grasp of the material)

- 18-20 (pass, barely sufficient grasp of the material)

- 17 or below (fail, insufficient grasp of the material);

 

Teaching tools

During the lectures, the professor will make extensive use of power point presentations.

After the lectures, powerpoint files and other texts will be uploaded to the teaching materials section of the site for students to download and learn.

Other tools will be made available in the teaching materials section of the site, such as lists of original terms and abbreviations with their translation.

Office hours

See the website of Vanessa Voisin