Left Opposition at Leningrad State University

Abstract

The history of the left opposition in the CPSU(b) is mainly represented in historiography by works devoted to the internal party struggle in the highest echelons of power (Politburo, Central Committee, etc.). However, a characteristic feature of the political clashes of the 1920s is the involvement of the broad party masses in the conflict, who tried to present their own point of view on the prospects of the development of the socialist revolution. Therefore, one of the most promising directions in the study of the political history of this period is the exploration of the peculiarities of confrontation at the grassroots level, i. e. in certain regions or in spheres of social, cultural and economic life. The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the struggle of the left opposition at Leningrad University, one of the largest scientific centers in the country. The author determines the number of oppositionists, their leaders among university teachers, as well as the main strategies of struggle. Special attention is paid to the further destinies of oppositionists. One of the main observations of the article is that the tactics of suppressing opposition at the university largely coincided with that used in the central apparatus of the country. The author has established that students played an important role in the activities of the opposition. They were responsible for distributing opposition literature, collecting signatures for the political platform, etc. Propaganda activities were revived in the form of prerevolutionary circles organized at the university and at industrial enterprises in order to agitate among students and workers.