The dialogue of the intelligentsia and the power during the perestroika (on materials of the Republic of Tatarstan)

The policy of the perestroika period (1985-1991) was determined in the USSR by Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms. The policy of the perestroika, glasnost and acceleration was proclaimed at the January Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1987. Glasnost implied openness in the media and in artistic works. Glasnost also permitted criticism of power. It became possible to express a critical attitude towards the history of the homeland and the modernity. For the first time, books banned earlier for political and ideological reasons were published. The authors revealed the issues of Stalinist repressions, violent dekulakization, etc. These trends were more clearly manifested in the central cities, as opposed to the regional level. Political departments controlled artistic unions, cultural figures and the content of their works. For example, the mythologizing of the image of V.I. Lenin was created during the entire Soviet period and reproduced through art, theater, cinema, literature. Therefore, in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tatar ASSR), there were difficulties with the performance 1887 on the play by D. Valeev, where Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov-Lenin had real human qualities and feelings. He cried in one scene. Observers from the Institute of Marxism-Leninism did not approve that. Cultural workers expressed their position not only in their works but also through participation in public life. Appeal of creative intelligentsia representatives to power structures often reflected poor living conditions and personal ambitions. At that time the issue of national culture became of great importance in society. The well-known Tatar writer, playwright, chairman of the Union of Writers of Tatarstan Tufan Minnullin told in his speeches about the necessity to publish newspapers and books, to increase the volume of television and radio broadcasting in the Tatar language. Other representatives of the creative intelligentsia spoke in this vein. In their opinion, the basis for the revival of the national identity is language, culture and traditions. The problems of the Tatar culture were discussed by public informal organizations and community. Intellectuals were active participants of social and political organizations. For instance, writer Fauzia Bayramova became one of the leaders of the national independence party Ittifaq and participated in the Tatar Public Center (TPC) activities. She was included in the lists of candidates for deputies of the USSR XII convocation of 1989. She was a member of the Supreme Council. Thus, the intelligentsia raised important public issues, translating them for authorities. At the same time authorities used intellectuals to implement their own policies in the field of ideology and culture. Representatives of creative intelligentsia made a significant contribution to the development of publicity, collaborating with the authorities and participating in the political processes.

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