Bøger i Russian and East European Studies serien

Kinga Pozniak shows how the political, economic, and social upheavals in Nowa Huta, Poland have profoundly shaped the memory of these events in the minds of three generations of people who lived through them since the end of the Second World War.

A Political and Comparative History of Environmentalism and Environmental Policy in the Communist and Capitalist Worlds During the Cold War Years

Explores the complex contours and contested meanings of religious freedom in Russia, from 1520 to the 1990s.

Exploresthe use of images pf the Soviet banner to build a powerful mythology of Russian greatness.

John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in over 500 years, and the first Slavic pontiff in history. In this groundbreaking book, James Ramon Felak carefully examines the Pope's first four visits to his homeland in June of 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1991 in the late Communist and immediate post-Communist period.

Theory meets practice in The Philosophy and Politics of Czech Dissidence from Patocka to Havel, a critical study of the philosophy and political practice of the Czech dissident movement Charter 77. Aviezer Tucker examines how the political philosophy of Jan Patocka (1907-1977), founder of Charter 77, influenced the thinking and political leadership of Vaclav Havel as dissident and president.The Philosophy and Politics of Czech Dissidence from Patocka to Havel is the first serious treatment of Havel as philosopher and Patocka as political thinker. Through the Charter 77 dissident movement in Czechoslovakia, opponents of communism based their civil struggle for human rights on philosophic foundations, and members of the Charter 77 movement later led the Velvet Revolution. After Patocka's self-sacrifice in 1977, Vaclav Havel emerged a strong philosophical and political force, and he continued to apply Patocka's philosophy in order to understand the human condition under communism and the meaning of dissidence. However, the political/philosophical orientation of the Charter 77 movement failed to provide President Havel with an adequate basis for comprehending and responding to the extraordinary political and economic problems of the postcommunist period.In his discussion of Havel's presidency and the eventual corruption of the Velvet Revolution, Tucker demonstrates that the weaknesses in Charter 77 members' understanding of modernity, which did not matter while they were dissidents, seriously harmed their ability to function in a modern democratic system. Within this context, Tucker also examines Havel's recent attempt to topple the democratic but corrupt government in 1997-1998. ThePhilosophy and Politics of Czech Dissidence from Patocka to Havel will be of interest to students of philosophy and politics, scholars and students of Slavic studies, and historians, as well as anyone fascinated by the nature of dissidence.

A highly original study of the Putilov Works-the most famous industrial conglomerate in the Russian Empire during the late 19th century, and a major challenge to conventional wisdom on the nature of the Russian economy in the years before the Bolshevik revolution.

Holmgren examines how capitalism in turn-of-the-century Russia and the Kingdom of Poland affected the elitist culture of literature, publishing, book markets, and readership.

A profile of the Bolshevik attempt to build a a new state by mobilizing the working class, in effect building society, that in the end resulted in failed institutions and weakened bureaucracy.

The role of Western NGOs in the transition of postcommunist nations to democracy has been well documented. In this study, Paulina Pospieszna follows a different trajectory, examining the role of a former aid recipient (Poland), newly democratic itself, and its efforts to aid democratic transitions in the neighbouring states of Belarus and Ukraine.

This book explores little-known dimensions of the Holocaust on Soviet territory: how the Soviet state and citizens reacted to the annihilation of the Jewish population and how to understand the role of local participants.

Offers an account of the changing role of children in the Russian workforce, from the onset of industrialization until the Communist Revolution of 1917, and profiles the laws that would establish children's labor rights. This study also chronicles the evolving cultural mores that initially welcomed child labor practices but later shunned them.

Curative Powers combines post-colonial theory with ethnographic research to reconstruct how the Soviet government used medicine and public health policy to transform the society, politics, and culture of its outlying regions, specifically Kazakhstan. Winner of the 2003 Heldt Prize from the Association for Women in Slavic Studies.

Choi Chatterjee analyzes both Bolshevik attitudes towards women and the invented state rituals surrounding Women's Day to demonstrate the ways these celebrations helped construct gender notions in the Soviet Union.

Katherine Jolluck tells the story of thousands of Polish women exiled to the Soviet Union in 1939-41, and examines the ways in which their efforts to maintain their identities as respectable women and patriotic Poles helped them survive.

Kenneth Straus contemplates the question: Was there social support for the Stalin regime among the Soviet working class during the 1930s, and if so, why? In his well-researched answer he analyzes the daily lives of Soviet workers, and compares the ideologies of western and Soviet thought.

Matthew Payne details the building and impact of the Turkestano-Siberian Railroad, one of the major construction projects of Stalin's first Five Year Plan.

A study of the Great Purge in the setting of Leningrad Communist University, seen in the rhetoric of the accused and their accusors.

Duhamel examines the KGB at its pinnacle of power during the anticorruption campaigns of 1982-1987, when it sought to break the Communist Party's stranglehold on Moscow's two largest trade organizations, which were built on a foundation of bribery and favoritism.

Acting as an important historical archive for the Jews of Eastern Europe, The Rise of Modern Yiddish Culture examines the progress of Yiddish culture from its origins in Tsarist and inter-war Poland to its apex with the founding of the Yiddish Scientific Institute in 1925.

Presents the reports on life in Yugoslavia and the country's major political developments. This title includes essays that explore such diverse topics as the first American-style supermarket and its challenge to traditional outdoor markets; the lessons of a Serbian holiday feast (Slava); and, the resignation of vice president Rankovic.

Transnational Actors in Central and East European Transitions assembles leading scholars to debate the role and impact of transnational actors and presents a promising new research program for the study of this rapidly transforming region.

Writing the Siege of Leningrad tells of women's experiences keeping the city alive and functioning during the 900 day Siege of Leningrad. Utilizing the words and descriptions of these women, Cynthia Simmons and Nina Perlina tell the story of a previously overlooked section of the population.

Examines why privatization was so popular immediately after the fall of communism, and why it has failed in its intended goals of improving the economies of postcommunist countries.

Models of Nature studies the early and turbulent years of the Soviet conservation movement from the October Revolution to the mid-1930s-Lenin's rule to the rise of Stalin. This new edition includes an afterword by the author that reflects upon the study's impact and discusses advances in the field since the book was first published.

In this interdisciplinary and controversial work, Igal Halfin takes an original and provocative stance on Marxist theory, and attempts to break down the divisions between history, philosophy, and literary theory.

A groundbreaking study of the complexities of the Hungarian working class, its relationship to the Communist Party, and its major political role during the foundational period of socialism (1944-1958). Named an Outstanding Academic Title for 2013 by Choice Magazine