CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Berezina, Elizaveta |
|---|---|
| Title | Making Crafts Soviet: Folk Art Industry and its Institutions, Policies, and Materialities, from the 1917 Revolution to 1960 |
| Summary | This dissertation examines how artistic crafts were integrated into the Soviet cultural and economic systems from the aftermath of the 1917 Revolution until 1960. Specifically, it seeks to understand the process of the “Sovietization” of artistic crafts. This process encompassed several major areas of transformation, which are the focus of this research: the introduction of centralized control and the institutionalization of crafts within Soviet organizations; the economic integration of crafts into national priorities, such as exports and support for local kustar industries; the promotion of socialist labor ethics and cooperative values within the organizational framework of crafts; and the ideological realignment of crafts to reflect Soviet values. Additionally, I examine how crafts were positioned within the Soviet cultural landscape as material representations of national and local cultures. This research is guided by several questions, with two emerging as central: What factors enabled the survival of artistic crafts in the face of the Soviet modernizing process? How did the Scientific Research Institute of the Art Industry (NIIKhP) facilitate their continuity and adaptation? The Institute was selected as a focal line in this narrative because it emerged as the sole institution entirely dedicated to supporting and developing crafts, even though its name did not immediately suggest this purpose. The first part of the dissertation comprises three chapters that chronologically trace the NIIKhP’s institutional history. Chapter 1 explores the broader institutional and discursive context that fostered an environment for supporting the crafts, setting the stage for the Institute’s emergence. Chapter 2 focuses directly on the Institute, outlining its major operational principles. Chapter 3 illustrates how the Institute was compelled to defend its authority within the Stalinist cultural landscape and later amid Khrushchev’s economic reforms.iv The second part of the dissertation examines why artistic crafts held significance for the Soviet state, particularly analyzing the social and cultural mechanisms that positioned crafts as material representations of cooperation, national identity, and state support for popular culture. Chapter 4 discusses the role of cooperative ideals, also identifying the challenges of balancing individualistic and collectivist tendencies within craft policy and practice. Chapter 5 focuses on how crafts became legitimate representations of national culture, while Chapter 6 demonstrates how crafts were used on the international stage to showcase the diversity of cultural and national expressions among the Soviet people. Extensive archival exploration and close critical reading of sources have enabled the reconstruction of the intellectual influences that shaped the Institute’s research and artistic program, revealing its connections to the humanitarian thought of the 1920s. The study finds that the survival and adaptation of craft traditions in the Soviet context resulted from the combined, though often uncoordinated, efforts of multiple agents, institutions, and influential personalities. While the Institute was an important player, it was not the only one in the field. The research also highlights the vibrant social life of Soviet crafts, demonstrating how they served diverse roles—from everyday objects to export commodities, exhibits, diplomatic gifts, and markers of cultural identity. Their materiality evolved to adapt to these various contexts. This analysis includes case studies of Soviet crafts showcased in major exhibitions and world fairs, such as the Soviet Union pavilion at the 1937 Paris Exposition, the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and the 1959 Brussels Expo. |
| Supervisor | Siefert, Marsha |
| Department | Historical Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/berezina_elizaveta.pdf |
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