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ID: 093719

Enduring repression: narratives of loyalty to the party before, during and after the Gulag / Adler, Nanci

Adler, Nanci	Journal Article
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2010.

Summary/Abstract

This article documents the attitudes-especially those of loyalty-among Gulag prisoners and returnees toward the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and seeks to ascertain how their incarceration subsequently influenced those sentiments. It is paradoxical that some prisoners-many of whom were falsely convicted-endured gruelling, barely survivable, lengthy terms of labour camp and prison and emerged maintaining their loyalty toward the system of government that was responsible for their imprisonment. With the materials that have become available, we can now begin to understand this phenomenon. Explanations include the 'traumatic bond' (Stockholm Syndrome), communism (the Party) as a surrogate for institutionalised religion, cognitive dissonance and functionalism. This issue may offer insight into the larger question of how repressive regimes are maintained.

Key Words

Russia ; Communism ; Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) ; Enduring Repression ; Gulag

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ID: 122794

Secrecy, fear and transaction costs: the business of Soviet forced labour in the early cold war / Harrison, Mark

Harrison, Mark	Journal Article
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Publication

2013.

Summary/Abstract

What does it cost to do business under a dictator? In 1949 the Soviet state had entered its most secretive phase. One of the Gulag's most important secrets was the location of its labour camps. As this secret was guarded more closely, camps found it increasingly difficult to do business without disclosing a state secret: their own location. For months and then years Gulag officials worked around this dilemma, expending considerable efforts. Rather than resolve it, they eventually normalised it. This study of the transaction costs of an autocratic regime raises basic questions about how Soviet secrecy was calibrated.

Key Words

Transaction Costs ; Soviet State ; Gulag ; Soviet Secrecy ; Soviet Union

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