Peter Reddaway

Question 1

What influence did Peter Reddaway have on the broader recognition and understanding of the Soviet dissidents?

Answer 1

Chronicle of Current Events

Question 2

Aspects of the Chronicle (3)

Answer 2

Calm, impersonal tone to ensure objectivity to contrast the distortion of truth in the Soviet Union
Criticised human rights violations and systematic injustice
In line with Soviet law to avoid hypocrisy

Question 3

Chronicle’s stance on Soviet legal system

Answer 3

Saw it as a method of political oppression, and criticised this by documenting arrests and trials to demonstrate its corruption

Question 4

What does the distribution of the Chronicle suggest?

Answer 4

Dissidents finding innovative ways to spread information

Question 5

Structure of chronicle network

Answer 5

Limited contact between editors and contributors made it harder to take down- network, shared responsbility

Question 6

Objectivity of chronicle…

Answer 6

Demonstrates the use of credibility as a weapon

Question 7

Challenges of the Chronicle (3)

Answer 7

Shift in focus to broader samizdat (eg cultural censorship or political issues) meant focus could become blurred
Difficulty in weighing up being objective vs reporting in an appropriate manner about a morally urgent issue
Due to the way it was circulated, may not have reached the general populace of the Soviet Union

Question 8

Impact of the chronicle (3)

Answer 8

Undermined the Soviet regime domestically and internationally
Provoked human rights discourse- helped activists in the West
Uncensored and up to date news source

Question 9

Peter Reddaway’s works (2)

Answer 9

‘Uncensored Russia’
‘The Dissidents : A Memoir of Working with the Resistance in Russia’

Question 10

Reddaway’s role in the chronicle

Answer 10

Translated and edited

Question 11

Group which Reddaway was a part of which protested the abuse of psychiatry

Answer 11

Working Group on the Internment of Dissenters in Mental Hospitals

Question 12

Working Group on the Internment of Dissenters in Mental Hospitals (2)

Answer 12

Published regular newsletters on the abuse of psychiatry
Helped dissenters

Question 13

Reasons why Reddaway’s efforts were important (2)

Answer 13

His academic publications and activism reported on affairs in the Soviet Union, often for the first time
Focus on accuracy, and his own reputation, meant that his assertations were respected

Question 14

Example of Reddaway’s credibility (2)

Answer 14

LSE, Cambridge and Harvard
Publication in Guardian, Observer and Times