Historians link shooting in Novocherkassk with formation of dissident movement

The shooting of the mutiny in Novocherkassk in June 1962 led to stronger fight against dissent and the revival of the atmosphere of fear in the country; however, it also contributed to the emergence of a strong dissident movement – this was stated by the historians interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". The reaction of the authorities to the mutiny was extremely politicized, and years later resulted in the collapse of the USSR, they noted.

The precondition for the Novocherkassk conflict was in the failed policy of Nikita Khrushchev – the workers' strike expressed dissatisfaction of citizens with the events in the USSR, said Alexei Makarov, a historian and a member of the Association of Russian Society Researchers.

Alexander Daniel, a historian and a member of the board of the "Memorial" Society, recalled that "similar unrest occurred in 1961 in the cities of Murom and Krasnodar."

According to his story, the reaction to workers' unrests was "quick and cruel", but led to "some softening of the dialogue with the proletariat." However, the incident contributed to strengthening the fight against the dissent, Mr Daniel believes.

He added that the participants of the Novocherkassk mutiny, sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, should be considered "political prisoners".

The incident in Novocherkassk had no direct political consequences, but indirectly affected the state development, said Pavel Kudyukin, a historian, the former Deputy Minister of Labour of the Russian Federation (in 1991-1993), now – an Associate Professor at the Higher School of Economy and a member of the Russia's Council of the Labour Confederation.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.