Identification and the creation of meaning
Integrative elements in the Soviet Union
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
During the Stalinist dictatorship and in the post-Stalinist Soviet system, integrative elements were also present alongside the known disciplining and repressive factors. These included the forced industrialisation, the “Great Patriotic War” and the technical progress which was symbolically reflected in space exploration, as well as the improved standard of living and stability during the Brezhnev years. While industrialisation has been over-emphasised as an integrative factor, the war and space explo-ration are still felt to be important in the collective memory, and play a key role in the creation of patriotic meaning in Russia.
(Osteuropa 12/2007, pp. 49–64)