Брежнев и Сталин в китайской советологии 1990-х гг.

Introduction

The breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 has had a profound impact on the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Soviet dissolution has had a variety of significant repercussions on Chinese politics, foreign policy, and other aspects. However, many myths about post-1991 Chinese research on the Soviet Union have been circulated and perpetuated by a body of secondary literature written by Western scholars. Some issues have been unclear or misunderstood in previous studies, and one of these inaccuracies has to do with Chinese perceptions of the role of the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

A number of secondary sources written by Western scholars (Rozman, 2010: 464-470; Marsh, 2005: 111; Shambaugh, 2008: 48-56; Wilson, 2007: 272) argued that, Chinese Soviet-watchers began making positive comments about Gorbachev immediately after he assumed power in 1985. However, these Soviet-watchers turned against the last Soviet leader soon after the Tiananmen Incident in 1989. The existing secondary literature seems to have exaggerated the impact of Gorbachev on China.

This article will reveal that after the demise of world communism in the early 1990s, many Chinese academic writings appeared to excite debates on the two Soviet leaders – Leonid Brezhnev and Joseph Stalin. Many Chinese Soviet-watchers have traced the roots of the Soviet demise back to the administrations of Brezhnev and Stalin, arguing that the conservative forces and the rigid communist system were the decisive factors in bringing it about – rather than the figure of Gorbachev alone.

Methodology and Sources

With respect to primary sources, it should be mentioned here that this research is based wholly on the “national core journals” (Guojiaji hexin qikan) published in the PRC, and mainly on the following four categories of journals: The first are those journals focusing on research in the humanities and social sciences in general (Shehui kexue yanjiu, Shijie jingjiyu zhengzhi). Second are those journals dealing with problems of socialism or communism in the world (Dangdai shijie shehui zhuyi wenti, Shehui zhuyi yanjiu). The third group forms the core of this study; they concentrate on questions and issues relating to the former Soviet Union (later the Russian Federation and other Commonwealth Independent States after 1991) (Sulian dongou wenti, Eluosi yanjiu). Lastly, the research scope also included relevant articles in various university journals (Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan yanjiu shengyuan xuebao, Zhonggong zhongyang dangxiao xuebao).

Moreover, the paper examines the thinking of Chinese Soviet-watchers against the backdrop of political developments in the PRC in the 1990s. Therefore, in order for this research to be successfully located in the rich fabric of intellectual activities and the changing environment of contemporary China, the investigator also consulted China’s Party newspapers and journals, such as the People’s Daily, Guangming Daily, and Beijing Review (English edition), and the writings and speeches of PRC officials, such as those of contemporary Chinese leaders.