Discussion of constitutional draft 1977 and the formation of Soviet identity (by the example of Penza region)

Abstract

Background. The relevance of this topic is determined by the need to develop ef-fective mechanisms for socio-political interaction and practices for responding to social demands, the importance of which increases at the crisis stages of the development of so-ciety. The purpose of the study is to analyze the discussion of the draft Constitution of 1977 by the population of Penza region and the reaction of the authorities as a reflection of the process of formation of Soviet identity at the end of the modern era. Separate aspects of the problem are: the study of the procedure for conducting the discussion, as well as the content of the proposals and comments of Soviet citizens. Materials and methods. The study was carried out on the materials of the fund r-2038 (Executive Committee of Penza Regional Council of People’s Deputies) of the State Archives of Penza Region. The methodological tools of the new political history, orienting the researcher to the “psychologization” of the problem, to “biased” attention to the strategies of behavior and thinking, to mass political culture, was applied in this article. The focus of modern researchers is everyday life, symbolism and semantics, the space of communication and information exchange, which is due to the “practical”, “cultural” and “linguistic” turns of humanitarian knowledge. One of the key tools in this regard is the formation of group identity as a special construct, identical to a certain set of values and aspirations. Results. The goals and objectives, the mechanism for conducting a “nationwide discussion” of the Constitution of 1977 on the materials of Penza region are studied. A comparative analysis of the basic constructs of mass political culture in the USSR in the 1930s and 1970s has been carried out. The content components of the Soviet identity of the late USSR are described. Conclusions. Another mobilization cam-paign, which manifested the formation of the “ideal Soviet man”, revealed the discrepancy between imaginary and real practices and provoked an undesirable surge of social activity. In addition, the regional dimension of mass political culture in the period of “mature socialism” allows us to conclude that there are innovative elements characteristic of post-economic civilization: technocracy, creativity, the unconditional priority of education and culture.

Keywords

• penza region
• constitution of the ussr 1977
• local community
• soviet identity
• public debate
• practices of social and political interaction