The Estonian Institute of Historical Memory invites researchers to submit their articles for the next issue of the Institute’s proceedings (no. 4 / 2021). The Proceedings of the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory (Eesti Mälu Instituudi Toimetised) provides an interdisciplinary analysis of 20th century dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, their ideological bases, crimes, and impact on the societies that fell under such regimes. The peerreviewed journal is issued in cooperation with publisher University of Tartu Press.
The topic of the next issue is the perpetuation of the communist party’s power and the imposition of Soviet way of life in the decades following World War II in Eastern Bloc countries and western Republics of the Soviet Union (foremost in the annexed Baltic states). The approximate time frame of the aforementioned topics is early 1950s to mid-1980s – in other words, from the so-called High Stalinism to late, so-called ‘developed’ socialism before Perestroika.
By ‘perpetuation of power’ we mean strengthening the position of one-party rule at all levels of state and society, from top leadership to the ordinary people. In that regard it is intriguing to consider the following questions: how were economic and social goals set; based on what were plans drawn up and demands imposed; how were the decisions of the higher leadership delegated to their implementers on various levels; how effective was reporting? What was the true impact of ideology, agitation and propaganda on the society and individuals? Was balancing between security police state and liberalisation a conscious policy or did it stem from necessity and circumstance? To what extent did the communist government win over hearts and minds at various times? Considering the revolution and war veterans’ generation reached retirement age in the period in question, to what extent and how was the generational change managed in the formation of the new administrative and intellectual communist elite? What was the influence of the opposition, dissidents and resistance on decision-making and on the wider population?
In conclusion, we are looking forward to papers on the aforementioned and many other issues that help answer the question of how a large portion of state subjects were led to believe that “the communist/Soviet regime is here to stay” by the 1970s.
Please submit your paper abstract/summary (up to 300 words) by 15 May 2021 by sending it by email to the editor of the journal Meelis Saueauk (meelis.saueauk@mnemosyne.ee). A selection will be made based on the submitted abstracts and the authors will be contacted by 1 June 2021 at the latest. The final draft of the paper (up to 15 000 words) must be submitted by 1 November 2021 at the latest. The collection of research papers is expected to be published by early 2022 at the latest.
