Issue 1 (78)
| “WE’LL KILL THE CLASSES”: CELEBRATING THE ANNIVERSARIES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY OCTOBER AND LEGITIMIZING VIOLENCE DURING THE CIVIL WAR | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2023 | Number | 1(78) |
| Pages | 167-175 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 394.21(47) | BBK | 63.5(2) |
| Authors | Godunov Konstantin V. |
Topic | HISTORICAL MOSAIC |
| Summary | The problem of cultural mechanisms of legitimization of violence during the period of the Russian Civil War is central for the author. The article, based on the materials of the history of the festivals of the Day of the Proletarian Revolution, examines how the culture of revolutionary violence manifested itself in the festive culture of the Civil War period. Based on the study of festive telegrams to Soviet leaders, newspapers, visual materials, the author shows how the theme of violence was reflected in the rhetoric, symbolism, in the elements of the emerging festive ritual (first of all, in the rites of symbolic executions of the revolution enemies). It is concluded that the festival was an important tool for legitimizing revolutionary violence. The article investigates symbols, ceremonies, rituals aestheticizing the phenomenon of violence, making it visible and comprehensible for the masses of the people. It also examines how the class discourse manifested itself in the celebrations (in particular, anti-bourgeois rhetoric), analyzes the features of the romanticization and sacralization of terror, which was especially important in the situation of the discussion about the red terror and the powers of the Cheka. At the same time, it concludes that the rhetoric and elements of the festive ritual were largely inherited by the organizers of the celebrations, who were in the field of influence of the culture of violence that developed before October 1917. Further study is needed into the cultural background, specific psychological atmosphere, and political culture which made the Civil War possible and which was not always directly linked to the Bolsheviks’ actions. | ||
| Keywords | Russian Civil War, culture of violence, soviet festivals, class language | ||
| References |
Aksenov V. B. Slukhi, obrazy, emotsii: massovyye nastroyeniya rossiyan v gody voyny i revolyutsii, 1914–1918 [Rumors, Images, Emotions: Mass Moods of Russians During the War and Revolution, 1914–1918]. Moscow: Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye Publ., 2020. (in Russ.). Albert G. Yu., Reznik A. V. [The Foundation of the Communist International in Soviet Political Communication, 1917–1919]. Vestnik Permskogo Universiteta. Istoriya [Perm University Herald. History], 2019, no. 4 (47), pp. 157–167. DOI: 10.17072/2219-3111-2019-4-157-167 (in Russ.). Burke P. Chto takoye kul’tural’naya istoriya? [What is Cultural History?]. Moscow: Izd. dom VShE Publ., 2016. (in Russ.). Figes O., Kolonickii B. Interpreting the Russian Revolution: The Language and Symbols of 1917. New Haven; London: Yale Univ. Press, 1999. (in English). Fitzpatrick S. The Civil War the Formative Experience. Bolshevik culture. Experiment and Order in the Russian Revolution. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1985, pp. 57–76. (in English). Geldern J. von. Bolshevik Festivals. Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: Univ. of California Press, 1993. (in English). Gerwarth R., Horne J. [Paramilitary Conflicts in Europe after World War I: An Introduction]. Voyna vo vremya mira: Voyenizirovannyye konflikty posle Pervoy mirovoy voyny, 1917–1923 [War in Peace: Paramilitary Conflicts After the Great War, 1917–1923]. Moscow: Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye Publ., 2014, pp. 8–31. (in Russ.). Godunov K. V. [The Celebration of the First Anniversary of the October Revolution and the Red Terror: Legitimizing of Revolutionary Violence]. Noveyshaya istoriya Rossii [Modern History of Russia], 2020, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 976–988. DOI: 10.21638/11701/spbu24.2020.410 (in Russ.). Grazhdanskaya voyna v obrazakh vizual’noy propagandy: slovar’-spravochnik [Civil War in the Images of Visual Propaganda: A Dictionary-Handbook]. Saint Petersburg: Skifiya-print Publ., 2018. (in Russ.). Grazhdanskaya voyna v Rossii: Zhizn’ v epokhu sotsial’nykh eksperimentov i voyennykh ispytaniy, 1917–1922 [The Russian Civil War: Life in the Era of Social Experimentation and Military Trials, 1917–1922]. Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya Publ., 2020. (in Russ.). Ivanov D. I. [“Hit on the Bourgeois Heads”: Paramilitary Violence in Shlisselburg, 1917–1919]. Ab Imperio, 2019, no. 2, pp. 197–227. (in Russ.). Kolonitskii B. Antibourgeois Propaganda and Anti-“Burzhui” Consciousness in 1917. The Russian Review, 1994, vol. 53, iss. 2, pp. 183–196. (in English). Kolonitskii B. I. Simvoly vlasti i bor’ba za vlast’: K izucheniyu politicheskoy kul’tury rossiyskoy revolyutsii 1917 goda [Symbols of Power and the Struggle for Power: Toward a Study of the Political Culture of the 1917 Russian Revolution]. Saint Petersburg: Liki Rossii Publ., 2012. (in Russ.). Malysheva S. Yu. [The Image of War in the Historical Mythology of the Early Soviet Holiday]. Opyt mirovykh voyn v istorii Rossii [Experience of World Wars in the History of Russia]. Chelyabinsk: Kamennyy poyas Publ., 2007, pp. 166–181. (in Russ.). Malysheva S. Yu. Sovetskaya prazdnichnaya kul’tura v provintsii: Prostranstvo, simvoly, istoricheskiye mify (1917–1927) [Soviet Festive Culture in the Province: Space, Symbols, Historical Myths (1917–1927)]. Kazan: Ruten Publ., 2005. (in Russ.). Malyuchenko G. S. [The First Theatrical Seasons of the New Era]. U istokov [At the Origins]. Moscow: Vserossiiskoe teatral’noe obshchestvo Publ., 1960, pp. 242–331. (in Russ.). Nikonova O. Yu. [Military Holidays and Rituals as an Instrument of Military-Patriotic Education]. Opyt mirovykh voyn v istorii Rossii [Experience of World Wars in the History of Russia]. Chelyabinsk: Kamennyy poyas Publ., 2007, pp. 181–207. (in Russ.). Ozuf M. Revolyutsionnyy prazdnik: 1789–1799 [Revolutionary Festival: 1789–1799]. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kul’tury Publ., 2003. (in Russ.). Porshneva O. S. [The Image of “Sacred Struggle” in the Memoirs of Workers and Bolshevik Participants in the Civil War in the Urals]. Dokument. Arkhiv. Istoriya. Sovremennost’: Materialy VI Mezhdunar. nauch.-praktich. konf. [Document. Archive. History. Modernity: Proceedings of the 6th International Sci. and Practical Conf.]. Ekaterinburg: Izd-vo Ural. un-ta Publ., 2016, pp. 429–433. (in Russ.). Ratkovsky I. S. Krasnyy terror i deyatel’nost’ VChK v 1918 godu [Red Terror and the Activities of the VChK in 1918]. Saint Petersburg: SPbGU Publ., 2006. (in Russ.). Rolf M. Sovetskiye massovyye prazdniki [Soviet Mass Holidays]. Moscow: ROSSPEN Publ., 2009. (in Russ.). Rosenberg W. [Revolution and Counterrevolution: Syndrome of Violence in the Russian Civil War (1918–1920)] Voyna vo vremya mira: Voyenizirovannyye konflikty posle Pervoy mirovoy voyny, 1917–1923 [War in Peace: Paramilitary Conflicts After the Great War, 1917–1923]. Moscow: Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye Publ., 2014, pp. 35–62. (in Russ.). Ryan J. The Sacralization of Violence: Bolshevik Justifications for Violence and Terror During the Civil War. Slavic Review, 2015 (Winter), vol. 74, no. 4, pp. 808–831. (in English). Smith S. Russia in Revolution. An Empire in Crisis. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2017. (in English). Steinberg M. Velikaya russkaya revolyutsiya, 1905–1921 [The Russian Revolution, 1905–1921]. Moscow: Izd-vo Instituta Gaydara Publ., 2018. (in Russ.). Stites R. Iconoclastic Currents in the Russian Revolution: Destroying and Preserving the Past. Bolshevik culture. Experiment and Order in the Russian Revolution. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1985, pp. 1–25. (in English). Tarasov K. A. [Political Violence in the Petrograd Garrison in May–July 1917]. Noveyshaya istoriya Rossii [Modern History of Russia], 2014, no. 1 (9), pp. 28–39. (in Russ.). Weber M. [Politics as a Vocation]. Vlast’ i politika [Power and Politics]. Moscow: RIPOL Klassik Publ., 2020, pp. 252–410. (in Russ.). Zemon Davis N. [Rites of Violence]. Istoriya i antropologiya. Mezhdistsiplinarnyye issledovaniya na rubezhe XX–XXI vekov [History and A nthropology. Interdisciplinary Research at the Turn of the 20th–21st Centuries]. Saint Petersburg: Evropeyskiy universitet v Sankt-Peterburge; Aleteyya Publ., 2006, pp. 111–162. (in Russ.). |
||
| Download in PDF | |||
