BK_07 The Balkans and other european countries under communist rule

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Martin Monkal, Ph.D. (lecturer), doc. PhDr. Václav Štěpánek, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Václav Štěpánek, Ph.D.
Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Pavel Pilch, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 19:10–20:45 M21
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 56 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The Goal of the Subject. The goal is to enable student to understand the complex situation of the communist regime in the USSR and in the states of the soviet bloc, including communist ideology and propaganda from the beginning to the final dissolution. The basis of this knowledge is the genetic – historical method. Further the question of the mutual relations inside the soviet bloc (Comecon – the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and the Warsaw Pact) will be demonstrated as well the Helsinki proces between the states of soviet bloc and other european states. The bilateral relations between the states of the soviet bloc and other states (e.g. relations Bulgaria – Turkey) will also be discussed.
Syllabus
  • ntroduction – What is the communist ideology? Communism and socialism. What was the atractivity of the communist ideology? The basic principles of the communist ideology. Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, the real socialism – the basis of these types of ideology. The Soviet Union – the formative period – Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. From the war communism across the NEP (New Economic Policy) to the programme of collectivisation and industrialization. Was the programme of socialism in one country realisable? Stalin era – the difference between the initial basis and stalinism. The national question in the USSR on the exemples of Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. Formation of the soviet bloc. Khrushchev´s Thaw – Khrushchev and communism – reality or utopia? The limits of soviet liberalism. Could Khrushchev exceed your own shadow? Neostalinism – Brezhnev era – incapable leader or pragmatic realist? Period of stagnation – why? Desintegration period – Gorbachev era – glasnost and perestroika – from attempts of reforms to dissolution of the USSR. Gorbachev – an idealist, incapable leader or a traitor? The soviet internationalism and nationalism of the soviet nations – again on the examples of Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. Poland – specific way to communism. Influence of Church and absence of collectivisation. Gomulka and Gierek era (from 1956 to 1979). Poland between two revolts. How was life in Poland of that time? East Germany – GDR – German Democratic Republic – a seasonal state? Relations GDR and other states of the soviet bloc. Czechoslovakia – Prague Spring 1968 in the context of the year 1968 generally. The unique attempt or an episodic affaire? Hungary – revolution of 1956. The limits of liberalism in the states of the soviet bloc. Kádár era – peaceful 30 years of development? Romania – Ceausescu era. Liberalism of foreign policy and interior terror. The differnces between Romania and other states of the soviet bloc. Problems of minorities in Romania. Bulgaria – the 16. Republic of the USSR? The question of Pomaks and Turks in socialist Bulgaria. Yugoslavia – how was the Yugoslav political and party system different from other states of the soviet bloc? The cases of Djilas and Ranković. The symbiosis of yugoslav nations of that time. Albania – from the soviet subsatellite to the absolute isolation. The specifics of Albania in Enver Hoxha era.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • RYCHLÍK, Jan and Milan PERENĆEVIĆ. Dějiny Chorvatska. 1. vyd. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2007, 576 s. ISBN 9788071068853. info
  • RYCHLÍK, Jan and Miroslav KOUBA. Dějiny Makedonie. Praha: Lidové noviny, 2003, 458 s. ISBN 80-7106-642-7. info
  • RYCHLÍK, Jan. Dějiny Bulharska. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2002, 516 s. ISBN 8071064971. info
    not specified
  • ŠTĚPÁNEK, Václav. Jugoslávie – Srbsko – Kosovo. Kosovská otázka ve 20. století (Yugoslavia – Serbia – Kossovo. Kossovo issue in 20th century). 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2011, 471 pp. Spisy MU v Brně, Filozofická fakulta ; č. 396. ISBN 978-80-210-5476-9. Digitální knihovna FF MU info
  • HRADEČNÝ, Pavel, Ladislav HLADKÝ, Virgjil MONARI, František ŠÍSTEK and Pavla HRADEČNÁ. Dějiny Albánie. Vyd. 1. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2008, 716 s. ISBN 9788071069393. info
  • PELIKÁN, Jan. Jugoslávie a pražské jaro. Vyd. 1. Praha: Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická fakulta, 2008, 377 s. ISBN 9788090358942. info
  • PELIKÁN, Jan. Dějiny Srbska. Vyd. 1. Praha: Lidové noviny, 2005, 670 s. ISBN 8071066710. info
  • PELIKÁN, Jan. Jugoslávie a východní blok, 1953-1958. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Karolinum, 2001, 401 s. ISBN 8024601869. info
  • PELIKÁN, Jan and Miroslav TEJCHMAN. Dějiny Jugoslávie, (1918-1991). 1. vyd. Praha: Univerzita Karlova, 1994, 89 s. ISBN 807066939X. info
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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