Ideas and Ideals

The materials of the round table “Fifty years after N.S. Khrushchev” are presented. The round table
took place on 17 April 2014 at Novosibirsk State University at the plenary session of the section “History”
in the framework of the yearly International Student Scientifi c Conference. Fundamental questions were
discussed of the reasons and prerequisites of “the thaw”, its historical signifi cance and its lessons. It
was noted that knowledge of this period is insuffi cient, as long as there is the absence of fundamental
historical research, and the problems with understanding of many moments of the history of “the
thaw”. Priority is given to political, economic, and other aspects of the process of “de-Stalinization”. The contradictions of the policy of N.S. Khrushchev are discussed which was expressed in its progressive along with conservative trends. The phenomenon of “the thaw” demonstrates certain regularities of the Russian history: the liberalization of the regime was weakening the state, and the stabilization of the state was accompanying by increasingly authoritarian tendencies. According to some speakers the growing maturity of the Russian society provides some hope for the positive outcome of this contradiction.

The discussion was attended by the historians and economists: Professor Kuznetsov I.S. (Novosibirsk State University (NSU); Professor G.I. Khanin; Dr. Sciences (History) N.N. Ablazhei (Inst. of History of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (IH SB RAS, NSU), Cand. of Sciences (History) O.N. Kalinina (Institute of History, RAS); Professor V.I. Isaev (IH SB RAS), Professor S.А. Krasilnikov (NSU).