1974/01/01 by David Kowalewski · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Soviet and Russian History #Eastern European Communism and Reforms #American Constitutional Law and Politics #Tatar #Dissent #Soviet union #Political science #Law #Closure (psychology) #Front (military) #Repatriation #Autonomy #Imprisonment #Sociology #Geography #Politics
paper · doi:10.1080/00905997408407756
openalex publication_date 1974/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
If those interested in Soviet affairs were to confine their reading to the official Soviet press, they would perhaps conclude that all is quiet behind the Soviet front. However since a large body of underground literature has reached the West in recent years, observers have learned of numerous protest activities against the Soviet regime by various groups in the USSR. We know, for example, that liberal intellectuals are criticizing the Soviet leadership for its rigid control over the literary and scientific life of the country. Various religious groups are protesting against the closure of churches, imprisonment of believers, and restrictions on baptisms, proselyting, and religious instruction of the young. Similarly, certain members of national minorities are demanding more linguistic, educational, and cultural autonomy for their nations. Some of these minority nationalities, such as the Jews, Volga Germans, and Meskhi, have formed repatriation movements in order to obtain permission to settle in those areas which they regard as their homelands.