SUMMARY:

This essay is a contribution to the book forum “Soviet Departmentalism” discussing the edited volume put together by the Tyumen historian Igor Stas’ that introduces departmentalism, or vedomstvennost’, as a vital framework for understanding Soviet history. The volume argues that vedomstvennost’ fundamentally organized the daily lives, urban spaces, and social hierarchies of citizens. Oleg Khlevniuk concurs that while the Soviet system appeared to be a monolithic hierarchy, it was actually driven by the competing interests and social practices of various administrative structures that negotiated for power and resources. He points to a shift in modern scholarship toward the microanalysis of social narratives and the specific ways that departmental elites, such as those in the military-industrial complex or the secret police, shaped high-level policy. Khlevniuk advocates for a renewed focus on case studies of administrative conflicts to better understand how government agencies functioned as the real engines of political change and stability throughout the Soviet era.