Russia has become a totalitarian society. Public opinion does not matter. It's all about complacency.
I teach a course on Totalitarianism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Here are some reading recommendations from my syllabus.
Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness 1933-1941: A Diary of the Nazi Years. The entries from 1933 are especially powerful.
"Every new government decree, announcement, etc. is more shameful than the previous one..."
"And... everyone's keeping his head down..."
"Every new government decree, announcement, etc. is more shameful than the previous one..."
"And... everyone's keeping his head down..."
George Orwell's 1984.
Obvious perhaps, but worth re-reading.
Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Love, Ministry of Plenty
Oh--and the role of State Television during a period of extreme wartime censorship.
Obvious perhaps, but worth re-reading.
Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Love, Ministry of Plenty
Oh--and the role of State Television during a period of extreme wartime censorship.
Hannah Arendt, Origins of Totalitarianism
Always worth re-reading--especially for her reflections on the atomization of society.
Yes, people can be disgruntled (it's not about brainwashing)--but it become harder for people to connect for fear of denunciations and arrest.
Always worth re-reading--especially for her reflections on the atomization of society.
Yes, people can be disgruntled (it's not about brainwashing)--but it become harder for people to connect for fear of denunciations and arrest.
Lev Kopelev, "The Last Grain Collections (1933)"
A powerful memoir on Soviet-era collectivization and what we now talk about as the Holodomor.
On how people internalize hateful propaganda--and why it matters.
A powerful memoir on Soviet-era collectivization and what we now talk about as the Holodomor.
On how people internalize hateful propaganda--and why it matters.
Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, 1993.
On totalitarianism at war--and how ordinary soldiers become perpetrators of atrocities.
On totalitarianism at war--and how ordinary soldiers become perpetrators of atrocities.
Intimacy and Terror: Soviet Diaries of the 1930s
On the atomization of society.
"As always when I meet someone new, I don't rush to get into a conversation until I've scoped out the circumstances and the people around me. I don't say anything. I just listen while they talk."
On the atomization of society.
"As always when I meet someone new, I don't rush to get into a conversation until I've scoped out the circumstances and the people around me. I don't say anything. I just listen while they talk."
Stalinism as a Way of Life, ed. Lewis Siegelbaum and Andrei Sokolov
Letters from Soviet citizens to Soviet leaders and newspapers in the 1930s
We see how official language, official categories become a part of everyday life.
Letters from Soviet citizens to Soviet leaders and newspapers in the 1930s
We see how official language, official categories become a part of everyday life.
Why use the term totalitarianism?
It's not about brainwashing or the achievement of total control. It's not even always about the complete mobilization of society.
It's about the suppression of civil society, the criminalization of free thought, the closing down of options....
It's not about brainwashing or the achievement of total control. It's not even always about the complete mobilization of society.
It's about the suppression of civil society, the criminalization of free thought, the closing down of options....
It's about the spread of misinformation, the denial of truth, the atomization of society.
It's about fear and complacency.
It's about fear and complacency.
There will still be dissent. There will be people who resist--and who risk speaking out.
We need to continue to listen for and amplify such voices.
We need to continue to listen for and amplify such voices.
But let's stop talking about pubic opinion polls. They can't be trusted.
And at least right now, they don't really matter.
And at least right now, they don't really matter.
More from Klemperer in August 1933:
"I simply cannot believe that the mood of the masses is really still behind Hitler. Too many signs of the opposite. But everyone, literally everyone, cringes with fear... Everyone fears the next person may be an informer."
"I simply cannot believe that the mood of the masses is really still behind Hitler. Too many signs of the opposite. But everyone, literally everyone, cringes with fear... Everyone fears the next person may be an informer."
Klemperer in November 1933:
"If I have no choice but to read and hear something everywhere, it is forced upon me. And if I can hardly guard against believing it--how shall millions of naive people guard against it? And if they believe then they are indeed won by Hitler."
"If I have no choice but to read and hear something everywhere, it is forced upon me. And if I can hardly guard against believing it--how shall millions of naive people guard against it? And if they believe then they are indeed won by Hitler."
Last ones
Klemperer in June 1933:
"During the day I now forcibly cling to some relatively pleasant event or other, even the most trivial thing like the growth of a philodendron leave..."
Klemperer in August 1933:
"One has simply to get through this time with decency."
Klemperer in June 1933:
"During the day I now forcibly cling to some relatively pleasant event or other, even the most trivial thing like the growth of a philodendron leave..."
Klemperer in August 1933:
"One has simply to get through this time with decency."
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