«Кто портит бюллетни, тот в Союзе недовольных». Портрет избирателя поздней сталинской эпохи.

Отечественные записки. 2013. № 1 (52). С. 326–334.

Kimerling A. S.

The article tells about people who stood out and voted against the so-called “bloc of Communists and non-Party people” at elections in the late Stalin period. Most of the people viewed the hard hungry life and unbearable living conditions of the early postwar years as a transitory phenomenon; the mythological notions of the USSR as the world’s most progressive country, instilled by propaganda, were more important to them. These people went to the polls en masse and demonstrated their loyalty tothe Soviet government. Only a few of them droppedout of the “magic circle” of Stalinist propaganda. They did not believe the government and did not want to live on promises of a bright future: present- day sorrows and joys were more important to them than good words. There were few of them. In the rare inscriptions they left on ballot papers they demonstrated their understanding of the fact that elections were just a sham and that there was no democracy in the country. People were aware of the consequences such actions might have, and yet this happened. The study has been conducted within theframework of the program of fundamental research at the National Research University “Higher School of Economics.”

Keywords: выборы, политическая история России, political campaigns, политическая кампания, Stalin period

Publication based on the results of: Политические кампании сталинской эпохи в Прикамье (1946-1953 годы) (2013)