"Exciting to read, this excellent book reconstructs a little-known yet very important and dramatic incident in the Soviet Union during the Khruschev era. There is simply no other work like it, not even in Russian. It is a major contribution to the emergin historiography of the period." —Ronald Grigor Suny, University of ChicagoBloody Saturday in the Soviet Union is accessible for college level readers and would be valuable to those interested in empirical history and an understanding of the basis of Soviet labor policy in the post-Stalin era."—History The Russian Review Bloody Saturday is a classic of recent history. Upper-division undergraduates and above."—Choice Slavic Review University of Sydney Journal of Cold War Studies
"There are books that are labors of love. [This volume] is a labor of conscience. . . . The author carefully and convincingly traces both the political and economic ramifications of the event and their ultimate contributions to the weakening of the Soviet Union. Baron's volume is a valuable case study of Society methods of handling crises and making decisions."
"Baron's book provides substantial new insights into events that were shrouded in secrecy until the final days of the Soviet Union. . . . It is the first in-depth, English-language analysis of the events of 'Bloody Saturday.' . . . Baron's contributions to understanding the flaws of the Soviet system of government are both novel and significant. Bloody Saturday in the Soviet Union is accessible for college level readers and would be valuable to those interested in empirical history and an understanding of the basis of Soviet labor policy in the post-Stalin era."
Baron (history emeritus, Univ. of North Carolina; Plekhanov in Russian History and Soviet Historiography) brings to light events of nearly 40 years ago that foreshadowed the demise of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet leadership under Khrushchev decided to raise the price of food in 1962, a spontaneous strike broke out at the Electric Locomotive Construction Works (NEVZ) in Novocher-kassk. The strike bore an eerie resemblance to the workers' strike in 1905 dubbed "Bloody Sunday," which nearly toppled the reigning tsar. The 1962 strike was brutally quashed, with hundreds wounded and 70 dead and secretly buried. The incident was hushed from the outset, and very little information trickled out until the watershed period of 1991. Baron's last paragraph states, "As Bloody Sunday had radically transformed the way the masses of people perceived the tsarist regime, similarly, if less immediately, Bloody Saturday helped to destroy the legitimacy of the Soviet regime," and he does a creditable job of making this case, though it is one of hindsight. The research, drawn from first-hand interviews and the official KGB review of the incident, is probably as solid as one can expect. And though the subject is academic, the presentation is accessible to lay readers; this reader didn't want it to end so soon. The only contemporary work this can be compared with is Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, which has been proven to be inaccurate about this event. Recommended for all libraries. Harry Willems, Southeast Kansas Lib. Syst., Madison Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
On June 1, 1962, triggered by an announcement of a steep rise in food prices, thousands of workers in the Soviet city of Novocherkassk went on strike. On June 2, the strikers broke into a police station, and troops and police opened fire, killing sixteen. Seven strikers were later executed, and many were given long prison sentences. This work details the background to the strike, the course it took, the trials, and the government's successful cover-up, and traces the struggle of those who finally brought the episode to light. It includes b&w historical and contemporary photos. Baron is professor of history emeritus at the University of North Carolina. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
"It is a major contribution and should be warmly welcomed."
Universityof Sydney - Graeme Gill
"Baron's analysis of what happened in Novocherkassk and why is extensive, subtle, and penetrating. The book is more than a mere history of the strike and massacre. It also examines the history of the cover-up and the process of the rehabilitation of the event and the victims in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Until more documents are available, this book is likely to remain the most definitive account of the incident and its history."
"Drawing on a wealth of materials and containing numerous period photographs, Bloody Saturday is a classic of recent history. Upper-division undergraduates and above."
"Baron's book will likely stand as the definitive treatment of this important episode in Soviet political history. It is well-written and highly readable, it includes maps and pictures that bring the events and participants to life, and it provides sufficient political context for an informed general audience. The book has a lot to offer both specialist and broader readerships."
Journal of Cold War Studies
