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Subject: CFP: Call for Contributors: "Contemporary Uses of the Second World
War in Russia" (The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies)

The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies, # 13, 2011
An electronic journal of social sciences

http://www.pipss.revues.org 

Call for Contributors: "Contemporary Uses of the Second World War in Russia"

Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski & Vanessa Voisin, 13th Issue Editors

The Second World War gave rise in the USSR to a myth whose beginnings
already existed at the time, but which developed gradually, finally taking
on institutionalized form after the 1960s (essentially in the sense of
commemorative plaques, monuments and museums) in the context of the Cold War
and the evolution of the system that followed on de-Stalinisation (N.
Tumarkin).  

In Soviet sources, the "Great Patriotic War" then became a significant
element of identification, the founding event of the new post-war world
order. Despite its violence and the amplitude of devastation in the USSR,
the war indeed gave the country its status as a great power and key partner
on the international stage. In addition, having won out against Nazi
ideology, the war endowed the soviet idea with a prestige theretofore
unknown. Finally, inside the USSR, it served among others the purpose of
developing the theme of the unity of the soviet population behind the
communist party and its social project.

For a long time, this official recounting of the soviet war experience
overshadowed the wide variety of experiences of the war - to the point of
making no mention of phenomena as important as the specific extermination of
the USSR's Jews, the extent of collaboration with the occupier, the
experiences and return of prisoners of war and of deported workers to Europe
etc.

The fall of the USSR and the opening up of archives made possible the
publication of an extraordinary number of archival documents, monographs,
memoirs and new films on the Second World War. Military, social, and
diplomatic history were all profoundly overhauled, giving rise to debates
among specialists previously impossible. Of course, allowing the entry of
foreign researchers into Russian archives significantly contributed to the
effervescence of historical studies, but Russian historians themselves have
now addressed the most sensitive subjects: repressions during the war - from
deportations of peoples to internal repressions in the army (F. Bugai, V. N.
Zemskov, V.E. Zviagintsev, etc.), collaboration and its repression (B.
Kovalev, A. Epifanov, S. Kudriashev), genocide ("Kholokost" centre and
collection in Moscow), the issues of repatriated persons (P. Polian,
Arzamaskin, I. Govorov), foreign prisoners of war (N. Surzhikova), the
soviet occupation in Europe at the end of the war (collections of documents
on the SMAD, Soviet Military Administration in Germany), etc.  

However, at the very moment when the study of history was progressing, the
country's new political direction took possession of the war to draw up a
narrative of Russian identity in the 20th century. Gradually, the historic
victory of 1945 began to serve a discourse of power that once again demanded
the obliteration of the darkest aspects of Kremlin politics during the war.
In 2003 a history textbook accused of playing down the role of the USSR in
the victory over Nazism was withdrawn from sale. In June 2007, Vladimir
Putin, addressing history teachers, declared: "Let us not authorise anyone
to impose on us a feeling of guilt". That same year, a new, "politically
correct" textbook was published. 

A new stage in this "repossession" of the history of the war was reached
when Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Federation of Russia, signed a decree
creating the "Commission to counter attempts to falsify history". 

Thus the reading of World War II is today of renewed relevance, which the
Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies proposes to study in
a special issue devoted to the ways in which the Second World War is
narrated and remembered in the various registers of present day Russia. For
example, what changes are being made in the history of the war as recounted
in textbooks? What view should we take of contests in the schools that award
first prize to the best personal research on local history of the war? In
terms of national heritage and museography, how does the memory of the war
still come into play now, in people's everyday lives? In what ways does the
narration of the war make it possible to deal with, or to orient certain
issues arising in contemporary Russian society, in particular the place of
the different nationalities?

We will thus examine contemporary visions and re-appropriations of the
history of the war - from local testimony-collection initiatives, school war
museums and school textbooks, to representations in films, programmes on
Zvezda, and cultural events.

This special issue will seek to present a diversity of points of view and
types of contribution:  articles by Russian and foreign specialists (points
of view of western historians and CIS specialists, reviews of recently or
soon-to-be-published works in connection with the Commission to counter
attempts to falsify history, etc
 

Guidelines for article submission 

The journal will be published in three languages (French, English and
Russian with a 100-word abstract in English) thanks to which most authors
will be able to write in their mother tongue. This will ensure greater
precision in the articles and avoid a decrease in scientific quality. But we
draw your attention to the fact that most pipss.org readers are essentially
English speakers, therefore we do encourage articles in English in order to
reach an audience as broad as possible.

The articles submitted to pipss.org for publication should be original
contributions and should not be under consideration for any other
publication at the same time. Manuscripts should be attached as Microsoft
Word format. References should be given in footnotes. (For more details
about the guidelines for article submission please check
http://www.pipss.org <blocked::http://www.pipss.org/>  or contact the
Editorial Board). There should be a cover page stating the author's
background and affiliation, full address. 

If you wish to submit an article, please first contact the editorial board
and send a 100-word abstract in English. The deadline for article submission
is June 1st, 2011, with publication in Autumn 2011. Final decisions on
publication will be made by the Editorial Board.

Please send your contributions or inquiries to:

Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski, Chief Editor, [log in to unmask]
<blocked::mailto:[log in to unmask]>  
Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski, Vanessa Voisin (13th Issue Editors)

 

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Papers dealing with other issues related to armies and power institutions in
the CIS, as well as book review proposals are also welcome.
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REVIEWS

Publishers interested in publicizing their editions, please send review
copies to:
Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski / CERSIPS c/° CERCEC
54 bd Raspail
75006 Paris, France
Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski
Chief Editor

The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies
http://www.pipss.org <blocked::http://www.pipss.org/>  
[log in to unmask] <blocked::mailto:[log in to unmask]> 

Editorial Board : Eden Cole, Anna Colin Lebedev, Françoise Dauce, Gilles
Favarel-Garrigues,  Anne Le Huerou, Erica Marat, Amandine Regamey, Laurent
Rucker, Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski, Joris Van Bladel

Scientific Board : Adrian Beck (UK), Alexander Belkin (Russia), Frederic
Charillon (France), Stephen Cimbala (USA), Julian Cooper (UK), Roger Mc
Dermott (UK), Isabelle Facon (France), Mark Galeotti (UK), Aleksandr Gol'ts
(Russia), Dale Herspring (USA), Philippe Manigart (Belgium), Kimberly Zisk
Marten (USA), Michael Orr  (UK), Michael Parrish (USA), Nikolay Petrov
(Russia), Eduard Ponarin (Russia), Jean-Christophe Romer (France), Jacques
Sapir (France), Manfred Sapper (Germany), Louise Shelley (USA), Richard
Staar (USA), Brian Taylor (USA), Mikhail Tsypkin (USA), Stephen Webber (UK),
Elena Zdravomyslova (Russia)

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