Open AccessThe Good People: Loyalty and Betrayal in Moscow’s House of Government, 1937–1938
Author(s) -
Yuri Slezkine
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
latvijas universitātes žurnāls. vēsture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2592-9593
pISSN - 2500-9621
DOI - 10.22364/luzv.9.10.04
Subject(s) - betrayal , loyalty , silence , soul , government (linguistics) , sacrifice , political science , sociology , law , psychology , art , philosophy , theology , aesthetics , linguistics
This essay is an abridged and revised excerpt from the book The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution. It deals with the reactions to mass arrests of 1937–1938 within the House of Government in Moscow, including silence, vigilance, book-burning, soul-searching, and self-sacrifice. The central questions have to do with the puzzle of what constituted moral behavior, what was meant by loyalty and betrayal, and who, and why, could be considered a “good person.” Keywords: Soviet repressions, Russian revolution, morality in extreme situations, House of Government.