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" Shopping with Brezhnev : "
Chernyshova, Natalya
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1097633
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| Doc. No
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TLets518541
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| Main Entry
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Chernyshova, Natalya
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| Title & Author
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Shopping with Brezhnev :\ Chernyshova, Natalya
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| College
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King's College London (University of London)
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| Date
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2007
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| student score
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2007
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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The Brezhnev years in the Soviet Union have often been dismissedas an `era of stagnation'. Below the quiet surface of stability, however, anew revolution was threatening Soviet socialism itself: a consumerrevolution. This remarkable transformation is the subject of my thesis.The era of consumption was initially signalled by governmentpolicies. Consumption and living standards became key policy elementsunder Khrushchev, most evident in his mass housing campaign. AfterKhrushchev's dismissal, the emphasis on consumption continued. Indeed,the Soviet elite set a personal example. Leonid Brezhnev's collection ofexpensive Western cars - the ultimate consumer luxury - included giftsfrom President Nixon. (Brezhnev specifically requested a sporty ChevroletMonte Carlo when it was named `the car of the year' by the Motor Trendmagazine in 1974.)But the consumer revolution was driven by ordinary people, whoseopportunities to consume improved significantly in terms of income and therelative availability of goods. Attitudes to consumption relaxed, encouragedby policies from `above', and demand grew. When consumers' growingexpectations clashed with continuing shortages, commodities acquired evengreater importance for a supposedly anti-commercial state.My thesis examines this contradiction in both ideology and societywith particular emphasis upon consumption practices and attitudes. Arguingthat Soviet citizens were turning from good communists into goodconsumers, it rejects the primacy of high politics. Instead consumptionbecame the most meaningful `politics' on the eve of perestroika, a crucialfactor in socialism's disintegration. While the regime's relative tolerance ofconsumerism initially seemed to buttress the system, it also unleashedconsumers' expectations. When economic growth slowed dramatically fromthe mid-1970s, this increasingly undermined the `deal' and turned consumerdiscontent into an imminent threat to the government's legitimacy.Gorbachev's opening of the political floodgates facilitated its transformationinto a disruptive force that helped topple the regime.
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King's College London (University of London)
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