Electorate Orders as a Representation of the Everyday Problems of the Post-War Rural Society of Kuibyshev Region (1947)

Abstract

Based on the analysis of a wide range of archival sources, which are first introduced into scientific circulation, the everyday problems of the post-war rural society of the Kuibyshev region are examined in the article. It is noted that the Soviet elections of the Stalinist period were symbolic and ritualistic. It is shown that the main goal of the elections was not the rotation of power structures, but the expression of public confidence in the existing political regime. The authors come to the conclusion that during the period of Stalinism, meetings of candidates or their representatives with the public became one of the most important attributes of the Soviet elections. It is pointed out that during these meetings, the “silent majority”, deprived in normal conditions of the opportunity to convey their aspirations to the ruling elite, got the opportunity to focus the authorities’ attention on pressing social issues, the solution of which largely depended on the activities of political institutions. Based on the analysis of the electorate orders of the Kuibyshev region, issued to candidates for the regional representative bodies of power during the election campaign of 1947, the article highlights the main complex of everyday problems that worried rural residents in the post-war period. The content of orders and proposals to the authorities testifies to the transformation of the traditional values of the rural-peasant society.

Keywords

• political totalitarian discourse
• stalinism
• electoral process
• collective farm peasantry
• mandate of electorate, uncontested elections