1st Edition
Moscow and the Non-Russian Republics in the Soviet Union Nomenklatura, Intelligentsia and Centre-Periphery Relations
This book examines what came to determine the local power and character of the Communist party-state at the level of the national non-Russian republics. It discusses how, although the Soviet Union looked centralised and monolithic to outsiders, local party-states formed their own fiefdoms and had very considerable influence over many policies areas within their republics. It argues that local party-states were shaped by two decisive relationships - to the central Communist party in Moscow and to local constituencies, especially to the local intelligentsia and the creative professions who constituted the local party-states’ biggest potential adversaries. It shows how local party-states negotiated stability and their own survival, and contends that the effects of "Sovietisation" continue to be felt in the independent states which succeeded the republics, particularly in the field of the relationship with Moscow, which remains of immense importance to these countries.
Introduction Li Bennich-Björkman and Saulius Grybkauskas 1. Purging in the Khrushchev era: ‘Red cardinals’ and nationalism in the Soviet Republics Michael Loader 2. The formation and development of the Soviet Latvian Nomenklatura: Path dependency, cleavages, and imposed unanimity Daina Bleiere 3. Patterns of succession: Top party elite recruitment in Soviet Moldavia and centre-periphery relations, 1940-1991 Igor Casu 4. The transformist: The evolution and adaptability of Sharaf Rashidov’s regime in Soviet Uzbekistan Riccardo Mario Cucciolla 5. The Belarusian Soviet nomenklatura: A political history, 1947-1994 Andrei Kazakevich 6. The Soviet nomenklatura and cultural opposition during the Brezhnev period in Lithuania Saulius Grybkauskas 7. Ukraine: Falling in and out of Moscow’s grace Li Bennich-Björkman 8. Between centre and periphery: The Gamsakhurdia and Kostava affair Timothy K. Blauvelt 9. Pragmatic political practice: The Estonian Communist Party, the intelligentsia, and Moscow Li Bennich-Björkman
Biography
Li Bennich-Björkman is Johan Skytte Professor in Eloquence and Political Science at the University of Uppsala, Sweden
Saulius Grybkauskas is a Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director for Academic Affairs at the Lithuanian Institute of History
