Political life and ideological campaigns at the Department of History and Philology of Tomsk University in 1940s-1950s

The humanitarian education andhumanities have always been the major component of the political and ideological processes occurring in the Soviet society. History, philologyand philosophy made the sphere of the state ideology, which formed the person of the Soviet specialist (intellectual). Subsequently,according to the opinion of the authorities, he / she should become a support for the state in carrying out of an ideological policy during theprofessional work, including the pedagogical one. First of all, historical science and education as a specific segment of the higher school inthe USSR solved these problems. For this reason state-party bodies made special demands in the field of ideology to the Department ofHistory and Philology (DHF) of TSU in the first post-war decade. Serious ideological work, directed at strengthening of ideological andpolitical views of the teachers and the students, considerably weakened after the war, especially concerning questions of foreign policy andmutual relations with Western countries, was done in the first post-war years at the DHF, in view of its specificity and special position in thesystem of ideological and political education of the population. In the second half of 1940s-1950s the faculty life and life of all the universitywas characterised by carrying out some ideological campaigns, which made certain impact on the general climate in professorial andstudents environment of the DHF. During this period the life in all the USSR was marked by struggle against opposition and eradication ofheterodoxy. First of all, it was shown in carrying out of such campaigns, as struggle against servility before the West and struggle againstcosmopolitism which, however, had specific features in the conditions of Siberia. Serious changes in political life of the DHF, especially inthe students environment, occurred after the well-known 20th Congress of the CPSU. However, in the second half of 1940s-1950s theDHF of TSU, owing to the remoteness from the country centre did not suffer considerably from the majority of ideological campaignsthough some echoes did come to Tomsk. But these campaigns in TSU were not noted by large-scale reprisals and actions. They were limitedonly to the analysis of personal affairs at general meetings and some updating in the educational and scientific processes. To see thereason why the reprisals at the department during ideological campaigns did not reach the scope, it is necessary to understand that Tomskwas at a distance from capital cities, the behavior of administration and professorial and teaching staff of the DHF was wise, because theydid not allow conflict situations to become aggravated, including the time after the 20th Congress.

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