DOC Envy; Poison; and Death: Women on Trial in Ancient Athens by Esther Eidinow in History

Description

Stalin's last generation was the last generation to come of age under Stalin; yet it was also the first generation to be socialized in the post-war period. Its young members grew up in a world that still carried many of the hallmarks of the Soviet Union's revolutionary period; yet their surroundings already showed the first signs of decay; stagnation; and disintegration. Stalin's last generation still knew how to speak "Bolshevik;" still believed in the power of Soviet heroes and still wished to construct socialism; yet they also liked to dance and dress in Western styles; they knew how to evade boring lectures and lessons in Marxism-Leninism; and they were keen to forge identities that were more individual than those offered by the state. In this book; Juliane Furst creates a detailed picture of late Stalinist youth and youth culture; looking at young people from a variety of perspectives: as children of the war; as recipients and creators of propaganda; as perpetrators of crime; as representatives of fledgling subcultures; as believers; as critics; and as drop-outs. In the process; she illuminates not only the complex relationship between the Soviet state and its youth; but also provides a new interpretative framework for understanding late Stalinism -- the impact of which on Soviet society's subsequent development has hitherto been underestimated; including its role in the ultimate demise of the USSR.