Summary of the article by Kennan, 'The Sources of Soviet Conduct'
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Course
History of the Modern World Since 1750
Institution
Universiteit Van Amsterdam (UvA)
This is a two page long summary of 'The Sources of Soviet Conduct' by Kennan. This summary gives a good overview of the article, which you might use for your writings.
The sources of Soviet Conduct -
Kennan (1947)
I. The Rise of Communist Rule in Russia
Summurization of communist thought:
a. the central factor in life of men is a system in which material goods are
produced and exchanged.
b. The capitalist system exploits the working-class
c. Capitalism contains seeds of its own destruction → isn’t able to provide the
working class services.
d. Imperialism leads to war and revolution.
The problem with communism is, when it was put in practice, a lot of things
remained vague. → what to do with the peasants?
Because of the fact that only a minority wanted communism in Russia, a dictator
was needed → only one party was allowed
This one party system caused the Soviet leaders to think that no opposition to
them can be officially recognized as having any merit or whatsoever (also not
the US!).
Every friction against the dictatorial rule had to be shut down to sustain it.
II. Characteristics of the Soviet Regime
The concepts which relate to the Soviet regime the most:
1. The innate antagonism between capitalism and socialism: the Russians
wouldn’t be able ideologically to adopt to a capitalistic system. → this
antagonism leads to hostility. The socialist fatherland should be defended at
all costs.
2. The infallibility of the Kremlin: the party leadership remains the sole
repository of truth. The truth can be changed at any time. The Kremlin is
dealing with a long-term validity, and it can afford to be patient → no chaos.
Soviet regime both less efficient (more sensitive to contrary forces) and
more efficient (cannot be easily defeated) than aggresive leaders like Hitler
and Napoleon.
The sources of Soviet Conduct - Kennan (1947) 1
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