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Getting Ready to Fight Dissidents : KGB, ideological subversion and Soviet intellectuals during the late Khrushchev era

Sniegon, Tomas LU (2025) In Journal of Cold War Studies 27(3). p.35-60
Abstract
This article explains how the USSR's State Security Committee (KGB) inadvertently spurred the rise of a dissident movement in the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Vladimir Semichastnyi in 1962 and 1963, the KGB launched a new offensive against “ideological subversion,” aimed primarily at Soviet intellectuals who were skeptical but not hostile in their views of Soviet Communism. These intellectuals had been mostly left alone for a year or two after the dismantling of a special “ideological counterintelligence” unit within the KGB's Fourth Main Directorate in 1960, but by 1963 they once again were being characterized in KGB documents as “potentially dangerous” individuals and “enemies.” The deadly upheaval in Novocherkassk in June 1962... (More)
This article explains how the USSR's State Security Committee (KGB) inadvertently spurred the rise of a dissident movement in the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Vladimir Semichastnyi in 1962 and 1963, the KGB launched a new offensive against “ideological subversion,” aimed primarily at Soviet intellectuals who were skeptical but not hostile in their views of Soviet Communism. These intellectuals had been mostly left alone for a year or two after the dismantling of a special “ideological counterintelligence” unit within the KGB's Fourth Main Directorate in 1960, but by 1963 they once again were being characterized in KGB documents as “potentially dangerous” individuals and “enemies.” The deadly upheaval in Novocherkassk in June 1962 was the main catalyst for the crackdown, combined with the political fallout from the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962. The KGB's adoption of greater internal repression after the domestic and international crises of 1962 confirms that the Soviet system was unable to exist without the continuous use or threat of coercion. (Less)
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author
organization
alternative title
Göra sig redo att bekämpa oliktänkande : KGB, ideologisk diversion och de sovjetiska intellektuella i slutet av Chrusjtjoveran
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Cold War Studies
volume
27
issue
3
pages
25 pages
publisher
MIT Press
ISSN
1520-3972
DOI
10.1162/JCWS.a.30
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f7cf78d8-2aaa-4026-b8a3-a50b7724bd5f
date added to LUP
2022-02-24 23:03:46
date last changed
2025-11-20 17:55:35
@article{f7cf78d8-2aaa-4026-b8a3-a50b7724bd5f,
  abstract     = {{This article explains how the USSR's State Security Committee (KGB) inadvertently spurred the rise of a dissident movement in the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Vladimir Semichastnyi in 1962 and 1963, the KGB launched a new offensive against “ideological subversion,” aimed primarily at Soviet intellectuals who were skeptical but not hostile in their views of Soviet Communism. These intellectuals had been mostly left alone for a year or two after the dismantling of a special “ideological counterintelligence” unit within the KGB's Fourth Main Directorate in 1960, but by 1963 they once again were being characterized in KGB documents as “potentially dangerous” individuals and “enemies.” The deadly upheaval in Novocherkassk in June 1962 was the main catalyst for the crackdown, combined with the political fallout from the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962. The KGB's adoption of greater internal repression after the domestic and international crises of 1962 confirms that the Soviet system was unable to exist without the continuous use or threat of coercion.}},
  author       = {{Sniegon, Tomas}},
  issn         = {{1520-3972}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{35--60}},
  publisher    = {{MIT Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cold War Studies}},
  title        = {{Getting Ready to Fight Dissidents : KGB, ideological subversion and Soviet intellectuals during the late Khrushchev era}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/JCWS.a.30}},
  doi          = {{10.1162/JCWS.a.30}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}