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Book Discussion: <i>There Is No Freedom Without Bread! 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism</i>

Constantine Pleshakov, Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies and Critical Social Thought, Mount Holyoke College

Date & Time

Monday
Jan. 11, 2010
11:00am – 12:00pm ET

Overview

"It was clear in the fall of 1988 that the world was changing for the better," said Constantine Pleshakov, Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies and Critical Social Thought, Mount Holyoke College. At a Kennan Institute lecture on 11 January 2010, Pleshakov discussed the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and his new book, There Is No Freedom Without Bread! 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism.

The first half of his book's title, There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, was recycled from the slogan of the Polish Revolutionary movement, explained Pleshakov, and refers to the "age-long paradigm" between freedom and bread. However, even in November 1988, "no one expected communism to disintegrate so rapidly, and with the exception of Romania, so bloodlessly."

The fall of communism was coupled with cries for democracy and free markets, but Pleshakov remarked that these concepts were very hard to define at the time, especially for people who had been under Soviet rule for so long. "When a revolution has no agenda but the overall inclination to better society and life, it uses what it thinks are Western models," stated Pleshakov, adding that these models yielded some very "interesting interpretations" in Eastern Europe.

While the communist regime was undoubtedly oppressive, Pleshakov asserted that there were nevertheless large numbers of people that supported the system because it was convenient and materially comfortable to do so. After all, the regime was built not only on fear but on a social contract to provide many free benefits to individuals, including housing, healthcare, and employment. Therefore, "the revolution was really complicated and complex, and the use of big words like freedom and democracy were very misleading," claimed Pleshakov.

Drawing parallels between 1989 and today, the author wondered why people were still surprised by the political role of religion in places such as the Middle East and Afghanistan. He argued that in Eastern Europe, the revolution did not start when dissident groups formed, but when a Pole was elected to be Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 1978. Religion was so important to Polish identity and life that "when it became part of the revolutionary paradigm, the revolution became unstoppable." Therefore we should not be surprised today that a different religion is carrying the same sort of clout in other parts of the world, concluded Pleshakov.

By Larissa Eltsefon
Blair Ruble, Director, Kennan Institute

 

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Constantine Pleshakov

Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies and Critical Social Thought, Mount Holyoke College
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Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Russia and Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.  Read more

Cold War International History Project

The Cold War International History Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. Through an award winning Digital Archive, the Project allows scholars, journalists, students, and the interested public to reassess the Cold War and its many contemporary legacies. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program.  Read more

History and Public Policy Program

The History and Public Policy Program makes public the primary source record of 20th and 21st century international history from repositories around the world, facilitates scholarship based on those records, and uses these materials to provide context for classroom, public, and policy debates on global affairs.  Read more

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