the soviet political systemby robert conquest;the soviet police systemby robert conquest

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University of Glasgow The Soviet Political System by Robert Conquest; The Soviet Police System by Robert Conquest Review by: L. G. Churchward Soviet Studies, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Apr., 1969), pp. 555-556 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/149815 . Accessed: 09/05/2014 13:09 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Taylor & Francis, Ltd. and University of Glasgow are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Soviet Studies. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 194.29.185.180 on Fri, 9 May 2014 13:09:14 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Page 1: The Soviet Political Systemby Robert Conquest;The Soviet Police Systemby Robert Conquest

University of Glasgow

The Soviet Political System by Robert Conquest; The Soviet Police System by Robert ConquestReview by: L. G. ChurchwardSoviet Studies, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Apr., 1969), pp. 555-556Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/149815 .

Accessed: 09/05/2014 13:09

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Taylor & Francis, Ltd. and University of Glasgow are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Soviet Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.180 on Fri, 9 May 2014 13:09:14 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: The Soviet Political Systemby Robert Conquest;The Soviet Police Systemby Robert Conquest

dictably, among the most readable and informative of such studies. Like all others, it is slanted in the direction of particular interests of the author-in this case administra- tion and, especially, local government. To the present reviewer's taste he might have made even more of this. In order to 'redress the balance' as against existing studies the author has confined his historical material to a few essential crucial periods.

Some readers may perhaps be troubled by the fact that this very detailed study does not purport to be correct to any specific date, presumably on the ground that succes- sive, and ceaseless, changes of form and style do not commonly amount to change of substance. This occasionally produces extensive expositions which end in a statement, or a footnote, explaining that the institution expounded has now been superseded.

That Mr. Churchward should seek to present the system as the present leadership sees it-a Marxist interpretation in the light of the doctrine as it now is, rather than as the prophets said it should be-is laudable, since if the business of the political scientist is not empathy it is hard to see what it is, but perhaps somewhat over-ambitious, given the lack of obvious candour among the subjects of the study. The present reviewer at least does not feel much more confident than before that he knows what the Soviet top political operator thinks he is up to as he is driven to work in the morning. Am- bition, however, is no bad thing, and Mr. Churchward is throughout modestly ready to admit the limitations of his-which in fact means every outside observer's- knowledge on particular points.

The author early expresses his faith that socialist democracy is more than window dressing, and he suggests that it is seen in terms of improving the efficiency, reliability and regularity of Soviet government. He draws particular attention to the participative character of the system within the governing rules which reserve major decisions to the holders of certain cooptative offices. It is perhaps rather over-charitable to assert that the average Soviet citizen is better informed on domestic affairs and probably even on international matters than his counterpart in states more generally reputed democratic without noting equally specifically that the more than averagely con- scientious citizen who wishes to go further is not, or to give reason to suppose that participation in local standing commissions or in the current wave of specialized conferences can do much to satisfy the political aspirations of the more enquiring spirits. The author could, however, rightly reply that he nowhere seeks to mislead us, and repeatedly draws our attention to the assumptions of the position from which he is presenting the case. He leaves us to draw our own conclusions, and for this and much more we should be grateful.

University of Glasgow D. J. R. SCOTT

Robert Conquest (ed.), The Soviet Political System. (Soviet Studies Series.) London, The Bodley Head, I968. 144 pp. 2zs.

Robert Conquest (ed.), The Soviet Police System, (Soviet Studies Series.) London, The Bodley Head, I968. 103 pp. 2 s.

ROBERT Conquest has produced two admirably concise reference books on Soviet institutions. Despite their brevity the two books are packed with information. Unfortunately neither book is indexed.

The Soviet Political System contains nine chapters. The first six chapters deal with the state structure, the remaining three with the Communist Party. The book is based almost entirely on Soviet sources. The usual approach taken in each chapter is to describe an institution or process on the basis of official and unofficial Soviet sources, and then to move in to demolish it. This is useful and necessary, but is it sufficient?

Despite its obvious merits, the book seems to me to be deficient in at least two respects. It claims to be a study of the Soviet political system, but it is not. A political system is something more than the formal apparatus of government. This holds for the United States and Britain just as much as it holds for the Soviet Union. While the author is quite right to redress the balance in official Soviet texts as between state and

dictably, among the most readable and informative of such studies. Like all others, it is slanted in the direction of particular interests of the author-in this case administra- tion and, especially, local government. To the present reviewer's taste he might have made even more of this. In order to 'redress the balance' as against existing studies the author has confined his historical material to a few essential crucial periods.

Some readers may perhaps be troubled by the fact that this very detailed study does not purport to be correct to any specific date, presumably on the ground that succes- sive, and ceaseless, changes of form and style do not commonly amount to change of substance. This occasionally produces extensive expositions which end in a statement, or a footnote, explaining that the institution expounded has now been superseded.

That Mr. Churchward should seek to present the system as the present leadership sees it-a Marxist interpretation in the light of the doctrine as it now is, rather than as the prophets said it should be-is laudable, since if the business of the political scientist is not empathy it is hard to see what it is, but perhaps somewhat over-ambitious, given the lack of obvious candour among the subjects of the study. The present reviewer at least does not feel much more confident than before that he knows what the Soviet top political operator thinks he is up to as he is driven to work in the morning. Am- bition, however, is no bad thing, and Mr. Churchward is throughout modestly ready to admit the limitations of his-which in fact means every outside observer's- knowledge on particular points.

The author early expresses his faith that socialist democracy is more than window dressing, and he suggests that it is seen in terms of improving the efficiency, reliability and regularity of Soviet government. He draws particular attention to the participative character of the system within the governing rules which reserve major decisions to the holders of certain cooptative offices. It is perhaps rather over-charitable to assert that the average Soviet citizen is better informed on domestic affairs and probably even on international matters than his counterpart in states more generally reputed democratic without noting equally specifically that the more than averagely con- scientious citizen who wishes to go further is not, or to give reason to suppose that participation in local standing commissions or in the current wave of specialized conferences can do much to satisfy the political aspirations of the more enquiring spirits. The author could, however, rightly reply that he nowhere seeks to mislead us, and repeatedly draws our attention to the assumptions of the position from which he is presenting the case. He leaves us to draw our own conclusions, and for this and much more we should be grateful.

University of Glasgow D. J. R. SCOTT

Robert Conquest (ed.), The Soviet Political System. (Soviet Studies Series.) London, The Bodley Head, I968. 144 pp. 2zs.

Robert Conquest (ed.), The Soviet Police System, (Soviet Studies Series.) London, The Bodley Head, I968. 103 pp. 2 s.

ROBERT Conquest has produced two admirably concise reference books on Soviet institutions. Despite their brevity the two books are packed with information. Unfortunately neither book is indexed.

The Soviet Political System contains nine chapters. The first six chapters deal with the state structure, the remaining three with the Communist Party. The book is based almost entirely on Soviet sources. The usual approach taken in each chapter is to describe an institution or process on the basis of official and unofficial Soviet sources, and then to move in to demolish it. This is useful and necessary, but is it sufficient?

Despite its obvious merits, the book seems to me to be deficient in at least two respects. It claims to be a study of the Soviet political system, but it is not. A political system is something more than the formal apparatus of government. This holds for the United States and Britain just as much as it holds for the Soviet Union. While the author is quite right to redress the balance in official Soviet texts as between state and

REVIEFWS REVIEFWS 555 555

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Page 3: The Soviet Political Systemby Robert Conquest;The Soviet Police Systemby Robert Conquest

party agencies he must surely do more than this. What he has given us is a critique of the formal power structure, but this does not cover the political system. This would involve a consideration of a much wider range of issues--social structure, the economy, cultural and educational levels in various parts of the country, national minorities, education, political learning, ideology, the shaping of political consciousness, political leadership, group influences, decision-making, etc.

Secondly, there is the question of bias. The author keeps this well under control for most of the time, but there' are none the less several instances where his negative evaluation of the Soviet system leads him to ignore altogether or to underestimate important changes which have occurred in Soviet politics since the XX Congress. Thus his discussion of Chapter X of the USSR Constitution ignores the question of social and economic rights, his consideration of elections ignores the role of the nakazy (electors' demands). Elsewhere, he ignores the modifications in the relations between elective soviets and Executive Committees, and the strengthening of direct democracy through local soviets and social organizations in both urban and rural areas over recent years. References to local government and to the functioning of primary party organizations are taken almost exclusively from the period 1953-56. If the information is obsolete the evaluation is sometimes faulty. Thus Standing Com- missions of local soviets not only advise nowadays, in many cases they administer agencies and services previously managed by departments of Executive Committees. Likewise (as a check on recent statistics will show), local soviets meet regularly, Executive Committees report regularly to their soviets and to their electors in most cases.

Not only does the author's evaluation suffer through this neglect of recent sources, but errors of fact sometimes occur-what may have been so ten years ago is not necessarily so today. Thus, despite his claim (p. 88), Soviet periodicals have in recent years reported cases of soviets disputing the appointments to Executive Committees made by higher party committees (e.g., Sovety deputatov trudyashchikhsya, 1960, Nos. 2, 6 and 7). In addition to such inaccuracies there are others which are perhaps the inevitable consequence of excessive condensation. In short, while highly valuable to the general reader, The Soviet Political Systemn will prove inadequate for students and teachers of Soviet politics.

The second book, The Soviet Police Systen, is even more concise than the first. The author traces the development of the Soviet police agencies since I917, including the most recent developments in i965-66. As in the first book the main sources are official Soviet publications, but they have been supplemented by a wider range of non-Soviet sources. What emerges is the best short account of the Soviet police system available in English. The one mistake I noticed was the listing of Khrushchev's secret speech to the XX Congress as March 1956 (p. 41) instead of February I956.

University of Melbourne L. G. CHURCHWARD

Boris Dvinov, Ot legal'nosti k podpoleyu (1921-1922). From Legality to the Underground (1921-1 922). Priloghenie: G. Kuchin-Oranskii, Zapiski. Supplement: G. Kuchin- Oransky, Notes on Menshevik Underground Activities in Russia in I923-24 (in Russian). Stanford, Calif., The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, i968. 202 pp.

THIS volume contains, in Russian, the work indicated in the title and a shorter one by G. D. Kuchin-Oransky, called simply Zapiski. Both are accounts by leading Men- sheviks of Menshevik activity in Russia during the early 920os. Mr. Dvinov's account covers the period 192I-22, and Mr. Kuchin's the period I922-24. There is a short preface by Professor L. H. Haimson, setting the works in their historical context, and in the context of the Project on the History of the Menshevik Movement, under the auspices of which this volume was prepared. A biographical sketch of the two authors

party agencies he must surely do more than this. What he has given us is a critique of the formal power structure, but this does not cover the political system. This would involve a consideration of a much wider range of issues--social structure, the economy, cultural and educational levels in various parts of the country, national minorities, education, political learning, ideology, the shaping of political consciousness, political leadership, group influences, decision-making, etc.

Secondly, there is the question of bias. The author keeps this well under control for most of the time, but there' are none the less several instances where his negative evaluation of the Soviet system leads him to ignore altogether or to underestimate important changes which have occurred in Soviet politics since the XX Congress. Thus his discussion of Chapter X of the USSR Constitution ignores the question of social and economic rights, his consideration of elections ignores the role of the nakazy (electors' demands). Elsewhere, he ignores the modifications in the relations between elective soviets and Executive Committees, and the strengthening of direct democracy through local soviets and social organizations in both urban and rural areas over recent years. References to local government and to the functioning of primary party organizations are taken almost exclusively from the period 1953-56. If the information is obsolete the evaluation is sometimes faulty. Thus Standing Com- missions of local soviets not only advise nowadays, in many cases they administer agencies and services previously managed by departments of Executive Committees. Likewise (as a check on recent statistics will show), local soviets meet regularly, Executive Committees report regularly to their soviets and to their electors in most cases.

Not only does the author's evaluation suffer through this neglect of recent sources, but errors of fact sometimes occur-what may have been so ten years ago is not necessarily so today. Thus, despite his claim (p. 88), Soviet periodicals have in recent years reported cases of soviets disputing the appointments to Executive Committees made by higher party committees (e.g., Sovety deputatov trudyashchikhsya, 1960, Nos. 2, 6 and 7). In addition to such inaccuracies there are others which are perhaps the inevitable consequence of excessive condensation. In short, while highly valuable to the general reader, The Soviet Political Systemn will prove inadequate for students and teachers of Soviet politics.

The second book, The Soviet Police Systen, is even more concise than the first. The author traces the development of the Soviet police agencies since I917, including the most recent developments in i965-66. As in the first book the main sources are official Soviet publications, but they have been supplemented by a wider range of non-Soviet sources. What emerges is the best short account of the Soviet police system available in English. The one mistake I noticed was the listing of Khrushchev's secret speech to the XX Congress as March 1956 (p. 41) instead of February I956.

University of Melbourne L. G. CHURCHWARD

Boris Dvinov, Ot legal'nosti k podpoleyu (1921-1922). From Legality to the Underground (1921-1 922). Priloghenie: G. Kuchin-Oranskii, Zapiski. Supplement: G. Kuchin- Oransky, Notes on Menshevik Underground Activities in Russia in I923-24 (in Russian). Stanford, Calif., The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, i968. 202 pp.

THIS volume contains, in Russian, the work indicated in the title and a shorter one by G. D. Kuchin-Oransky, called simply Zapiski. Both are accounts by leading Men- sheviks of Menshevik activity in Russia during the early 920os. Mr. Dvinov's account covers the period 192I-22, and Mr. Kuchin's the period I922-24. There is a short preface by Professor L. H. Haimson, setting the works in their historical context, and in the context of the Project on the History of the Menshevik Movement, under the auspices of which this volume was prepared. A biographical sketch of the two authors

556 556 RE VIE WIS RE VIE WIS

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.180 on Fri, 9 May 2014 13:09:14 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions