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Historiography in the Soviet Union

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Not to be confused withHistory of the Soviet Union.

Soviet historiographyis the methodology ofhistorystudies by historians in theSoviet Union(USSR). In the USSR, the study of history was marked by restrictions imposed by theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union(CPSU). Soviet historiography is itself the subject of modern studies.

Theoretical approaches[edit]

George M. Enteen identifies two approaches to the study of Soviet historiography. Atotalitarianapproach associated with the Western analysis of the Soviet Union as a totalitarian society, controlled by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, this school "thought that signs of dissent merely represented a misreading of commands from above."[1]363For Enteen the other school of writing on Soviet historiography is the social-history school which draws attention to "important initiative from historians at odds with the dominant powers in the field."[1]363Enteen is unable to decide between these different approaches based on current literature.

In Markwick's view there are a number of important post war historiographical movements, which have antecedents in the 1920s and 1930s. Surprisingly these include culturally and psychologically focused history. In the late 1920s Stalinists began limiting individualist approaches to history, culminating in the publication of Stalin and other's"Short Course" History of the Soviet Communist Party(1938).[2]This crystallised thepiatichlenkaor five official periods of history in terms ofvulgar dialectical materialism:primitive-communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism and socialism.[3]284Following publication of the "Short course", on 14 November 1938 theCentral Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unionissued a special statement that the course and its chapter "About dialectic and historical materialism" were declared as "encyclopedia of philosophical knowledge in a field ofMarxism-Leninism",in which were given" official and verified by the Central Committee interpretation of basic issues of history of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and Marxism-Leninism and without allowing any other arbitrary interpretations ".[4]

While the triumph ofStalinisthistory was being imposed, different modes of history began to emerge. These included BA Romanov'sPeople and Morals in Ancient Rus'(1947), a study ofmentalitésat the height of theZhdanovshchina.However, it was not until the20th Congress of the CPSUthat different schools of history emerged from the Stalinist freeze. Firstly, a "new direction" within Leninist materialism emerged, as an effectivelyloyal oppositionto Stalinist dialectical materialism, secondly a social psychology of history emerged through a reading of Leninist psychology, thirdly a "culturological" tendency emerged.[3]284–285

Characteristics of Soviet historiography[edit]

Soviet-era historiography was deeply influenced by Marxism. Marxism maintains that the moving forces of history are determined by material production and the rise of different socioeconomic formations. Applying this perspective to socioeconomic formations such asslaveryandfeudalismis a major methodological principle of Marxist historiography. Based on this principle, historiography predicts that there will be an abolition of capitalism by a socialist revolution made by the working class. Soviet historians believed that Marxist–Leninist theory permitted the application of categories of dialectical and historical materialism in the study of historical events.[5]

Marx and Engels' ideas of the importance of class struggle in history, the destiny of the working class, and the role of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the revolutionary party are of major importance in Marxist methodology.[5]

Marxist–Leninist historiography has several aspects. It explains the social basis of historical knowledge, determines the social functions of historical knowledge and the means by which these functions are carried out, and emphasizes the need to study concepts in connection with the social and political life of the period in which these concepts were developed.[5]

It studies the theoretical and methodological features in every school of historical thought. Marxist–Leninist historiography analyzes the source-study basis of a historical work, the nature of the use of sources, and specific research methods. It analyzes problems of historical research as the most important sign of the progress and historical knowledge and as the expression of the socioeconomic and political needs of a historical period.[5]

Soviet historiography has been severely criticized by scholars, chiefly—but not only—outside the Soviet Union and Russia. Its status as "scholarly" at all has been questioned, and it has often been dismissed asideologyandpseudoscience.[6]Robert Conquestconcluded that "All in all, unprecedentedterrormust seem necessary to ideologically motivated attempts to transform society massively and speedily, against its natural possibilities. The accompanying falsifications took place, and on a barely credible scale, in every sphere. Real facts, real statistics, disappeared into the realm of fantasy. History, including thehistory of the Communist Party,or ratherespeciallythe history of the Communist Party, was rewritten.Unpersonsdisappeared from the official record. A new past, as well as new present, was imposed on the captive minds of the Soviet population, as was, of course, admitted when truth emerged in the late 1980s. "[7]

That criticism stems from the fact that in the Soviet Union, science was far from independent. Since the late 1930s, Soviet historiography treated theparty lineand reality as one and the same.[8]As such, if it was a science, it was a science in service of a specific political and ideological agenda, commonly employinghistorical revisionism.[9]In the 1930s, historicalarchiveswere closed andoriginal researchwas severely restricted. Historians were required to pepper their works with references—appropriate or not—to Stalin and other "Marxist–Leninist classics", and to pass judgment—as prescribed by the Party—on pre-revolution historicRussianfigures.[10]Nikita Khrushchevcommented that "Historians are dangerous and capable of turning everything upside down. They have to be watched."[11]

The state-approved history was openly subjected topoliticsandpropaganda,similar tophilosophy,art,andmany fields of scientific research.[11]The Partycould not be proven wrong, it was infallible and reality was to conform to this line. Any non-conformist history had to be erased, and questioning of the official history was illegal.[11]

Many works of Western historians were forbidden orcensored,and many areas of history were also forbidden for research because, officially, they had never happened.[11]For this reason, Soviet historiography remained mostly outside the international historiography of the period.[6]Translations of foreign historiography were produced (if at all) in a truncated form, accompanied by extensive censorship and "corrective" footnotes. For example, in the Russian 1976 translation ofBasil Liddell Hart'sHistory of the Second World Warpre-war purges of Red Army officers,the secret protocol to theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact,many details of theWinter War,theoccupation of the Baltic states,theSoviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina,Allied assistance to the Soviet Union during the war, many other Western Allies' efforts, the Soviet leadership's mistakes and failures, criticism of the Soviet Union and other content werecensored out.[12]

The official version of Soviet history was dramatically changed after every major governmental shake-up. Previous leaders were denounced as "enemies", whereas current leaders usually became the subject of apersonality cult.Textbooks were rewritten periodically, with figures—such asLeon TrotskyorJoseph Stalin—disappearing from their pages or being turned from great figures to great villains.[11][13]

Certain regions and periods of history were made unreliable for political reasons. Entire historical events could be erased, if they did not fit the party line. For example, until 1989 the Soviet leadership and historians, unlike their Western colleagues, had denied the existence of a secret protocol to the Soviet-GermanMolotov–Ribbentrop Pactof 1939, and as a result the Soviet approach to the study of theSoviet-German relations before 1941and the origins ofWorld War IIwere remarkably flawed.[14]In another example, theSoviet invasion of Poland in 1939as well as thePolish-Soviet Warof 1919–1920 were censored out or minimized in most publications, and research was suppressed, in order to enforce the policy of 'Polish-Soviet friendship'.[11]Similarly, the enforcedcollectivisation,the wholesale deportations or massacres of small nationalities in theCaucasusor the disappearance of theCrimean Tatarswere not recognized as facts worthy of mention.[11]Soviet historians also engaged in producing false claims and falsification of history; for example Soviet historiography falsely claimed that theKatyn massacrewas carried out by Germans rather than by Soviets.[15]Yet another example is related to the case ofSoviet reprisals against former Soviet POWs returning from Germany;some of them were treated as traitors and imprisoned inGulagsfor many years, yet that policy was denied or minimized by Soviet historians for decades and modern Western scholars have noted that "In the past, Soviet historians engaged for the most part in adisinformationcampaign about the extent of the prisoner-of-war problem. "[16]

Fundamental works[edit]

Marxist influence[edit]

Further information:Marxist historiography

The Soviet interpretation ofMarxismpredetermined much of the research done by historians. Research by scholars in the USSR was limited to a large extent due to this predetermination. Some Soviet historians could not offer non-Marxist theoretical explanations for their interpretation of sources. This was true even when alternate theories had a greater explanatory power in relation to a historian's reading of source material.[6][11]

The Marxist theory ofhistorical materialismidentifiedmeans of productionas chief determinants of the historical process. They led to the creation ofsocial classes,andclass strugglewas the motor of history. Thesociocultural evolutionof societies was considered to progress inevitably fromslavery,throughfeudalismandcapitalismtosocialismand finallycommunism.In addition,Leninismargued that avanguard partywas required to lead the working class in the revolution that would overthrow capitalism and replace it with socialism.

Soviet historiography interpreted this theory to mean that the creation of the Soviet Union was the most important turning event in human history, since the USSR was considered to be the first socialist society. Furthermore, theCommunist Party—considered to be the vanguard of the working class – was given the role of permanent leading force in society, rather than a temporary revolutionary organization. As such, it became the protagonist of history, which could not be wrong. Hence the unlimited powers of the Communist Party leaders were claimed to be as infallible and inevitable as the history itself.[17]It also followed that a worldwide victory ofcommunist countriesis inevitable. All research had to be based on those assumptions and could not diverge in its findings.[11]In 1956,Soviet academicianAnna Pankratovasaid that "the problems of Soviet historiography are the problems of our Communist ideology."[9]

Soviet historians have also been criticized for a Marxist bias in the interpretation of other historical events, unrelated to the Soviet Union. Thus, for example, they assigned to the rebellions in theRoman Empirethe characteristics of thesocial revolution.[6][11]

Often, the Marxist bias and propaganda demands came into conflict: hence the peasant rebellions against the early Soviet rule, such as theTambov Rebellionof 1920–21, were simply ignored as inconvenient politically and contradicting the official interpretation of the Marxist theories.[8]

Soviet views of history[edit]

Soviet historiography portrayedTsar Nicholas IIas a weak and incompetent leader whose decisions led to military defeats and the deaths of millions of his subjects,[18]whileVladimir Lenin's reputation was protected at all costs, absolving him of any responsibility in atrocities committed during his rule, such as theRomanov murders.[19]

Sovietand earlierSlavophilehistorians emphasized the Slavic roots in the foundation of the Russian state in contrast to theNormanist theoryof the Vikings conquering the Slavs and founding theKievan Rus'.[20]There was an outrightban of the theory about the Varangian originof Kievan Rus in the Soviet Union for ideological reasons.[21]"Anti-Normanists" accused Normanist theory proponents of distorting history by depicting the Slavs as undeveloped primitives. In contrast, Soviet historians stated that the Slavs laid the foundations of their statehood long before the Norman/Viking raids, while the Norman/Viking invasions only served to hinder the historical development of the Slavs. They argued thatRus'composition was Slavic and that Rurik and Oleg' success was rooted in their support from within the local Slavic aristocracy.[22]After the dissolution of theUSSR,Novgorodacknowledged its Viking history by incorporating a Viking ship into its logo.[23]

Soviet historians trace the origin of feudalism in Russia to the 11th century, after the founding of the Russian state. The class struggle in medieval is emphasized because of the hardships of feudal relations. For example, Soviet historians argue that uprisings in Kiev in 1068–69 was a reflection of the class struggle. There was a constant struggle between the powers of the princes and those of the feudal aristocracy, known as theboyars.In regions like Novgorod, the boyar aristocracy was able to limit the prince's power by making the office and the head of church elective.[22]

The Mongol conquests of the 13th century had significant consequences for Russia. Soviet historians emphasize the cruelty ofGenghis Khanand the suffering and devastation that Russia endured. Soviet historians attribute the success of Genghis Khan to the fact that feudalism among his people had not developed, which would have involved with feudal and political strife. By contrast, the peoples opposed to the Mongols were in a mature state of feudalism and the political disunity that went with it. Soviet historians conclude that the Mongol domination had disastrous consequences for Russia's historical progress and development. It is also argued that by bearing the full weight of the Mongolian invasions, Russia helped to saveWestern Europefrom outside domination.[22]

The struggle against foreign domination and the heroism of its participants is a recurring theme in Soviet historiography. Soviet historians have an upbeat assessment ofAlexander Nevsky,characterized as one of the greatest military leaders of his time for defeating the German knights' invasions of Russia in the 13th century. Much importance is attached to theBattle of Kulikovo(1380), which marked the beginning of the end of the Mongol domination of Russia.Dmitry Donskoifor his leadership of the anti-Mongol struggle is credited for being an outstanding military commander and contributing significantly to the unity of the Russian lands.[22]

Reliability of statistical data[edit]

"The deceptive figure". This is the translation of a widely cited article ("Lukavaia Tsifra") by journalistVasilii Seliuninand economistGrigorii Khanin,in Novyi Mir, February 1987, #2: 181–202[24]

VariousSovietologistshave raised the issue of the quality (accuracy andreliability) of data published in the Soviet Union and used in historical research.[7][25][26][27]The Marxist theoreticians of the Party regarded statistics as asocial science;hence many applications of statistical mathematics were curtailed, particularly during the Stalin era.[28]Undercentral planning,nothing could occur by accident.[28]Thelaw of large numbersor the idea ofrandom deviationwere decried as "false theories".[28]Statistical journals were closed; world-renowned statisticians likeAndrey KolmogorovorEugen Slutskyabandoned statistical research.[28]

As with all Soviet historiography, the reliability of Soviet statistical data varied from period to period.[27]The first revolutionary decade and the period of Stalin's dictatorship both appear highly problematic with regard to statistical reliability; very few statistical data were published from 1936 to 1956.[27]Notably, the1937 census' organizers were executed and results destroyed altogether, and no further censuses were conducted until 1959.[29]The reliability of data improved after 1956 when some missing data was published and Soviet experts themselves published some adjusted data for the Stalin era;[27]however the quality of documentation has deteriorated.[26]

Some researchers say that on occasion the Soviet authorities may have completely "invented" statistical data potentially useful in historical research (such as economic data invented to prove the successes of the Soviet industrialization, or some published numbers ofGulagprisoners and terror victims—as Conquest claims).[7]Data was falsified both during collection—by local authorities who would be judged by the central authorities based on whether their figures reflected thecentral economyprescriptions—and by internal propaganda, with its goal of portraying the Soviet state in the most positive light to its own citizens.[25][27]Nonetheless the policy of not publishing—or simply not collecting—data that was deemed unsuitable for various reasons was much more common than simple falsification; hence the many gaps in Soviet statistical data.[26]Inadequate or missing documentation for much of Soviet statistical data is also a significant problem.[25][26][27]

Credibility[edit]

In his book,The Stalin School of Falsification,Leon Trotsky cited a range of historical documents such as private letters, telegrams, party speeches, meeting minutes, and suppressed texts such asLenin's Testament,[30]to argue that the Stalinist faction routinely distorted political events, forged a theoretical basis for irreconcilable concepts such as the notion of "Socialism in One Country"and misrepresented the views of opponents. He also argued that the Stalinist regime employed an array of professional historians as well as economists to justify policy manoeuvering and safeguarding its own set of material interests.[31]

Not all areas of Soviet historiography were equally affected by the ideological demands of the government; additionally, the intensity of these demands varied over time.[27]The impact of ideological demands also varied based on the field of history. The areas most affected by ideological demands were 19th and 20th century history, especially Russian and Soviet history.[32]Part of the Soviet historiography was affected by extreme ideological bias, and potentially compromised by the deliberate distortions and omissions. Yet part of Soviet historiography produced a large body of significant scholarship which continues to be used in the modern research.[33]

Life experiences of individual Soviet historians[edit]

Mikhail Pokrovsky(1862–1932) was held in the highest regard as a historian in the Soviet Union and was elected to theSoviet Academy of Sciencesin 1929. He emphasizedMarxisttheory, downplaying the role of personality in favour ofeconomicsas the driving force of history. However, posthumously,[when?]Pokrovsky was accused of "vulgar sociologism", and his books were banned. After Stalin's death, and the subsequent renouncement of his policies during theKhrushchev Thaw,Pokrovsky's work regained some influence.[citation needed]

WhenEduard Burdzhalov,then the deputy editor of the foremost Soviet journal on history, in spring of 1956 published a bold article examining the role of Bolsheviks in 1917 and demonstrated that Stalin had been an ally of Kamenev—who had been executed as a traitor in 1936—and that Lenin had been a close associate of Zinoviev—who had been executed as a traitor in 1936—Burdzhalov was moved to an uninfluential post.[citation needed]

Underground historiography[edit]

TheBrezhnev Erawas the time ofsamizdat(circulating unofficial manuscripts within the USSR) andtamizdat(illegal publication of work abroad). The three most prominent Soviet dissidents of that era wereAlexandr Solzhenitsyn,Andrei SakharovandRoy Medvedev.[34]Of thetamizdatauthors, Solzhenitsyn was the most famous, publishingThe Gulag Archipelagoin the West in 1973. Medvedev'sLet History Judge: The Origins and Consequences of Stalinismwas published in 1971 in the West.[35]Neither could publish in the Soviet Union until the advent ofPerestroikaandGlasnost.

Influence of Soviet historiography in modern Russia[edit]

The 2006 Russian book,A Modern History of Russia: 1945–2006: A Manual for History Teachers[36]has received significant attention as it was publicly endorsed by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.Putin said that "we can't allow anyone to impose a sense of guilt on us" and that the new manual helps present a more balanced view of Russian history than that promoted by the West. The book says that repressions, carried out by Stalin and others, were "a necessary evil in response to a cold war started by America against the Soviet Union." It cites a recent opinion poll in Russia that gave Stalin an approval rating of 47%, and states that "The Soviet Union was not a democracy, but it was an example for millions of people around the world of the best and fairest society."

The Economistcontends that the book is inspired by Soviet historiography in its treatment of theCold War,as it claims that the Cold War was started by theUnited States,that the Soviet Union was acting in self-defense, and that the USSR did not lose the Cold War but rather voluntarily ended it. According toThe Economist,"rabid anti-Westernism is the leitmotif of [the book's] ideology."[37]

In 2009, presidentDmitri Medvedevcreated theHistorical Truth Commission,against the perceived anti-Soviet and anti-Russian slander. Officially, the Commission's mission is to "defend Russia against falsifiers of history and those who would deny Soviet contribution to the victory inWorld War II."[38]United Russiahas proposed a draft law that would mandate jail terms of three to five years "for anyone in the former Soviet Union convicted of rehabilitating Nazism."[39]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abEnteen, George M. "Recent Writings about Soviet Historiography,"Slavic Review61 (2) 2002: 357–363.jstor stable link
  2. ^Joseph Stalin and others."Short Course" History of the Soviet Communist Party ", Moscow, 1938.
  3. ^abRoger D. Markwick, "Cultural History under Khrushchev and Brezhnev: from Social Psychology toMentalités,"The Russian Review65 2006: 283–301.
  4. ^Ogurtsov, Aleksandr (1989)."Подавление философии"[Suppression of philosophy].Суровая драма народа: Учёные и публицисты о природе сталинизма[The harsh drama of the people: Scientists and publicists about the nature of Stalinism] (in Russian). Moscow:Politizdat.p. 512.
  5. ^abcdИсториография (Historiography)in theGreat Soviet Encyclopedia,1969–1978 (in Russian)
  6. ^abcdGwidon Zalejko,Soviet historiography as "normal science",inHistoriography Between Modernism and Postmodernism,Jerzy Topolski (ed.), Rodopi, 1994,ISBN90-5183-721-6,Google Print, pp. 179–191.
  7. ^abcRobert ConquestReflections on a Ravaged Century(2000)ISBN0-393-04818-7,p. 101
  8. ^abTaisia Osipova,Peasant rebellions: Origin, Scope, Design and Consequences,in Vladimir N. Brovkin (ed.),The Bolsheviks in Russian Society: The Revolution and the Civil Wars,Yale University Press, 1997,ISBN0-300-06706-2.Google Print, pp. 154–176
  9. ^abRoger D. Markwick, Donald J. Raleigh,Rewriting History in Soviet Russia: The Politics of Revisionist Historiography,Palgrave Macmillan, 2001,ISBN0-333-79209-2,Google Print, pp. 4–5
  10. ^John L. H. Keep:A History of the Soviet Union 1945–1991: Last of the Empires,pp. 30–31
  11. ^abcdefghijFerro, Marc(2003).The Use and Abuse of History: Or How the Past Is Taught to Children.London; New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-28592-6.See Chapters 8Aspects and variations of Soviet historyand 10History in profile: Poland.
  12. ^Lewis, B. E. (1977).Soviet Taboo. Review ofVtoraya Mirovaya Voina, History of the Second World Warby B. Liddel Gart (Russian translation).Soviet Studies29 (4), 603–606.
  13. ^The Liberators(Освободитель), 1981, Hamish Hamilton Ltd,ISBN0-241-10675-3;cited from Russian edition of 1999,ISBN5-237-03557-4,pp. 13–16
  14. ^Bidlack, Richard (1990).Review of Voprosy istorii i istoriografii Velikoi otechestvennoi voiny by I. A. Rosenko, G. L. Sovolev.Slavic Review49 (4), 653–654.
  15. ^Decision to commence investigation into Katyn Massacre, Małgorzata Kużniar-Plota, Departamental Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, Warsaw 30 November 2004,(Internet Archive)(also see thepress release online), last accessed on 19 December 2005, English translation of Polish document
  16. ^Rolf-Dieter Müller,Gerd R. Ueberschär,Hitler's War in the East, 1941–1945: A Critical Assessment,Berghahn Books, 2002,ISBN1-57181-293-8,Google Print, p. 239
  17. ^David Satter.Age of Delirium: The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union,Yale University Press,2001,ISBN0-300-08705-5
  18. ^Martin Vennard (27 June 2012),Tsar Nicholas - exhibits from an execution,BBC News,retrieved3 April2017
  19. ^Rappaport,Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs(2009), p. 142
  20. ^Oleksander, Oleksander."Normanist Theory".encyclope điểu fukraine.Retrieved7 September2018.
  21. ^Leo S. Klein,"The Russian controversy over the Varangians",p.29
  22. ^abcdHistory of the USSR: From the earliest time to the Great October Socialist Revolution.Volume 1. D.P. Kallistov ed. Progress Publishers. 1977
  23. ^Hall, p. 221
  24. ^Alan Smith,Russia and the World Economy: Problems of Integration,Routledge, 1993,ISBN0-415-08924-7,Google Print, pp. 34–35
  25. ^abcNicholas Eberstadt and Daniel Patrick Moynihan,The Tyranny of Numbers: Mismeasurement and Misrule,American EnterpriseInstitute, 1995,ISBN0-8447-3764-X,Google Print, pp. 138–140
  26. ^abcdEdward A. Hewett,Reforming the Soviet Economy: Equality Versus Efficiency,Brookings Institution Press, 1988,ISBN0-8157-3603-7,Google Print, p. 7and following chapters
  27. ^abcdefgNikolai M. Dronin, Edward G. Bellinger,Climate Dependence And Food Problems In Russia, 1900–1990,Central European University Press, 2005,ISBN963-7326-10-3,Google Print, pp. 15–16
  28. ^abcdDavid S. Salsburg,The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century,Owl Books, 2001,ISBN0-8050-7134-2,Google Print, pp. 147–149
  29. ^A. G. VolkovCensus of 1937 Facts and Fictionsoriginally published in Перепись населения СССР 1937 года. История и материалы/Экспресс-информация. Серия "История статистики". Выпуск 3–5 (часть II). М., 1990/ с. 6–63
  30. ^Trotsky, Leon (13 January 2019).The Stalin School of Falsification.Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. vii-89.ISBN978-1-78912-348-7.
  31. ^Trotsky, Leon (13 January 2019).The Stalin School of Falsification.Pickle Partners Publishing. pp. vii-89.ISBN978-1-78912-348-7.
  32. ^Service, Robert(2009).A History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-First Century, Third Edition.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p.419.ISBN978-0-674-01801-3.
  33. ^Hannes Heer,Klaus Naumann,War Of Extermination: The German Military In World War II,Berghahn Books, 2004,ISBN1-57181-232-6,Google Print, p. 304
  34. ^Sellers, Lea. Soviet Dissidents and the Western World.The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs(at Tufts University), 1976.
  35. ^Let History Judge by Roy MedvedevISBN0-231-06350-4
  36. ^New Manuals Push A Putin's-Eye View In Russian Schools
  37. ^Russia's past. The rewriting of history,November 8, 2007,The Economist
  38. ^УКАЗ Президента РФ от 15.05.2009 N 549Archived2009-05-23 at theWayback Machine(in Russian)
  39. ^Osborn, Andrew (2009-05-21)."Medvedev Creates History Commission".The Wall Street Journal.

Further reading[edit]

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