The problem of collectivization in the western regions of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet historiography

Abstract

The object of this research is the evolution of Soviet historical paradigm. The subject is the achievements of postwar Soviet historical science in the area of studying collectivization in the western regions of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The article presents the research results on collectivization in the western regions of Belarus. Special attention is given to the political factors of development of historical science, the most important of which are the Stalinist course, “Thaw”, Brezhnev's re-Stalinization of the 1970s – 1980s, as well as perestroika. The author of traces the evolution of themes and evaluations in the works of Soviet scholars who dealt with the postwar collectivization in the western regions and republics of the USSR under the influence of political factors. The conclusion is made that the agrarian historiography of collectivization in the western regions of BSSR is often subjective, and interprets the published archival documents and statistical records in the spirit of the official ideological attitudes. The topics related to violations during collectivization, “dekulakization” remained taboo until the period of perestroika, when the change of political conjuncture allowed the historians to examine the previously forbidden topics. Namely this instigated the destruction of the Soviet historical paradigm. The author established that there is a discrepancy between the published official statistics and the conclusions on the nature of collectivization along with “dekulakization” in the western regions of BSSR. The novelty of this work is defined by fact that the analysis of Soviet historical studies is based on the modern historical paradigm and the concept of the scientific school of V. P. Danilov that developed in the post-Soviet historical science in terms of studying collectivization and “dekulakization” of the 1930s.