Thursday, March 31, 2011

"Terror in the Countryside" Kopelev

“Terror in the Countryside” Kopelev

Thesis: As a former liquidator of the kulaks, Kopelev turned against participation in collectivization and became a tolerant person, who was given a jail sentence for anti-state crime (keeping a Russian soldier from raping and pillaging).

· “Struggle for grain was the struggle for socialism”

· he was fighting against kulak sabotage for grain which was needed by country for the 5 year plan

· They would take away food and livestock and valuables and surpluses of clothing and money stashed away and gold, silver, and currency

· The children began screaming, choking, and coughing like their mother at the collective farmers

· The men were impassive, half-mad and having daring ferocity

· He was performing his rev duty

· The only true religion was religion of scientific socialism; the party became his church

· His great goal was the triumph of Communism

o To lie,, steal, destroy thousands and millions of ppl, all considered hinderers of their work

o He was convinced he was accomplishing great and necessary transformation of countryside

o In 1933, he saw ppl dying from hunger and he cursed those who sent him to take away peasants’ grain in the winter

· They dismissed the concepts of conscience, honor, humaneness as idealistic prejudices

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