Acknowledgements
A book is not just written quietly on one’s own, especially if it is a doctoral thesis, the ticket to the academic world. Not only does it involve extensive visits to the archives, it also means having daily exchanges with colleagues and friends who question, reject and contextualise one’s initial conclusions, or simply help the author get over the frustration of work over a coffee or a beer. This exchange is part and parcel of academic work, and it would be highly dispiriting if this were not the case. The people and institutions that create the basic conditions for productive work are equally essential: open-minded and helpful academic supervisors, archivists and IT specialists; institutions that create opportunities with scholarships to enjoy trips abroad and coffee breaks without having to constantly check one’s bank balance; conference organisers who provide the infrastructure to enable doctoral students not only to write ‘for the drawer’, as they said in the Soviet era about work written without hope for publication, but also to share their freshly gained insights with the academic world before the defence. It was my good fortune to receive all these blessings while working on this thesis.
Most of all I am indebted to my academic supervisors, Thomas Welskopp and Klaus Gestwa. Independently of one another, they placed a great deal of trust in me and my project and supported me throughout with suggestions, criticism and help with content and organisation. Without their commitment and support, which I felt at all times, it would not have been possible for me to realise this project. Sadly, Thomas Welskopp, who passed away in August 2021, will not witness the publication of the English translation of this book, which he encouraged me to pursue.
I am likewise grateful to Bernhard H. Bayerlein, who awakened my interest in the history of communism, taught me the historian’s trade in the fullest sense of the term, and always helped me in word and deed. It is no exaggeration to say that without his help I would most likely not have become a historian.
The Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology gave me the opportunity to realise my project with a generous scholarship. The institutional backing, the opportunities to connect with other scholars, the working atmosphere and, last but not least, the staff and fellow doctoral students created the best conditions I could wish for. This is especially true for Frank Leitenberger, whom I could not thank enough for everything he has done for me over these years, and Ulf Ortmann for being a great office-mate and neighbour. The Leibniz Institute for European History in Mainz made it possible for me to complete the thesis with a write-up scholarship. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the institute’s management, staff and fellow scholarship recipients, especially Zaur Gasimov, Kevin Anding and Robert Bernsee. My new workplace at the Department of History of the University of Zurich was crucial for turning the thesis manuscript into the German edition of this book. I am very grateful to my new colleagues, first and foremost Wendelin Brühwiler and Monika Dommann, for their warm welcome and understanding that I still had to ‘tie up the loose ends’ of my old project despite my new commitments. I thank the editors of the Historical Materialism Book Series, first and foremost Sebastian Budgen, for embracing the book, welcoming its English translation for the series, and encouraging me to apply for the Geisteswissenschaften International translation prize, thanks to which this edition can now be published. Zachary Murphy King masterfully translated the book into English, and I am immensely grateful for his meticulous and skilful work. Working with him was a pleasure.
Thanks are also due to the institutions that maintain and preserve the sources on which this work is based. In Moscow, it was the staff of the RGASPI (especially Irina Selezneva, Irina Kremen’, Larisa Reshetilo and Yuri Tutochkin), the GARF, the RGAE, the TsAGM and various libraries that enabled me to a conduct fruitful search for primary sources. I would like to thank the staff of the German Historical Institute in Moscow for their organisational support. In Berlin, it was the staff of the SAPMO-BArch and the Deutsches Historisches Museum (especially Regine Falkenberg) whose helpfulness enabled me to supplement the Soviet perspective with a German one. Freddy Litten from the Bavarian State Library saved me many a journey by providing essential microfilmed archive materials. Very special thanks go to Sabine Rahmsdorf and her team from the History Department of Bielefeld University Library for a great collection and for implementing even the most exotic acquisition suggestions.
At colloquia in Bielefeld, Konstanz, Tübingen, Potsdam, Düsseldorf, Cardiff, Mainz, Norwich and Bern, I had the opportunity to share my findings with expert colleagues and to reconsider them again and again. The research workshop of the department ‘History of Modern Societies’ at Bielefeld University also provided me with the reassurance that I was on the right track thanks to the intensive discussion of my work. Similarly, I am also grateful to those friends and colleagues who stood by my project in many ways and fuelled it through discussions, tips, suggestions and assistance: Robert Bache, Sarah Badcock, Marcel Bois, David Brandenberger, Kasper Braskén, Katja Bruisch, Barry Carr, Vito Gironda, Susan Grant, Malte Griesse, Julia Herzberg, Alexis Hofmeister, Mark Jones, Norman LaPorte, Daniel Laqua, Semion Lyandres, Thomas Maier, Christina Morina, Timur Mukhamatulin, Manfred Mugrauer, Matthias Neumann, Fredrik Petersson, Jette Prochnow, Andreas Renner, Aaron B. Retish, James Ryan, Vladimir Sapon (†), Daniel Siemens, Uwe Sonnenberg, David R. Stone, Jonathan Waterlow, Klaus Weinhauer and Andy Willimott. Very special thanks go to Melanie Dejnega and Tim Wätzold for their critical and stimulating reading of individual chapters.
In addition, special mention must be made of three friends and colleagues. First, Brendan McGeever and Aleksandr Reznik. Together we shared the Moscow ‘historians’ commune’, explored the party archives, exchanged an enormous amount of sources and invited each other to Bielefeld, Glasgow, St. Petersburg and Perm’. Without their support and numerous tips this work would be incomparably poorer. The work on the thesis was worth all the effort if only to have found such friends. Frank Wolff is another great friend and colleague who accompanied my work and spurred me on from the very first project outline to the final chapter, proofread the entire thesis, found its weak points with his well-grounded and unsparing criticism, and at the same time always encouraged me in difficult moments. I owe him my deepest gratitude. Without him, this book would not exist.
The work is dedicated to Yuri Birte Anderson, not only for her attentive reading of individual chapters, but also for her understanding and patience through the most trying phases of work, and for the love and comfort she gives me every day – and to Lilwen, our marvellous daughter, who saw the light of day during the final proofreading phase of the English translation, and who will hopefully read this book one day.