Stalinist Terror and genocide

[Daniel Rancour-Laferriere]

8 Nov. 05

Interesting and valid observations below.  Let me add that Grossman's 
_Life and Fate_ is one of those fat novels that students do not seem to 
mind reading, at least in my teaching experience.  Back in the 80s I 
found students would get very excited about the parallels drawn there 
between Stalin's Soviet Union and Hitler's Germany.  Reading 
Solzhenitsyn's fat novels, on the other hand, seemed more of a chore to 
them, and did not provoke such heated discussion in the classroom.  That 
was my experience anyway.  Perhaps others have had different 
experiences.  In any case, I am glad this great novel is being reissued 
in English.  I also think Vasilii Grossman generally deserves more 
attention from scholars than he has received in the past.

Regards to the list,

Daniel Rancour-Laferriere


Robert Chandler wrote:

>Yes, I agree - and I shall take the opportunity to mention that my
>translation, which has not been very well distributed in the USA recently,
>is to be republished in May 2006 by NYRB Classics.
>
>R.
>
>  
>
>>Vasilii Grossman's Life and Fate is "good to think with," in
>>answer to your question about the parallels betweeen Stalin's
>>mass killings and Hitler's. For example, in the scene in which
>>Viktor Shtrum fills out the questionnaire about his
>>background, the narrator provides a commentary that links
>>point 5, nationality, and point 6, social class.  Victor
>>concludes that there is a parallel between Stalin's actions
>>and Hitler's. There is also the conversation between
>>Mostovskoy and Liss.
>>
>>
>>---- Original message ----
>>    
>>
>>>Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 10:35:46 +1100
>>>From: Subhash.Jaireth at GA.GOV.AU
>>>Subject: [SEELANGS] Stalinist Terror and genocide
>>>To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
>>>
>>>Hi All,
>>>
>>>Picking the thread of the interesting discussion of Stalinka,
>>>      
>>>
>>I was wondering
>>    
>>
>>>if Stalinist repression/terror has been theorised in terms of
>>>      
>>>
>>genocide? That
>>    
>>
>>>is has someone looked at drawing the parallels between the
>>>      
>>>
>>Jewish Holocaust,
>>    
>>
>>>Armenian massacre, Rwandan and Bosnian ethnic cleansing? I
>>>      
>>>
>>dislike the word
>>    
>>
>>>cleansing although those who performed such killings tried to
>>>      
>>>
>>justify it in
>>    
>>
>>>terms of cleansing the communal body of the nation. Can
>>>      
>>>
>>Stalin-time killings
>>    
>>
>>>be called genocide? Is the term genocide appropriate to
>>>      
>>>
>>describe, theorise
>>    
>>
>>>and understand those tragic events?
>>>
>>>Would be grateful for any comments?
>>>
>>>Thanks
>>>
>>>Subhash
>>>
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>Use your web browser to search the archives, control your
>>>      
>>>
>>subscription
>>    
>>
>>> options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web
>>>      
>>>
>>Interface at:
>>    
>>
>>>                   http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>      
>>>
>>Harriet Murav
>>Professor and Head
>>Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
>>Professor, Comparative Literature
>>phone (217) 333-9275
>>fax 217 244 4019
>>3092 Foreign Languages Building
>>707 South Mathews, MC 170
>>Urbana, IL 61801
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>>options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>>                  http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>    
>>
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------