Gareth Jones, the Soviet peasantry and the 'Real Russia', 1930–1933. Issue 3 (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hall, Nicholas
• Is Part Of: Russian journal of communication. Volume 8:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 242
• Page End: 255
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: Potemkinism -- cultural diplomacy -- collectivisation -- journalism -- fellow travelling; Communication -- Russia (Federation) -- Periodicals; Russians -- Foreign countries -- Periodicals; 302.20947
• DOI: 10.1080/19409419.2016.1213220
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1940-9419

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article explores how the British journalist Gareth Jones sought a particular truth of events during collectivisation in the Soviet Union by examining the experiences of the Soviet peasantry. His conclusions ran counter to certain narratives of Soviet progress that ignored or diminished the importance of collectivisation's costs to the peasantry. Jones described to his readers what he considered to be the 'Real Russia', a place found beyond a veil of deception, which is referred to here by the term 'Potemkinism' (meaning the regime-managed representation of the Soviet Union to external and internal audiences), and clashed with those who thought his reports to be false. In looking at Jones's example, we can consider how the peasantry appeared to a foreigner in their midst at a time of intense social stress, and in particular how certain observers framed their understandings of Soviet affairs.