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History 575

WORKSHEET 1: Collectivization, Famine, & Resistance to Stalinism
Readings: 1-4) Four reviews of Robert Conquest’s Harvest of Sorrow (1986) by

a) George Liber; b) John Armstrong; c) L. A. Kosiński; d) Gordon Smith;

5) “The 1932 Harvest and the Famine of 1933” by Mark B. Tauger;

6) Letters: Robert Conquest; Mark B. Tauger; 7) “Should This Pulitzer be Pulled?” by Douglas McCollam;

8) “Introduction” and “Popular Resistance in the Stalinist 1930s” by Lynne Viola;
9) “A Worker’s Strike in Stalin’s Russia” by Jeffrey Rossman;
10) “A Peasant Rebellion in Stalin’s Russia” by Tracy McDonald

Please type your responses to these questions to turn in (be sure to include your name).

Reviews of Robert Conquest’s Harvest of Sorrow

1. Based on the reviews of Conquest’s book how would you summarize a) his argument/thesis and b) his source base?

2. What do the reviewers identify as the main strengths and weaknesses of Conquest’s work?

3. Which review did you find most helpful/convincing and why?

Mark Tauger and Letters (Conquest; Tauger)

1. What is Tauger’s thesis/argument and what is his source base?

2. How convincing (or not) do you find his argument and why?

3. How would you characterize the correspondence between Conquest and Tauger? In your opinion which author makes the best case and why?

Douglas McCollam

1. What is the main argument of those who feel that Walter Duranty’s Pulitzer Prize should be pulled?

2. Do you think the Pulitzer should be pulled? Why or why not?

Lynne Viola
1. Based on the two readings by Viola, how might you define "resistance" in an historical sense?  How does she define it?  Do you think she does so adequately?

2. Other than various forms of resistance, how else according to Viola did people respond to the Stalinist regime in the 1930s?

3. How does she explain or characterize the relationship between the state and society in Stalinist Russia?

4.  What are svodki and what does Viola say about their use by historians as sources?  What does she mean by the term "source lens"?

Tracy McDonald
1. Describe 2-3 key characteristics of the peasant rebellion in Riazan Province in 1930, i.e. how did it begin, how did it spread, etc.?

2. What is the author's thesis/argument? What sources does the author rely on?

3. According to the author, why was the rebellion much worse in the village of Pitelinskii than elsewhere?

Jeffrey Rossman
1. Describe 2-3 key characteristics of the workers' strike in the Ivanova Industrial region in 1932, i.e. how did it begin, how did it spread, etc.?

2. What is the author's thesis/argument? What sources does the author rely on?

3. How was this strike eventually resolved?