Accurate personal accounts of the Stalin years are difficult to attain and even more difficult to interpret. Personal diaries that were found could only be accepted as being only moderately realistic due to the fact that the author may have been influenced by a fear of being arrested, when a person was arrested, the first thing to be confiscated was the diary which was likely to be used as incriminating evidence, ‘the longer he wrote, the more Podlubnyi came to regard the diary as his ”sole friend.”(Pg.81) Only to his diary could he confide the secret of his past as well as his doubts and torments, attempting to fit into the new society. How has this lack of personal accounts affected the world’s perception of the Soviet Union?
I definitely think the lack of personal accounts harms the perception of the Soviet Union, especially as Western citizens. As I’ve been searching for personal accounts for my final paper, I’ve definitely found that many are overwhelmingly positive – likely due to the fear you describe. It’s harmful because we know that they’re only moderately true and our society has lead us to believe the worst in the Soviet Union. It leads us to look at narratives and automatically assume they’re completely – or mostly – false because the Soviet Union couldn’t have possibly been a positive place for anyone. While we can definitely agree the Soviet Union sucked, for a lack of a better word, for most people, I feel like the lack of accurate narratives and our socialization has lead us at times to think that it was 10 times worse than it could’ve been for some.
I agree with Ana that we, as a western country, always assume the worst in regards to the Soviet Union. It is unfortunate that manuscripts and personal accounts are not always accurate because it does curate a specific overcast tone to the civilization. It is ridiculous to think that it was always unhappy. I think the fear and paranoia throughout history had a part in formulating the stereotype of the culture.