Being Soviet: Identity, Rumour, and Everyday Life Under Stalin 1939-1953 (64 page)

perfidious old Albion.

The collapse of the USSR was not brought about by nationalism.
Nationalists simply exploited the collapse of a bigger supranational idea of Sovietness. Supranational states such as Britain, China, or the USSR are forced to present a compelling ongoing narrative of what it means to ‘be British’, ‘be Chinese’, or ‘be Soviet’. The diplomatic posture of those states, and the vigour of their shared civilization, need to be constantly affirmed. As long as the language of Britishness, Chineseness, or Soviet- ness is persuasive, then alternative micro-identities can complement, rather than compete with, the bigger supranational identity. When that wider rhetoric starts to fail, alternative micro-identities such as Scottish, Uighur, or Ukrainian nationalism are ripe for exploitation by those who wish to resist the supranational state. By 1991 Eastern Europe was no longer under Soviet benefaction, American culture was in the ascendant, and the USSR’s economic infrastructure was groaning. At that point the population of the USSR, or at least some of their leaders, decided that they no longer wanted to be Soviet. Nationalism was the beneficiary rather than the cause of the USSR’s fall.

^{3
R. Wagnleitner,}
Coca-Colonization and the Cold War
(Chapel Hill, 1994).

212
Conclusion

The collapse of Bolshevism rendered the finely honed ‘tactics of the
habitat’ irrelevant. In order to succeed in Soviet society, academics, writers, war veterans, and musicians, built their careers on their ‘tactical’ as well as professional abilities. They were the ones who lost most when the USSR collapsed. Those who succeeded in the 1990s were those who learned most quickly how to deploy the tactics of the new, non-communist ‘habitat’. Being Soviet normally proved to be of little use in a post-Soviet world.

APPENDIX

Interview Technique and Questions Used

Respondents were told I was interested in ‘culture, society, and life 1939–53’.
They were asked to narrate their life experiences in this period for up to an hour. A set series of fixed topics were then discussed before the interview was allowed to develop its own momentum. At the beginning of each section the questions were intentionally ‘open’ and informational such as: ‘Do you remem- ber any films that were showing in the post-war period?’ The interviews focused on this kind of discussion, rather than large political themes. However, a number of the respondents were keen to discuss their attitudes to political events a long time ago. Their answers are only cited when they triangulate strongly with a number of other source groups.

This ‘semi-structured’ technique allows for a two-way dialogue which was
vital to establishing trust with the respondents.
^{1
Most interviews were con-}
ducted in the homes of the respondents. Their anonymity is preserved through the use of their first name and patronymic but not surname. A total of twenty- four interviews were conducted, lasting between one and three hours. Respon- dents were found via various routes. Some were friends or personal contacts. Two institutions:
Memorial,
a Moscow-based human rights agency which provides support for victims of Soviet political repression, and the Moscow Veterans Society also provided a number of contacts. The two organizations were chosen, in part, because they served very different groups and so might balance each other out. Three further interviews were conducted with British veterans of the Arctic convoys to Northern Russia for Chapter 3. Their details were obtained through the ‘North Russia Club’.

Respondents were asked questions in three sections.

LIF E

Where were you and what were you doing during the war and post-war era?
How did life change for you after the war was over?

^{1
On semi-structured interviewing, see B. Mikkelsen,}
Methods for Development Work
and Research: A Guide for Practitioners (London, 1995), 98–115.

214
Appendix

CULT URE

Do you remember any films that were showing in the war and post-war period in the
USSR?

What music do you remember from this period? Did you enjoy dancing to it and if so
what style?

Did you have any friends who were
stiliagi
in this period?

SOC IETY

What was it like living in the USSR in the post-war period?
How did you hope life would be after the war?

These initial questions provided a launchpad for more detailed discussion
that often began by asking them to expand on comments they had made earlier.

LIS T O F RESPONDEN T S

Vladimir Andreevich, Moscow, April 2004.
Ol’ga Mikhailovna, Moscow, April 2004. Al’dona Vladimirovna, Moscow, April 2004. Viktor Iosifovich, Moscow, May 2004.

Mikhail Borisovich, Moscow, May 2004.
Vasilii Ivanovich, Moscow, May 2004. Il’ian Lvoevich. Moscow, May 2004.

Natalia Leonidovna, Moscow, May 2004.
Galina Sergeevna, Moscow, May 2004. Vladimir Mikhailovich. Moscow, May 2004. Igor Pavlovich, Moscow, June 2004.

Andrei Ivanovich, Moscow, July 2004.
Svetlana Ivanovna, Moscow, July 2004.

Nikolai Vasil’evich Arkhangel’sk, August 2004.
Igor Andreevich, Arkhangel’sk, August, 2004. Aleksander Grigorevich, August 2004.

Nadezhda Pavlovna, Arkhangel’sk, August 2004.
Boris Romanovich, Moscow, September 2004. Viktor Dmitrovich, Moscow, September 2004. Sergei Vladimirovich, Moscow, August 2005.

Liia Borisovna, Moscow, August 2005.
Mira Borisovna, Moscow, August 2005.

Appendix
215

Nina Ivanovna, Moscow, August 2005.
Kira Pavlovna, Moscow, August 2005. Percy Price, Oxford, September 2005. Ronald Phelps, Oxford, September 2005. Robert Turly, Oxford, September 2005.

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