Reconstructing the State: Personal Networks and Elite Identity in Soviet Russia

Gerald M. Easter

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511571527

Why do some state-building efforts succeed when others fail? Using formerly unavailable archival sources, this book presents an explanation for the rise and subsequent collapse of the Soviet state. The study explains how personal networks and elite identity served as informal sources of power that influenced state strength. Reconstructing the State also offers alternative interpretations of how the weak Bolshevik state extended its reach to a vast rural and multi-ethnic periphery as well as the dynamics of the center-regional conflict in the 1930s that culminated in the Great Terror.

‘Easter’s superb study illuminates the heretofore underappreciated role of regional elite networks in the evolution of the Soviet state. This lucidly written book is a fine political history embedded in a sophisticated and useful theoretical framework. It is an important contribution to political science and Soviet history.’

Zoitan Barany - University of Texas, Austin

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-viii
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Contents
pp ix-x
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Preface
pp xi-xiv
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1 - Introduction: Explaining State-Building Outcomes and the Soviet Russian Case
pp 1-22
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Part I - Structure and Identity in the Postrevolutionary State Elite
pp 23-24
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2 - Anatomy of a Regional Elite: The Rise of the Provincial Komitetchiki
pp 25-46
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3 - Constructing an Elite Identity: Images of Self, Service, and State
pp 47-64
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Part II - Informal Sources of Power in the Postrevolutionary State
pp 65-66
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4 - Extending the Reach of the State: Personal Networks and Territorial Administration
pp 67-88
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5 - The Constraints of Power: Personal Networks and Central Rulership
pp 89-106
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Part III - Intrastate Conflict and the Constraints of Power Redefined
pp 107-108
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6 - Center and Regions in Conflict I: Collectivization and the Crisis of Regional Leadership
pp 109-132
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7 - Center and Regions in Conflict II: The Fall of the Provincial Komitetchiki
pp 133-160
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8 - Conclusion: State Building and the Soviet Russian Case Reconsidered
pp 161-174
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Notes
pp 175-204
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Bibliography
pp 205-216
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Index
pp 217-221
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Titles in the series
pp 222-226
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Reconstructing the State

Personal Networks and Elite Identity in Soviet Russia

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-viii

Contents
pp ix-x

Preface
pp xi-xiv

1 - Introduction: Explaining State-Building Outcomes and the Soviet Russian Case
pp 1-22

Part I - Structure and Identity in the Postrevolutionary State Elite
pp 23-24

2 - Anatomy of a Regional Elite: The Rise of the Provincial Komitetchiki
pp 25-46

3 - Constructing an Elite Identity: Images of Self, Service, and State
pp 47-64

Part II - Informal Sources of Power in the Postrevolutionary State
pp 65-66

4 - Extending the Reach of the State: Personal Networks and Territorial Administration
pp 67-88

5 - The Constraints of Power: Personal Networks and Central Rulership
pp 89-106

Part III - Intrastate Conflict and the Constraints of Power Redefined
pp 107-108

6 - Center and Regions in Conflict I: Collectivization and the Crisis of Regional Leadership
pp 109-132

7 - Center and Regions in Conflict II: The Fall of the Provincial Komitetchiki
pp 133-160

8 - Conclusion: State Building and the Soviet Russian Case Reconsidered
pp 161-174

Notes
pp 175-204

Bibliography
pp 205-216

Index
pp 217-221

Titles in the series
pp 222-226

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Reconstructing the State

Personal Networks and Elite Identity in Soviet Russia

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