Soviet Workers and Late Stalinism
Labour and the Restoration of the Stalinist System after World War II

This is a study of industry and labour during late Stalinism.

Donald Filtzer (Author)

9780521039208, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 August 2007

296 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.6 cm, 0.451 kg

'… a valuable contribution to Soviet social history. It is enlivened by some poignant descriptive material and is informed by a profound sympathy with ordinary Soviet citizens who found that the fruits of victory in the 'great patriotic war' tasted extremely bitter.' The Economic History Review

Soviet Workers and Late Stalinism is a study of labour and labour policy during the critical period of the Soviet Union's postwar recovery and the last years of Stalin. It is also a detailed social history of the Soviet Union in these years, for non-Russian readers. Using previously inaccessible archival sources, Donald Filtzer describes the tragic hardships faced by workers and their families right after the war; conditions in housing and health care; the special problems of young workers; working conditions within industry; and the tremendous strains which regime policy placed not just on the mass of the population, but on the cohesion and commitment of key institutions within the Stalinist political system, most notably the trade unions and the procuracy. Donald Filtzer's subtle and compelling book will interest all historians of the Soviet Union and of socialism.

List of tables
Preface and acknowledgements
List of terms and abbreviations
Introduction: the political imperatives of the postwar recovery
1. Rebuilding the workforce: free, slave and indentured labour
2. The food crisis of 1946–1947
3. Attenuated recovery: the end of rationing, housing and health
4. 'Socializing' the next generation: the position of young workers
5. Labour discipline and criminal law: the futility of repression
6. The industrial enterprise: working conditions, work organization and wage determination
Conclusion: labour and the 'renormalization' of Stalinist social relations
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Sociology: work & labour [JHBL], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]