“Conspiracy theories explaining the Bolshevik victory gained widespread credence: the most popular of these was that of international Jewish conspiracy, since Trotsky, Zinoviev, and a number of other Bolshevik leaders were Jewish; but another theory, revived in Solzhenitsyn's Lenin in… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share
“It may well be that the Bolsheviks' greatest strength in 1917 was not strict party organization and discipline (which scarcely existed at this time) but rather the party's stance of intransigent radicalism on the extreme left of the political spectrum.… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“Conspiracy theories explaining the Bolshevik victory gained widespread credence: the most popular of these was that of international Jewish conspiracy, since Trotsky, Zinoviev, and a number of other Bolshevik leaders were Jewish; but another theory, revived in Solzhenitsyn's Lenin in Zurich, pictured the Bolsheviks as pawns of the Germans in a successful plot to take Russia out of the war.… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share
“in 1936, the NKVD mood-watchers noted the opinion that Soviet foreign policy was too soft and Hitler’s boldness was to be admired. Hitler was described as charismatic, “very intelligent,” and a man who had worked his way up from the bottom; a student said, “The Fascists are constructing socialism in a peaceful way. Hitler and the fascists are clever people.”… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share
The mission of the Gestapo expanded steadily as from 1933 onward, "political criminality" was given a much broader definition than ever before and more… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“For social pathologies like the Great Purges, there are no fully satisfactory explanations. Every individual knows that he is powerless, an actual or potential… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“Every time this happened, some arbitrarily chosen scapegoats were punished for overzealousness in carrying out the old policy. These were circumstances that encouraged fatalism… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“One of the substantive policy issues raised in the Constitution discussion (primarily in letters rather than public meetings, it seems) was the abolition of… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“indeed Soviet officials frequently complained about the “dependent” habits of Homo Sovieticus, his lack of initiative, and his stubborn expectation” — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“It may well be that the Bolsheviks' greatest strength in 1917 was not strict party organization and discipline (which scarcely existed at this time)… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“Soviet officials frequently complained about the “dependent” habits of Homo Sovieticus, his lack of initiative, and his stubborn expectation that the state would and… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
“Thus the Russian working class had contradictory characteristics for a Marxist diagnosing its revolutionary potential. Yet the empirical evidence of the period from the… — Sheila Fitzpatrick Copy Share Image
