ABSTRACT

The late Stalinist period, long neglected by researchers more interested in the high-profile events of the 1930s, has recently become the focus of much new research by people keen to understand the enormous impact of the war on Soviet society and to understand Soviet life under 'mature socialism'. Written by top scholars from high profile universities, this impressive work brings together much new, cutting edge research on a wide range of aspects of late Stalinist society. Filling a gap in the literature, it focuses above all on the experience of the Soviet people and their interaction with ideology, state policy and national and international politics.

part I|58 pages

When the war was over

chapter 1|23 pages

Population, politics and reproduction

Late Stalinism and its legacy 1

chapter 2|16 pages

The bitter legacy of the ‘Great Patriotic War'

Red Army disabled soldiers under late Stalinism

chapter 3|17 pages

Subversive tales?

War rumours in the Soviet Union 1945–1947 1

part II|41 pages

Barracks, queues and private plots

chapter 4|22 pages

Standard of living versus quality of life

Struggling with the urban environment in Russia during the early years of post-war reconstruction 1

chapter 5|17 pages

‘Into the grey zone'

Sham peasants and the limits of the kolkhoz order in the post-war Russian village, 1945–1953

part III|43 pages

The corrupted state

chapter 6|19 pages

A “campaign spasm”

Graft and the limits of the “campaign” against bribery after the Great Patriotic War

chapter 7|22 pages

A darker ‘Big Deal'

Concealing party crimes in the post-Second World War era

part IV|66 pages

New generations

chapter 8|25 pages

More than just Stalinists

The political sentiments of victors 1945–1953*

chapter 9|17 pages

Children's lives after Zoia's death

Order, emotions and heroism in children's lives and literature in the post-war Soviet Union

chapter 10|22 pages

The importance of being stylish

Youth, culture and identity in late Stalinism

part V|38 pages

Post-war spaces

chapter 11|14 pages

“Where should we resettle the comrades next?”

The adjudication of housing claims and the construction of the post-war order 1

chapter 12|22 pages

The Moscow Gorky Street in late Stalinism

Space, history and Lebenswelten 1