KARACHI: Scholars and academicians believe the economic disparities which were present between different regions of the USSR ultimately led to its collapse in 1991.

They were discussing their views at the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday at a conference titled ‘Centennial Year of Russian Revolution: 1917-2017’ to discuss the impacts of the Russian Revolution, an event which is widely embraced as well as rejected.

Among the several speakers was historian Dr Mubarak Ali, whose paper ‘Ulema Aur Russi Inqilab’ was also read out.

Scholars, academicians discuss impact of Russian Revolution

The paper cited various historical examples of Russian revolutions that had taken place, the news of which had reached the Indian subcontinent.

One example which had surprised the Indians was Russia’s defeat at the hands of Japan in 1905. However, not much was known to the people of the subcontinent about internal strife and revolts that had taken place within Russia.

According to Dr Ali, it was after the start of World War I in 1914 in which Indian soldiers had also participated, the news that the Russian Revolution had toppled the ruling elite and established power reached the subcontinent.

Scholar Dr Naazir Mehmood, when speaking about the collapse of the USSR, shared his personal experience of having lived there and was an eyewitness to some of the events that had precipitated its collapse. 

“I landed in Moscow in 1984 while I was a student political activist inPakistan. It was a period when the Soviet power was at its height but the negative thing was, that in two years from 1982-84, three senior leaders died.

“I was present when Gorbachev came into power and initiated his reforms. My first impression was very positive.”

Dr Mehmood narrated how everybody living in Moscow had been provided their basic rights like security, education, health, water and sanitation, infrastructure etc. However, things began to change once he travelled out of Moscow.

“I travelled across the Soviet Union and interacted with the common people without any restriction. Outside of Moscow, there was shortage of food items and other facilities.

“I found out that if Moscow was the brighter side of the socialist system, the people of Azerbaijan were complaining about being exploited.

“The feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction were very much present. And under those circumstances a breath of fresh air came for the people when Gorbachev came into power,” said Dr Mehmood.

However, in retrospect, said Dr Mehmood, “Gorbachev did not have a very well-thought out plan; he demolished the system without having a replacement which is one of the major reasons why the USSR collapsed.”

The rise of fascism did not leave artists untouched as they were not only directly impacted but were also inspired by it.

This was put forward by Dr Talat Ahmed from the University ofEdinburgh who presented her topic on the ‘Impact of Russian Revolution on contemporary art, literature, and theatre’.

She charted out extensively the specific period in the early 1930s in which writers and other intellectuals, especially the All-India Progressive Writers’ Association, were deeply inspired by the political occurrences in Russia. 

Writers from the Urdu canon, as well as those writing in Hindi literature, she said, were very much inspired by Marxism.

“Sajjad Zaheer, founder of the Progressive Writers’ Movement, was a Communist Party member. And this was no accident. Another notable name, though not part of the Communist Party, was novelist Mulk Raj Anand whose trajectory shows the influence of the events of 1917.”

Dr Ahmed also spoke about a conference held in Moscow in 1934 which had laid out the credentials of what the policy on art and literature should look like.

“At that particular conference, the keynote speech was Maxim Gorky’s, where he spoke about how writers have to be engineers for the society they are going to be forming,” she added.

The conference was well-attended by students who eagerly put forth questions to the scholars.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2017