Description
Here is a pioneering account of everyday life under Stalin, written by a leading authority on modern Russian history. Focusing on the urban population, Fitzpatrick depicts a world of privation, overcrowding, endless lines, and broken homes, in which the regime's promises of future socialist abundance rang hollowly. We read of a government bureaucracy that often turned life into a nightmare, and of how ordinary citizens tried to circumvent it. We also read of the secret police, whose constant surveillance was endemic at this time, and the waves of terror, like the Great Purges of 1937, which periodically cast society into turmoil.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionMilestonesStoriesA Note on Class1. The Party is Always RightRevolutionary WarriorsStalin's SignalsBureaucrats and BossesA Girl with Character2. Hard TimesShortagesMiseries of Urban LifeShopping as a Survival SkillContacts and Connections3. Palaces on MondayBuilding a New WorldHeroesThe Remaking of ManMastering Culture4. The Magic TableclothImages of AbundancePrivilegeMarks of StatusPatrons and Clients5. Insulted and InjuredOutcastsDeportation and ExileRenouncing the PastWearing the Mask6. Family ProblemsAbsconding HusbandsThe Abortion LawThe Wives Moment7. Conversations and ListenersListening InWriting to the GovernmentPublic TalkTalking Back8. A Time of TroublesThe Year of 1937Scapegoats and "The Usual Suspects"Spreading the PlagueLiving Through the Great PurgesConclusonNotesBibliographyIndex
