History Commons^™

Socialist Legality On Trial: The Purge Of The Ukrainian Nkvd, 1938-1943, Reide Petty

Honors Theses

In the winter of 1938, Grigorii Iufa was put on trial in a Soviet court for the violation of socialist legality, a charge alleging that he had manipulated Soviet legal processes and undermined the rule of law during his work. Prior to his arrest, Iufa had worked in the Moldavian division of the NKVD, the Soviet Union’s state security agency. In that capacity, he had played a significant role in the Great Terror, which was a highly concentrated campaign of mass violence conducted by the Soviet Union between 1937-1938 against perceived enemies among its own citizenry. This campaign primarily consisted …

The Thematic Changes In Defa Cinema, David Hillman

Honors Theses

This presentation examines the evolving themes in the films produced by the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) film monopoly Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA) from its founding in 1946 through German Reunification in 1990. It analyzes ten films that span a variety of genres, including the ‘rubble films’ (Trümmerfilme), fairy tale films (Märchenfilme), and the GDR-American westerns (Indianerfilme). They are also reflective of the different periods of GDR politics in which they were made, such as the brief GDR ‘New Wave’, the banned films of the mid-1960’s, and the push for films addressing contemporary society (Gegenwartsfilme …

Analyzing The Georgian Opinion Of The Soviet Annexation Of Georgia, Indigo Clingerman

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I have examined the Sovietization of Georgia in the 1920s and analyzed how Georgians perceived Sovietization. Specifically, this thesis explores different opinions on Sovietization through the lens of Georgian nationalists, Georgian cultural literary icons, and the average Georgian. Further, this thesis addresses the interplay of time and Georgian nationalism in understanding Sovietization. The thesis examines how different groups of Georgians related their understanding of Georgian identity to the Soviet understanding of Georgian culture and demonstrates how the disconnect between Soviet and Georgian identity manifests as disapproval of Sovietization and the Soviet Union as a whole as time …

A Reciprocal Reaction: The Ussr Chemical Weapons Program And Its Influence On Soviet Society Through Three Civilian Groups, Yun Zhang

Honors Theses

Since its first mass application in 1915, chemical weapons (CW) have tolled thousands of lives both on and off the battle field. The USSR, despite its weak industrial basis and a late-starter in the field of chemical weaponry, held the largest stockpile of CW by the conclusion of the twentieth century. While the military and political implications of the USSR CW stockpiles have been relatively well-studied, its domestic and internal effect also deserve thorough investigations. Through diaries, letters, and memoirs of the USSR civilians who had suffered from, worked for, and/or supported the CW program, this research looked into the …

Is The West Responsible For Lenin's Rise To Power?, Stephen D. Ramsey

Honors Theses

The year 1917 is probably the most significant year in modern Russian history, Many people view this as the year of the Bolsheviks. Indeed, Lenin and his cohorts seized the reigns of government in November (all date will be given in New Style) of that year and propelled Russia down an untrodden path of history. The effects of this revolution now permeate the globe. Some view that fateful day as the beginning of man's salvation from the exploitation of capitalism. Others view it as the birth of a pernicious disease which must be eliminated in a final apocalyptic battle to …

Contemporary Soviet Life, Phyllis Theresa Faulkner

Honors Theses

In October of 1917, the Bolshevik Party, under the leadership of V.I. Lenin, led a revolution and took over the Provisional Government. Unlike others, who had failed before them, the Bolsheviks were successful in that they involved the peasants in the revolutionary effort. Theirs was a revolution for the people, for the workers. It was not directed as had been the others, toward the upper and middle classes. To get the support which they so desperately needed from the peasants they promised nationalization of the land. No longer would the peasants be exploited by their landlords. They were promised the …

Factors Influencing American Opinion For And Against Recognition Of The Soviet Union, 1928-1933, Nelson Lankford

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to present the reaction of Richmond's conservative white newspapers to the election in October 1967 for a constitutional convention. The three papers include the overtly racist Enquirer, the moderate Whig, and the Dispatch, whcih claimed a larger circulation than the other papers combined. All three newspapers, however, considered the Negro to be inferior and feared radical reconstruction as the ultimate disaster for Virginia. The press unanimously favored maintaining white supremacyand editorialized for the organization of conservative white opposition to the radical party in the October election.

The War Aims Of The Russian Provisional Government, Susan Parker

Honors Theses

The outbreak of the first World War marked the end of an era in the history of Euroe; nowhere was this to be more true than in Russia. At th eoutset there was a great show of popular support for the war, much more so than for the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Anti-government and revolutionary activity had soon revived following the temporary hiatus after the seemingly successful Revolution of 1905, but it disappeared almost entirely in the rise of national feeling and loyalty that accompanied the declaration of war on August 1, 1914.

The French And British Socialist Missions To Russia, 1917 : A Thesis, Thomas L. Powers

Honors Theses

In 1917, several Allied countries sent Socialist representatives to Russia to try to convince the Russian Socialists to stay in the war. I have concentrated on the British and French missions because they, as representatives of the two largest of the Allied countries, contacted more people and groups, were more deeply involved in the situation in Russia, and made themselves more conspicuous than did the others. The other missions (principally the Belgian and Italian) did very little the British and French did not do and had few characteristics which the British and French did not share.

The American's also sent …