Stalin, Siberia and the Crisis of the New Economic Policy [Paperback]

This 1991 book makes an important contribution to the evaluation of the origins of Stalinism.This 1991 book makes an important contribution to the evaluation of the origins of Stalinism. Dr Hughes presents an in depth examination of the crisis of the New Economic Policy from the regional perspective of Siberia and analyses the events and pressures 'from below', at the grassroots level of Soviet society.This 1991 book makes an important contribution to the evaluation of the origins of Stalinism. Dr Hughes presents an in depth examination of the crisis of the New Economic Policy from the regional perspective of Siberia and analyses the events and pressures 'from below', at the grassroots level of Soviet society.This book makes an important contribution to the current re-evaluation of the origins of Stalinism. Hitherto, Western scholars have focused on leading personalities to analyze the crisis of the New Economic Policy. Dr. James Hughes, however, examines the processes at work under the NEP from the regional perspective of Siberia. He looks at party-peasant relations, the kulak question, Stalin's patron-client network in the provinces, the regional impact of the grain crisis of 1927-28 and the use of emergency measures to overcome it. He concludes that Stalin's experience of conditions that were unique to Siberia accelerated his negative reappraisal of the NEP and initiated the descent into the cataclysm of his revolution from above in late 1929.List of tables; Preface; Note on transliteration and dates; Weights and measures; Map of Siberia in 1928; Introduction; 1. The Siberian peasant utopia; 2. The party and the peasantry; 3. Who was the Siberian kulak?; 4. The crisis of NEP; 5. The end of NEP; 6. The emergency measures; 7. The 'Irkutsk affair'; Conclusion; Appendix; Glossary; Notes; Bibliography; Index. ...Hughes has provided the best discussion of the grain procurement crisis and campaign available in English....this book is an extremely valuable contributiol£Ã