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016E:179: The Soviet Union, 1945-1991

Spring 2008

Lectures: TH6-8:30p.m./ SH40

Discussion Section: various

Instructor	Paula Michaels	Phone	5-2287
Office	SH160	E-mail	paula-michaels@uiowa.edu
Office Hours	TH 10:00am-12:00pm and by appt.

TA	Benjamin Lawson	Phone	5-2585
Office	SH380	E-mail	benjamin-lawson@uiowa.edu
Office Hours	TU 12:30-2:00pm; W 4:30-6:00pm

Dept

Office

SH280 (phone 335-2299)

History Writing Center

SH 303 (phone 335-2584)

Description:

This course surveys Soviet history from the end of World War II to the USSR’s collapse in 1991. The USSR had entered World War II ill prepared, but nonetheless came out victorious. However, this hard-won victory had come at a very high price. Approximately 26 million Soviet citizens perished during the war, which had a devastating impact on personal lives, the Soviet economy, and the collective psychology of the nation. In the years immediately after WWII, a Soviet citizenry that had long awaited a respite from violence and upheaval encountered a renewed attack on society by Stalin and his supporters. Following Stalin’s death in 1953, N.S. Khrushchev rose to power and stunned the world in 1956 with shocking revelations of Stalin-era atrocities. After Khrushchev’s fall, Brezhnev and his associates tried to quell the open discussion of human rights in the USSR that the “Thaw” had initiated. During the Gorbachev era, these questions would again surface in public dialogues, eventually contributing to the USSR’s collapse. Paying particular attention to the view “from below,” this course will examine how various elements in Soviet society (such as intellectuals, workers, women, ethnic minorities, youth) were affected by and influenced these shifting political winds “from above” during the last fifty years of Soviet power.

The course is divided into four chronological units: Late Stalinism (1945-53); Destalinization (1953-64); “Stagnation” (1964-85); Reform and Collapse (1985-91 and beyond).

Students with Disabilities:

Students with disabilities are encouraged to make an appointment with the instructor or the teaching assistant if they want course adaptations, have emergency medical information, require special arrangements in case of building evacuation, or need other special contingencies.

Photo: April 12, 1961, crowd in Red Square listens to Yuri Gagarin speak.