Synopses & Reviews
Intimate Enemies is a brilliant study of the transformation of Bolshevik Party ideology, language, and power relations during the crucial period leading up to Stalin's seizure of power. Combining extensive research in recently opened Soviet archives with an insightful rereading of intra-Party struggles, Igal Halfin uncovers this evolution in the language of Bolshevism. This language defined the methods for judging true party loyalty-in what Halfin describes as an examination of the 'hermeneutics of the soul,' and became the basis for prosecuting the Party's enemies, particularly the “intimate enemies” within the Party itself. Halfin argues that Bolshevism-which claimed sole access to truth and morality-ultimately demonized its enemies, and became in effect a theology that facilitated a monumental power shift.
Review
”Impressive and original.”
--Slavic Review
Review
”Igal Halfin must be counted among the most prolific young scholars in the field of Soviet studies.”
--The NEPA Era
Review
“A fascinating . . . read. Despite the complexity of the ideas that he presents, his willingness to reproduce living examples from the texts in order to develop his argument ensured that this reader was gripped by the unfolding evolution of language, and its corresponding unleashing of real rather than just thetorical violence.”
—Europe-Asia Studies
Synopsis
Intimate Enemies examines the transformation of Bolshevik Party ideology, language, and power relations during the crucial period leading up to Stalin's seizure of power.
Igal Halfin uncovers this evolution in the language of Bolshevism. This language defined the methods for judging true party loyalty-in what Halfin describes as an examination of the 'hermeneutics of the soul,' and became the basis for prosecuting the Party's enemies, particularly the “intimate enemies” within the Party itself.
About the Author
Igal Halfin is professor of history at Tel Aviv University. He is the author or editor of From Darkness to Light: Class, Consciousness, and Salvation in Revolutionary Russia, Terror in My Soul: Communist Autobiographies on Trial, and Language and Revolution: The Making of Modern Political Identities.