Irritating Factors: The Reception and Discussion of Feminist Criticism and Gender Studies in the Russian Context

The past of Soviet historical scholarship harbors more than one page that is little or totally unknown. Among such "blank spots," exciting the animated interest of historiographers, are the events surrounding publication of the famous Short Course of the History of the USSR [Kratkii kurs istorii SSSR], edited by A.V. Shestakov. The reasons for holding a competition, its organization, course of events, and characteristics, and the role played by the party leadership at the time in implementing it—these are all questions that have yet to become a subject of special examination. The present article represents an attempt to fill in, at least in general outline, the gaps that exist in the literature.