Module Identifier IPM5230  
Module Title THE HISTORY OF POLITICS IN THE SOVIET UNION  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Dr Jennifer Mathers  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Course delivery Seminar   1 x 2 hour per week  
Assessment Essay   2 x 2,000 word essays 25% each    
  Exam   3 Hours   50%  

Objectives


Upon completion of this course, students should be able to discuss the following in the context of the major debates in the fields of Soviet politics and history:

Aims


The aim of the module is to provide students with an overview of the major debates among scholars of Soviet politics and history about the development of politics in the Soviet Union, from the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917 to Gorbachev and perestroika.

General description


Throughout the Soviet period, the history of politics in the USSR was one of the most controversial and politicised areas of scholarship in the West as well as in the Soviet Union.


History was used by politicians and scholars on both sides of the 'iron curtain' to manipulate public opinion and to justify contemporary actions in the propaganda battles which waged throughout the Cold War.


This module is intended to give students the opportunity to investigate in some depth Soviet and Western debates about the political history of the USSR. The module will begin by examining the ways that the leaders of the Soviet Communist Party used history for both foreign and domestic political purposes, as well as considering such issues as historians' access to and interpretation of Soviet sources. Subsequent seminars will focus on debates about particular events, from the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 to Gorbachev's perestroika.