Abstract
The strength of national consciousness amongst the Russian people during the Stalin era is a difficult area of study, and raises all the problems associated with measuring attitudes, perceptions and values in a closed society. The study of national consciousness poses wider questions regarding the conditions which foster such identities. In this we need to examine the complex relationship between national consciousness and different state forms, and the problem of state-societal relations. In this chapter I shall examine two main themes: firstly the continuity between Stalinism and the pre-revolutionary tsarist system and secondly the extent to which Russian nationalism constituted a part of Stalin’s own ideology. I shall examine how far Marxism-Leninism as understood by Stalin allowed room for alternative ideological currents to survive and coexist. I shall examine how far Marxism-Leninism was a coherent body of thought, and how far it remained constant over time. Some of Stalin’s most famous pronouncements, which might be seen as reflecting Russian nationalist sentiments, will be examined, and an attempt will be made to integrate them into a general understanding of the ideas and principles which shaped his policies.
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Rees, E.A. (1998). Stalin and Russian Nationalism. In: Hosking, G., Service, R. (eds) Russian Nationalism Past and Present. Studies in Russia and East Europe . Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26532-9_6
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