Two Stairways to Socialism: Soviet Youth Activists in Polish Spaces, 1957–1964

Abstract

The Second World under Stalin involved distinctly homogeneous organization of outdoor and interior spaces. Yet after 1956, in context of more flexible Soviet policies and intensified international contacts within the bloc, space began to raise immediate questions about standards of orthodoxy and limits of de-Stalinization in the socialist world. The chapter examines one such case, the experiences of Soviet youth activists during their visits to Poland in the 1950s and 1960s. Among the remarkable features of the Komsomol delegates’ reports from Poland was their consistent attention to the organization of Polish spaces. As a rule, the Soviet guests offered pejorative assessments of Poland’s interiors and landscapes in the post-Stalin era. More than rituals, I argue that these Soviet criticisms reflected the Komsomol activists’ genuine sense of frustration, resulting from both the ambiguous position of their organization in the process of Soviet de-Stalinization, and from palpable differences between the timing and nature of the Soviet and Polish “Thaws.” The chapter aims to locate the Soviet–Polish youth interactions within the context of uneven and sometimes contradictory political, social and cultural developments in both countries, paying special attention to the transformations of the respective spatial regimes. Its goal is to contribute to a broader discussion about the impact of increased international contacts throughout the “socialist second world” on Soviet and communist power.

I wish to thank Christopher Morris, Jens Gieseke, Austin Jersild and the participants of the workshop “Exploring the Second World” for their comments on earlier drafts.