Issue 2 (63)
| THE CENTER AND THE BALTIC REPUBLICS: “RESET” OF RELATIONS IN THE 1950s | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2019 | Number | 2(63) |
| Pages | 112-119 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(474)“1953/1959” | BBK | 63.3(451) |
| Authors | Zubkova Elena Yu. |
Topic | CENTER AND PERIPHERY IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT |
| Summary | The period of 1953–1959 is one of the most dynamic in the history of relations between the Union center and national regions. The framework conditions for change were determined by the center, but the republics adapted to them differently and used them variously. The article focuses on the three Soviet Baltic republics — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. With the shortest “Soviet history” in contrast to the “old” USSR republics, they turned out to be the most susceptible to attempts of modernizing the system and searching for a new format of relations between the Union center and the national periphery. The process of “reformatting” (“resetting”) relations in the “center–republics” system was based on finding a balance between the center’s effort, on the one hand, to retain control over the regions and, on the other, its willingness to share with them some of the powers. It began with recognition of the ineffectiveness of repressive practices of incorporating “new territories” into the Soviet system, attempts to make adjustments to personnel policy (indigenization), and expansion of the scope for articulating national interests. The economic context of these changes was determined by the later experiments with reorganization of the planning and management system (decentralization and expansion of the economic rights of the Union republics). The next step in this direction was the revision of budget policy in favor of national/regional economies. In the 1950s the format of relations between the center and the political elites of the Baltic republics was changed, as evidenced, in particular, by the scenarios of the development of conflict situations. Unlike rigid practices of control during previous years, the center uses more flexible tactics, delegating the resolution of conflict and problem situations to the republic (Latvia, Lithuania). New practices become simultaneously a test of quality for the republican elites. At the same time, the “reset” did not affect the basic principles of the functioning of the “center–republics” system, which became evident in the early 1960s. | ||
| Keywords | USSR, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, center, regions, personnel policy, reforms, economics, conflicts, 1953–1959 | ||
| References |
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