A01=Timothy Johnston
Author_Timothy Johnston
Category=NHD
Category=NHTB
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eq_non-fiction
Product details
- ISBN 9780199604036
- Weight: 500g
- Dimensions: 153 x 223mm
- Publication Date: 18 Aug 2011
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Being Soviet adopts a refreshing and innovative approach to the years between the Nazi-Soviet Pact and Stalin's death in the USSR.
Timothy Johnston draws on newspapers, films, plays, and popular music in order to examine the changing nature of Soviet identity in this era. He pays particular attention to the evolution of Britain and America from wartime allies to Cold War enemies.
Being Soviet then explores how ordinary citizens related to this official version of Soviet identity. It examines that question via the rumours, jazz music, hairstyles, jokes, anti-war campaigns, and sexual relationships of the time. Johnston argues that these 'everyday' activities defined Soviet identity for the man on the street in the USSR.
At the heart of the book is a sustained critique of the current emphasis on 'supporters' or 'resistors' of the regime. Johnston suggests that the shadow of Foucault looms too large in the history of Stalinism. The relationship between Soviet citizens and Soviet power was defined by the subtle tactics of everyday living. For many, life was not defined by 'belief' or 'unbelief' but rather the constant struggle to stay fed, informed, and entertained. This more nuanced approach offers a rich and textured image of what it meant to be Soviet in Stalin's least years.
Timothy Johnston is a former Junior Research Fellow in Modern European History of St. Peter's College, Oxford. This work is his first book and follows a number of well-received articles in Russian and English. He has left academia in order to pursue a career as a barrister but retains an active research interest in the Soviet Union under Stalin.
