"Letters to Power" as a historical source for studying the perception of Glasnost by the Soviet people in 1986-1991

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-3-732-744

For citation

Sudants, Boris M. (2025). "Letters to Power" as a historical source for studying the perception of Glasnost by the Soviet people in 1986-1991, Herald of an Archivist, no. 3, pp. 732-744, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-3-732-744

Sudants, Boris M., Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia

"Letters to Power" as a historical source for studying the perception of Glasnost by the Soviet people in 1986-1991

Abstract

The article analyzes the attitude of Soviet citizens to glasnost on the basis of "letters to the authorities." When studying the problem, the method of plot typologization was used. The source base of the work was letters from the foundation of the "Sub-department of Letters of the General Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1953-1991)" - F. 100. The Russian State Archive of Modern History (RGANI). The chronological framework of the study covers the period from 1986 to 1991. In 1985, the political leadership attached little importance to publicity. This concept was understood as an auxiliary option for better informing the population about the ongoing reform processes in the country. In 1986-1987, Mikhail Gorbachev subjected glasnost to significant metamorphoses. Now she was dealing with criticism, self-criticism of party officials, as well as grassroots supervision of the nomenklatura. The transformation of politics has attracted the attention of the masses. The highest authorities have received numerous letters criticizing the morally decayed bureaucracy, which hinders the implementation of reforms, including the policy of glasnost. The people supported the party's strict line on exposing administrative personnel. Nevertheless, throughout 1987, radical content was introduced into the concept of glasnost, aimed at deconstructing the Soviet past. The central figure of the accusatory course was I. V. Stalin. Citizens were outraged by the peremptory criticism of the Stalinist period. The population quickly reacted with a flood of letters to the Central Committee of the CPSU. Two new trends were visible in these appeals. The authors of the letters of the first trend still spoke positively about glasnost and suggested not violating its principles. Thus, the addressees used the gains of glasnost to defend their own beliefs and ideals. The second trend was an uncompromising rejection of the policy. She was still weak and rare in letters, but thanks to the radical policy of the government, conditions for her development appeared. In 1988-1990, the first trend was expressed in many forms, defending the personal interests or principles of citizens. In general, during these three years, a positive attitude towards glasnost remained in the mentality of the Soviet population, it was deliberately used as a shield against attacks by the media and the party bureaucracy. Irreversible changes in perception occurred in 1991, when the ruling party lost control over the ongoing reforms, and the opposition forces transformed the policy of glasnost into unlimited freedom of speech. The citizens reacted aggressively to the subsequent onslaught of critical discussions exposing the Soviet regime. In letters from 1991 There are already proposals to introduce a state of emergency and curtail ongoing reforms. Thus, the negative trend that became the end of the glasnost policy finally strengthened in the minds of the Soviet people.

Keywords

Glasnost policy, letters to the authorities, historical sources, Mikhail Gorbachev, perestroika, domestic politics, history of mentalities.

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References

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About authors

Sudants Boris M., Russian State University for the Humanities, Historical and Archival Institute, Faculty of History, educational and Scientific Center "New Russia. History of Post-Soviet Russia", postgraduate student, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-962-957-80-99, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The article was received in the editorial office on 19.08.2023, recommended for publication on 20.06.2025.