N. N. DEMOCHKIN, G. B. KULIKOVA. The Soviets in the Period of Communist Construction as Reflected in Soviet Historiography (1956 - 1970)

The authors examine the fundamental Leninist principles underlying the functioning of the Soviets, the progressive development of these principles and their practical implementation by the Communist Parly of the Soviet Union, the Party?s consistent policy of improving the activity of the Soviets of Working People?s Deputies and enhancing their role in communist construction. They show the utter insolvency of a number of conceptions concocted by bourgeois "Sovietologists" who are trying to distort the essence of Soviet socialist democracy, to play down the role of the Soviets as the organs of popular government. Analyzing a number of works produced by Soviet historians and lawyers over the past fifteen years, the article graphically shows how by dint of persevering efforts on the part of a large group of researchers new light is being shed on the history of the Soviets, on the process of all-round development and strengthening of the Soviet state at the present stage, the improved methods of exercising Party leadership of the Soviets, and the formation of closer ties between the Soviets and the masses.

V. T. YERMAKOV. The Ideological Struggle on the Cultural Front in the Early Years of Soviet Government

The author vividly describes the tense ideological struggle that was waged in 1918 - 1920 in the sphere of culture both against bourgeois ideology and multivarious "Left," essentially petty-bourgeois views. The proletarian state rejected the bourgeois-liberal conception of a "single stream" in culture, which denied the influence exerted on the development of culture by diverse ideological, political and class factors. Side by side with repudiating the bourgeois conception of "apolitical" culture, the Communist Party resolutely came out against the nihilist view that the culture of the past must be destroyed.

The article stresses that in the early post-revolution years many different "Left" trends were fairly widespread in literature, art, school education, etc. The Party?s policy towards the "Left" elements in the sphere of culture consisted in exposing the erroneous character of their ideological views, resolutely combating the anti-socialist elements, while at the same time trying to win over honest-minded representatives of the "Left front" to the side of the revolution and help them overcome their ideological errors and delusions. The principled Party criticism of the ideology and separatist tactics of the Proletkult trend played the decisive role in overcoming these pernicious tendencies by the early 1920?s. In the difficult and highly complicated conditions of the early post-revolution years the Soviet state succeeded in correctly defining the main directions of the Communist influence in liie process ol formation of socialist culture.

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P. G. RYNDZIUNSKY. The Economic System of Small-Scale Peasant Farming in Russia in the Period Following the Abolition of Serfdom

The article draws the attention of Soviet historians to the need of comprehensively examining the system of peasant farming prevailing in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Proceeding from his close analysis of the factual data furnished by budget surveys in different parts of the country, the author comes to the conclusion that for a large segment of the peasants working for hire was of no less economic significance than tilling their own plots. That explains the extensive spread of diverse forms of capitalist dependence among the rural population of Russia in the latter half of the 19th century, the scale of which cannot be properly assessed unless the peasant farmers are viewed in close context with this dependence and not merely as the tillers of personal allotments in their own village.

B. N. MIRONOV. The "Revolution of Prices" in 18th-Century Russia

The article puts, forward and verifies the hypothesis about the belated "revolution of prices" in Russia in the 18th century. The wealth of factual data available in historical literature provides sufficient grounds for assuming that in the 18th century a "revolution of prices" occurred in Russia under the influence of the rapid development of commodity-money relations, the growing emission of money and the mining of precious metals, on the one hand, and under the impact of the European market as a result of broader economic, cultural and political contacts with European countries, on the other. In the course of the 18th century the prices in Russia traversed a road it took Europe several centuries to travel. The levelling of prices in Europe and Russia, a process initiated in the 18th century, was consummated in the latter half of the 19th century owing, chiefly, to such important technological achievements as the appearance of steam traction, railways, telegraph communication, etc., as well as to Russian gold.

S. L. TIKHVINSKY. Nationalism and the Class Struggle in China in the Contemporary Period

The problems concerning the interrelations between different classes and nations, the class struggle and nationalism are of much interest to anyone who wants to form a clear understanding of the course of world history, of socio-political developments in individual countries and of contemporary international relations. Drawing on numerous examples furnished by the contemporary history of China, the author shows the genesis of Chinese bourgeois nationalism, examines the interaction of its two principal trends directed against the Manchu dynasty and against imperialism, and traces the intertwining of the class and national struggle throughout the new history of China, particularly in the period of the preparation and carrying out of the 1911 revolution (the Sinhai revolution), which led to the downfall of the Tsin dynasty that ruled over China since 1644.

A. S. KAHN. Swedish Historiography in the Twentieth Century (main peculiarities and stages)

In the opening part of this century, the author writes, philosophical idealism, political conservatism and nationalism (the Uppsala school) predominated in Swedish historiography. In the first decade of the century there emerged liberal historiography in the sphere of Sweden?s modern history and the critical-positivist Lund school in the sphere of medieval history. In the period between the two world wars the Lund school was particulary instrumental in destroying quite a few patriotically-romantic versions of traditional historiography and thereby contributing to the general qualitative growth and extension of the range of problems dealt with in historical research works. The same period witnessed the appearance of the first Marxist historians. In the fifties and sixties the liberal and neo-

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positivist trends came to the fore and occupied a leading position in Swedish historiography. At the turn of the seventies young historians began to evince heightened interest in Marxism, which was attributable in large measure to the aggravation of political and class contradictions in Sweden, as well as to the influence of the socialist countries. At the same time the article makes a point of stressing that the interest of historians shifted from national to universal history, from medieval to modern and contemporary history, from political to socio-economic history.

J. DELLAGRAMMATIKAS. How the Imperialists Established Their Economic Control Over Greece

The article examines the methods resorted to by the imperialists with the aim of establishing their economic domination in Greece. The author traces the history of the shackling loans imposed on that country by the Western Powers, which enabled European bankers to institute their financial control over the country in 1898. It is graphically shown how Greece?s ruling circles and financial tycoons helped international imperialism to enslave their country. The dependence of Greece on foreign (chiefly British and French) capital resulted in the accumulation of a huge foreign debt, enabled international monopolies to establish their domination over the country?s economy, and was chiefly responsible for the country?s economic backwardness and lopsided industrial development The imperialist influence was also manifested in the fact that Greece repeatedly found itself involved in the military gambles of West-European powers.

A. D. KOLPAKOV, E. V. POLYAKOVA. The Partition of Ireland: Culprits and Victims

Analyzing the forms and methods of British colonial policy in relation to Ireland in the modern and contemporary period, the authors of the article devote chief attention to the peculiarities of Ulster?s socio-economic, political and ideological development, and trace the causes which led to the partition of Ireland in 1921. They convincingly show that it was precisely (he ruling element of Great Britain, who worked for centuries to isolate the Protestant Ulster from the rest of Ireland, that were mainly responsible for this partition. The article highlights the tragic consequences of this division for the people of Ireland and traces its impact on the present-day political situation in Northern Ireland.

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