The Russian Revolution in 1917 brought vast changes to the inhabitants of Petrograd. However it is questionable whether for most people the political changes themselves were tangible or even...Show moreThe Russian Revolution in 1917 brought vast changes to the inhabitants of Petrograd. However it is questionable whether for most people the political changes themselves were tangible or even relevant. By using contemporary approaches to the history of everyday life, this study investigates the issue of everyday problems and coping mechanisms in Petrograd during the revolution. It switches the perspective to that of people who were not involved in revolutionary politics: the Russian-English novelist and historian Edith Almedingen (1898-1971) and the Russian poet Zinaida Hippius (1869-1945). The thesis shows that Hippius, Almedingen, and the persons they observed used a broad array of strategies. Regardless of the concrete coping mechanisms, everything boiled down to personal and collective survival. The comparison between the two women suggests that ‘objective’ circumstances such as social background and possessions did not fully determine how well people coped with challenges.Show less
This research maps the development of Russian sport-fishing from 1847 until it had become a highly popular leisure activity in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s. It first investigates the literary...Show moreThis research maps the development of Russian sport-fishing from 1847 until it had become a highly popular leisure activity in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s. It first investigates the literary and material angling framework established by such writers as Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov (1791 - 1859), Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev (1844 - 1898) and some of their pre-revolutionary successors such as Pavel Gavrilovich Cherkasov, Anatoliy Dimitrievich Shemansky and Feopempt Paramonovich Kunilov. The second part investigates the ways in which Soviet officials instrumentalized the activity to raise health standards and influence social behaviors. They did so by incorporating the activity into the Soviet policy of Fizkul'tura (Physical Culture and Sports). As such, it became tied to labour unions, the komsomol and various other institutions and enterprises which highly attributed to the popularisation of the activity. This soon caused the regime some notorious issues, most notably in the areas of environmentalism and industrial output, which are extensively treated in the third and final part of this research.Show less
This thesis describes the Dutch account of the August Coup in Moscow, 1991. The study focusses on the image that was created in eight Dutch newspapers. The newspapers were full of praise for the...Show moreThis thesis describes the Dutch account of the August Coup in Moscow, 1991. The study focusses on the image that was created in eight Dutch newspapers. The newspapers were full of praise for the people on the Streets and the new opposition leader Boris Yeltsin. Their fighting spirit was linked to a craving for democracy and further reforms. A few commentators remained sceptical. They pointed to the lack of a democratic tradition in Russia and claimed that the sudden freedom might cripple the Russian population.Show less
During the last half of the nineteenth century, major European colonial powers tended to see society as something that was malleable and that the state should act as a ‘’gardener of society’’...Show moreDuring the last half of the nineteenth century, major European colonial powers tended to see society as something that was malleable and that the state should act as a ‘’gardener of society’’ rooting out ‘’weeds’’ in the ‘’social body’’ wherever they are through the use of military statistics, surveillance, deportation and the use of force among other things. This idea of social engineering became conceptually and practicably possible only with the rising concern through the last half of the nineteenth century for the social realm and the emergence of technologies for acting upon this realm. This thesis is about how the Bolsheviks, inspired by these ideas, used violence as an instrument in applying social engineering and the fashioning of a new (Soviet) social body during the Russian Civil War. The subject of this thesis is the Cheka, the first Bolshevik secret police and security agency, and its leader Feliks Dzerzhinsky, and takes as its starting point that these actors might have played a crucial role in the execution of the so-called ‘’gardening state’’ and the use of violence in achieving a ‘’pure’’ Soviet social body in which ‘’contaminating elements’’ have been excised. I will show to what extent the Cheka conceptualised and operated on society through techniques of violence during the Russian Civil War. I argue that the Cheka and its leader Feliks Dzerzhinsky played a prominent role in the execution of the ‘’gardening state’’ that the Bolsheviks were in the process of shaping. Both their conceptualisation in language as well as their violent performances can be deducted as partly the result of envisioning the Soviet social body to be a supposed utopia, that required the excising of unreliable, unwanted or dangerous elements. These elements were plentiful, and in the end, the classification of what was considered malign could be extended to those individuals considered allies of the Bolsheviks, or even Bolsheviks themselves. However, deviations by both Dzerzhinsky and his chekisty occurred on multiple occasions in relation to cleansing society of elements. It is these deviations that call into question to what extent the Cheka thought the ‘’gardening state’’ should go, in its efforts to mold the population.Show less
The case of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36 is especially suitable to discuss the (im)possibilities and motivations of civil society during the last 25 years in Russia, since it shows all the...Show moreThe case of the Gulag Museum at Perm-36 is especially suitable to discuss the (im)possibilities and motivations of civil society during the last 25 years in Russia, since it shows all the turbulence Russian civil society went through in these years. This study gives a detailed overview of the aims of the Gulag Museum demonstrated through their actions and activities. Next to that this study will show how the museum tried to embed the local and (inter)national civil society in the museum as a part of their mission to develop the Russian civil society. In addition, this study of the Gulag Museum involves the official state policy on the Commemoration of the Victims of Political Repressions implemented by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2015. In this way, this study will show an interesting power struggle over Russian history between civil society and the Russian state.Show less
This thesis examines the role the Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera played in the building of a Ukrainian state. Firstly, it pays attention to Bandera's life and death. Afterwards, attention has...Show moreThis thesis examines the role the Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera played in the building of a Ukrainian state. Firstly, it pays attention to Bandera's life and death. Afterwards, attention has been paid to the 'Bandera myths', the 'Hero of Ukraine' award and the Euromaidan protests.Show less
In this thesis the situation considering national awareness of the Chuvash people is described. The central question in this research is the following: how can awareness of the Chuvash people be...Show moreIn this thesis the situation considering national awareness of the Chuvash people is described. The central question in this research is the following: how can awareness of the Chuvash people be described and which factors are/were crucial in its formation? In order to analyze the problem in greater depth, the historical background of the region and the Chuvash people since the 10th century till post-communist period is studied in the first chapter. Additionally, socio-political awareness of the national elite and its development was studied for a broader understanding of the topic. Particular attention is paid to Ivan Iakovlevich Iakovlev, the pedagogical activist, nationalist, founder of the Chuvash alphabet and first Chuvash national schools. This person played an important role in the development of the national awareness among the Chuvash as his activities contributed to formation of national intelligentsia and thereby to establishment of the Chuvash statehood. The situation considering national awareness among the Chuvash in modern Russia is analyzed in the second chapter. Contradictions in evaluation of the situation are explained there: was it a period of national awakening or rather of “national nihilism”, in other words underestimation of own ethnic group, lack of confidence in the prospects of their development and orientation on other nation. In the third chapter, the results of interviews and current situation are described. Possible economic, political and socio-cultural reasons for the current situation considering national awareness among the Chuvash are discussed there too.Show less
