Periodicals of Kazan Pedagogical Institute in the development of self-criticism and the practice of public repentance in the years of mass repression in the second half of the 1930s.

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2024-3-896-912

For citation

Galimzyanova, Alina T. (2024), Periodical press of Kazan Pedagogical Institute in the development of self-criticism and the practice of public repentance in the years of mass repression in the second half of the 1930s, Herald of an Archivist, № 3, pp. 896-912, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2024-3-896-912

Galimzyanova, Alina T., Institute of History named after Sh. Sh. Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of RT, Kazan, Russia

Periodicals of Kazan Pedagogical Institute in the development of self-criticism and the practice of public repentance in the years of mass repression in the second half of the 1930s.

Abstract

In the article the author, based on the analysis of materials of the newspaper “For Pedagogical Cadres” of Kazan State Pedagogical Institute (KSPI), reveals the role of the university press in the transformation of the system of traditional values in the scientific and educational environment during the mass repressions of the 1930s. Being the main mechanism of manipulation of mass consciousness, the university newspaper promoted the popularization of the campaign of self-criticism; instilling an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, forced to admit guilt for imperfect mistakes. The choice of the object of the study is conditioned by the fact that in the 1930s KSPI was the only university in the Volga region, where historians and social scientists were trained. Its staff was represented by highly qualified specialists of the pre-revolutionary old school and graduates of metropolitan universities. The new wave of political repressions, which began after the assassination of S. M. Kirov in 1934, was unfolding here. Meanwhile, in the studies devoted to the formation and development of KSPI, the period of mass repressions is glossed over, and many aspects concerning the organization of scientific and educational process under Stalinism, quantitative and qualitative indicators of victims of repressions, chronology of events, still remain unreported in the scientific literature. The author, relying on the materials of the periodical press, found that initially the newspaper “For Pedagogical Cadres” was aimed at covering party life, academic work, and the everyday life of students, but very soon it turned into a tool of political struggle between students and teachers, while whistleblowing in the institute acquired a new - open form. In the study, when working with historical sources, the methodology of phenomenological hermeneutics was used, which allowed to restore the sequence of events in KSPI, associated with the period of mass repression in the 1930s, to explain the motives of student denunciations and the reasons for conciliatory behavior of teachers, taking into account the peculiarities of their worldview, socio-economic, political and ideological conditions of life. The analysis of university press publications and archival materials made it possible to trace the moment of fracture and deformation of former moral values, accepted forms of corporate ethics and relations between teachers and students. Under the influence of the changing political and ideological situation, the participants of the events were forced to adjust their views and assessments of reality, to bring them in line with new social requirements and expectations.

Keywords

Soviet historians, Tatar ASSR, periodicals, Kazan State Pedagogical Institute, historical sources.

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About the authors

Galimzyanova Alina T., Ph.D. of historical sciences, Sh. Sh. Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Department of Modern History, Senior Researcher, Kazan, Russia, +7-843-292-84-82, 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 22.03.2024, recommended for publication on 20.06.2024.