Political communications in the USSR: letters to party, state and press

White, S. (1983) Political communications in the USSR: letters to party, state and press. Political Studies, 31(1), pp. 43-60.

Abstract

The letters sent by Soviet citizens to party and state bodies and to the press have been relatively little studied in the West, although the Soviet authorities themselves have been devoting increasing attention to this ‘link with the masses’ since at least the late 1960s. An examination of the extent and nature of such communications shows that their total number has increased significantly since the 1950s, and that more constructive and general proposals have been increasing at the expense of particular individual grievances, although this change is less apparent at the local level. Critics are sometimes victimized and frequently ignored, but the evidence suggests that a considerable groundswell of opinion as reflected in letters can have some influence upon public policy and that particular cases of maladministration or abuse of position can be relatively readily corrected in this way.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: White, Professor Stephen
• Authors: White, S.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DK Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics; J Political Science > JA Political science (General); J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General); J Political Science > JS Local government Municipal government
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Political Studies
• Publisher: Political Studies Association and Blackwell Publishing
• ISSN: 0032-3217
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 1983 Blackwell
• First Published: First published in Political Studies 31(1):43-60
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher