Cette thèse porte sur les représentations des peuples autochtones du Nord forgées par les films et téléfilms soviétiques de fiction. Mobilisant plusieurs approches — l’analyse filmique, l’histoire culturelle du cinéma, l’histoire des représentations et l’histoire politique soviétique —, elle confronte les films à des sources non-films (presse, archives papier, entretiens), afin de mettre en lumière la construction d’une subjectivité et d’un regard. Il s’agit également de décortiquer la fabrication des représentations, dans ses dimensions à la fois les plus concrètes et les plus symboliques. En ce sens, la question de la participation ou de la non-participation des autochtones à la création de leur image filmique, que ce soit devant ou derrière la caméra, constitue une autre interrogation centrale. Les représentations filmiques des peuples du Nord, tiraillées en permanence entre visions du « progrès » et de l’« authenticité », opèrent à l’écran comme autant d’images qui permettent à l’Union soviétique d’évaluer sa propre perception de la modernité. Des années 1920 aux années 1980, les figures cinématographiques autochtones circulent entre deux pôles d’un continuum, qui va de l’incarnation d’une arriération à éliminer au nom de la soviétisation à celle d’une harmonie avec la nature, désormais perdue ou menacée. Par ailleurs, en prenant en compte la question de la contribution des autochtones à la création de leur propre image, cette thèse s’attache à montrer que le film constitue un espace complexe, où plusieurs lectures et usages sont possibles selon la position des participants. / This thesis focuses on the representations of indigenous peoples of the North in Soviet fiction films and made for TV movies. Mobilizing several approaches — film analysis, the cultural history of cinema, the history of representations and Soviet political history — it confronts films with non-film sources (press, paper archives, interviews) in order to highlight the construction of a subjective point of view. It also studies the production of these representations, in both its most concrete and symbolic dimensions. The issue of the participation or non-participation of indigenous peoples in the creation of their image on film, whether in front of or behind the camera, is another central question. The filmic representations of the peoples of the North, constantly torn between visions of “progress” and “authenticity,” operate on the screen as images that allowed the Soviet Union to evaluate its own perception of modernity. From the 1920s to the 1980s, images of indigenous people shifted along a spectrum ranging from the incarnation of backwardness to be eliminated in the name of Sovietization to the embodiment of harmony with nature, now lost or threatened. Moreover, taking into account the question of the contribution of the indigenous people to the creation of their own image, this thesis demonstrates that cinema became a complex space, where different readings and uses were possible according to the position of the participants.

Cette thèse analyse les échanges artistiques entre la France et l’URSS durant l’entre-deux-guerres, leurs rouages et les avantages mutuels qu’ils présentent. Cette période connaît quatre phases successives, ce qui permet de découper la recherche en autant de parties. La première étudie la période d’avant la reconnaissance de l’URSS par la France et la mise en place des relations diplomatiques (avant 1924) ; la deuxième se penche sur les premiers liens officiels qui suivent ladite reconnaissance (1925-1928) ; la troisième s’intéresse aux années 1928-1934, période du « Grand Tournant » dans l’économie soviétique, et enfin la quatrième englobe les années qui suivent l’instauration du réalisme socialiste en 1934 et se termine avec la guerre. Notre projet tente d’évaluer la pertinence de l’approche stéréotypée portant sur le lien entre art et idéologie, de voir si la peinture soviétique, telle que présentée lors des expositions en France, était similaire à celle exposée en URSS et constituait un outil de propagande à part entière. Sous quelle forme l’art soviétique est-il présenté en France et quel est le rôle des instances dans la mise en place de ces manifestations ? Il s’agit d’étudier le rôle des acteurs de ces échanges : instances étatiques, associations, galeries, spécialistes d’art, intellectuels, collectionneurs ou enfin les artistes eux-mêmes. Nous nous intéressons également aux expositions d’artistes français et à l’organisation de leurs voyages en URSS. Ce travail montre que les maillons de la chaîne « politique-idéologie-finances » sont intimement liés entre eux et que l’argent a souvent un rôle décisif pour les instances soviétiques. / This dissertation focuses on artistic exchange between France and the USSR in the interwar period, its mechanisms and the benefits it presented. This period can be divided into four successive phases, accounting for the four parts this research falls into. The first part studies the years leading up to the recognition of the USSR by France and the setting up of diplomatic relations (prior to 1924); the second part deals with the first official links following the recognition (1925-1928); the third part focuses on the years 1928-1934, a period of economic change also known as « the Great Turn » in Soviet economy and the fourth and final part spans the years after socialist realism was established from 1934 on up to the outbreak of the war. This research questions the stereotypical approach to the link between art and ideology and asks whether Soviet painting, as shown during exhibitions in France, was similar to that shown in the USSR and whether it was, or not, a sheer tool for propaganda. Under what form was Soviet art presented in France and what role did authorities play in organizing artistic events? The role played by the actors of this exchange is studied: state authorities, associations, art galleries, art specialists, intellectuals, collectors, intellectuals, and last but not least the artists themselves. Also studied are the exhibitions of French artists and how their trips to the USSR were organized. This research shows that politics, ideology and money are tightly linked together and that money played a decisive role for Soviet authorities.

La thèse représente une première tentative de construire un narratif sur la Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada (fondée en 1923) pendant la période de l'entre-deux-guerres, jusqu'ici absente des recherches existantes sur le communisme ou le socialisme canadiens. La thèse porte sur l'évolution des relations entre la Ligue de la jeunesse communiste (LJC), l'Internationale communiste (ou Komintern) et l'Internationale des jeunes communistes, où les communistes soviétiques ont joué un rôle prédominant. Cette recherche met en lumière de nombreux changements mineurs et majeurs dans la politique de la LJC, façonnés par les contextes nationaux et internationaux dans lesquels l’organisation a dû agir. La thèse soutient que malgré un enthousiasme sincère pour la ligne de l'Internationale et l'expérience soviétique, les jeunes communistes canadiens souvent avait de la difficulté d’appliquer les directives de l'Internationale au Canada. Ni le Komintern, ni le mouvement communiste au Canada n'étaient monolithiques. Au contraire, il y a eu de nombreux conflits à trois niveaux: entre le mouvement communiste international et la Ligue; entre la Ligue et le Parti communiste du Canada (PCC); et entre les groupes locaux ou linguistiques de la Ligue et son leadeurship national. La répression de la gauche par l’État dans les années 1920s et 1930s, les problèmes de financement et le nombre de membres dérisoire ont également entravé la mise en œuvre des politiques de l’Internationale. En même temps, le faible niveau de contrôle permettait un certain degré de flexibilité et d’autonomie dans les politiques de la Ligue canadienne. Suivant la position de l’International des jeunes communistes, la jeunesse communiste canadienne a mis un accent particulier sur le militantisme anti-capitaliste et anti-impérialiste, puis anti-fasciste et anti-nazi. Cependant, la Ligue semblait avoir agi de manière indépendante en ce qui concerne les revendications immédiates de la jeunesse canadienne et les politiques culturelles, en particulier pendant la Grande Dépression. La Ligue s'est engagée conjointement avec d'autres organisations de jeunesse pour promouvoir les demandes immédiates des jeunes, même lorsque Moscou n’encourageait pas une telle stratégie. Les initiatives venaient souvent des organisateurs locaux, même si les autorités canadiennes étaient convaincues que Moscou était à l'origine de chaque action de la Ligue. Dans les années 1930 en particulier, la LJC, à travers un réseau d’organisations sociales et culturelles, a eu accès à des jeunes de différentes orientations politiques - la gauche socialiste, le centre-gauche et même les «forces bourgeoises». L’impact et la portée de la LJC ont encore été renforcés par la fait que les sympathisants de l'organisation appartenaient à des milieux sociaux divers et incluaient non seulement des jeunes travailleurs et fermiers, mais aussi les étudiants du secondaire et de l'université, les artistes, les sportifs et les jeunes cols blancs, dont beaucoup appartenaient à des organisations religieuses de jeunesse. Pour ces jeunes, la LJC était le lieu qui fournissait les solutions marxistes à des questions brulantes de l’époque, telles que le chômage des jeunes et l’absence de sécurité sociale, l’injustice sociale ou encore la montée du fascisme et de l’impérialisme au Canada et à l’étranger. / The dissertation represents the first attempt to construct a narrative about the Young Communist League of Canada (founded in 1923) during the inter-war period, so far absent in existing research on Canadian communism or socialism. The thesis focuses on the evolution of the relationship between the Young Communist League (YCL) and the Communist International and Young Communist International where Soviet Communists played a predominant role. It sheds light on numerous minor and major changes of policy shaped by the national and international contexts in which these organisations had to act. The dissertation argues that despite genuine enthusiasm toward the International’s line and the Soviet experience, Young Canadian Communists often found it difficult to implement the International’s directives in Canada. Neither the International nor the communist movement in Canada was monolithic. On the contrary, there appear to have been numerous conflicts on three levels: between the International and the League; between the League and the Communist Party of Canada; and between local or linguistic groups in the League and its national leadership. The state repression of the left during the whole inter-war period, derisory level of funding and membership numbers also impeded the implementation of the International’s policies. At the same time, the International’s weaker levels of control allowed for a certain degree of flexibility and autonomy in the Canadian League’s policies. Following the position of the Young Communist International, the Canadian communist youth placed special emphasis on anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist, and later anti-fascist and anti-Nazi, militancy. However, the League appeared to have acted independently as far as immediate demands of the youth and cultural policies were concerned, especially during the Great Depression era. The League engaged in joint activism with other youth organisations, even when Moscow did not encourage such strategy. The initiatives often came from local grassroots organizers, although Canadian authorities were convinced that Moscow was behind each and every action of the League. In the 1930s in particular the YCL, through a network of social and cultural organisations, gained access to youth of different political orientations – the socialist left, centre-left and even “bourgeois forces.” The YCL’s impact and outreach were further increased by the fact that the organisation’s sympathizers, if not members, belonged to diverse social backgrounds and included not only young workers and farmers but also High School and University students, artists, sportsmen, young white collars, many of them belonging to religious youth groups. For these young people, the YCL was the place that provided Marxist solutions to burning questions of the time such as youth unemployment and absence of welfare, social injustice, growth of fascism and imperialism in Canada and abroad.

The impetus for this study was the question of whether the information, which has been handed down on Czech architects who worked with Le Corbusier is true or not. Working in the studio of one of the leading architects of the 20th century was a crucial formative experience for dozens of architects while also being an attractive entry in their résumés. The doctoral thesis Myth and Reality: The Czech Assistants of Le Corbusier 1924-1937 is based on vast research of primary sources abroad as well as in the Czech Republic. The thesis critically examines the information known in the literature until now. The study aims to look behind the curtain of the formation of the existing historiography of Czech architectural modernism. It proves that architects themselves often entered history by means of their self- promotion skills. Parts of the thesis consist of a verified and critical list of Czech assistants at Le Corbusier's studio in 35 rue de Sèvres in Paris, detailed analysis of how work was conducted in the studio and an analysis of related sources. The work presents 13 Czech architects who worked in the studio of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in the period between the two World Wars. The study follows individual forms of dialogue between young architects and Le Corbusier. In some cases, the research of...

This thesis follows the development of the Ukrainian identity in Toronto since World War II. It explores the formation of collective memory by the Third Wave of Ukrainian immigration who arrived in Toronto in the early 1950s and the crystallization of a particular Ukrainian identity within this community. In particular, it looks at the role of the Ukrainian schooling system as an important institution shaping the community’s understanding of Ukrainian identity. It also discusses the challenges to that identity since the arrival of the Fourth Wave of Ukrainian immigration which began in 1991. It charts the intra-group tensions which arose in the community due to different understandings of what it means to be Ukrainian and describes how competing Ukrainian identities found within the Fourth Wave of immigration have shifted the dynamic in the Ukrainian community, explaining low involvement of Fourth Wave members within community institutions such as the Ukrainian school.

This thesis follows the development of the Ukrainian identity in Toronto since World War II. It explores the formation of collective memory by the Third Wave of Ukrainian immigration who arrived in Toronto in the early 1950s and the crystallization of a particular Ukrainian identity within this community. In particular, it looks at the role of the Ukrainian schooling system as an important institution shaping the community’s understanding of Ukrainian identity. It also discusses the challenges to that identity since the arrival of the Fourth Wave of Ukrainian immigration which began in 1991. It charts the intra-group tensions which arose in the community due to different understandings of what it means to be Ukrainian and describes how competing Ukrainian identities found within the Fourth Wave of immigration have shifted the dynamic in the Ukrainian community, explaining low involvement of Fourth Wave members within community institutions such as the Ukrainian school.

To predict and prevent future armed conflicts like Russia’s war against Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2022, there is more value in knowing how these wars occurred rather than why they occurred. The Russian Playbook is built from three distinct “plays” employed by Moscow and organised in the theoretical framework of Historical Institutionalism through Path Dependence modelling. This research focuses on Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova as cases for comparison by building on the Soviet legacy in each state which forms the antecedent historical conditions of the Playbook’s Path Dependence. Where Play 1 focuses on offensive and defensive influence seeking as a form of structural persistence, Play 2’s shaping and weaponisation acts to counter reactive sequences. Both Plays function within path dependency’s punctuated equilibrium and appear consistently throughout Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova following the collapse of the Soviet Union. When Play 1 and Play 2 are overpowered by reactive sequences that cannot be countered, Moscow deems the disequilibrium as irremediable and the path towards conflict begins. Play 3 refers to the start of lock-in effects towards conflict, beginning with “pre-crisis” conditions. Play 3’s Lock-in Effectsserve as the period in which a predictable conflict outcome is likely to occur, though lock-in refers to the path adherence in preparation for future conflict. This Play occurs in both Georgia and Ukraine at the time of this research, though its future employment within Moldova should not be excluded. These actions, in the form of the Russian Playbook and its Plays act as a guide for operationalising and implementing Russia’s grand strategy. This research goes beyond individual figureheads of Russia or specific institutions and instead focuses on patterns that exist throughout historical cases. These patterns show there is nothing particularly “new” in how Russia operates despite the vast number of newly coined phrases including “hybrid” leading people to believe otherwise. As such, Putin did not create the Russian Playbook, he inherited it. / <p>Master's of Political Science with a Specialisation in International and European Relations.</p>

The Reagan Administration took office in 1981 and began to implement against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), what became known as the Reagan Doctrine. The was an effort to break with previous the previous presidential administration’s policies toward the USSR and would involve the rollback of Communism, instead of simply just co-existing with Communism (Détente) or containing the spread of it. Part of the area that was subject to the Reagan Doctrine included the volatile southern African region, which had two Marxist-Leninist Regimes, namely Angola and Mozambique. Using Graham Allison’s bureaucratic political model, this study attempts to answer the question: “Even when all the prerequisites were met, why was there a decision to only implement a modified form of the Reagan Doctrine in Mozambique, instead of a full-blown effort, such as in, for example Angola or Afghanistan?” As will be shown in the research, the Reagan Doctrine was not a written doctrine, but had many different facets, as will be shown. The most significant part of the Reagan Doctrine was the recognition and arming of insurgents who confronted the Soviet backed regimes including RENAMO. There have been claims that the US Government did not recognize RENAMO. This is false as will be shown by the fact that President Reagan urged FRELIMO to negotiate with the RENAMO resistance. The real significance of this is that even if all prerequisites were met, why was there such reluctance to apply the doctrine with the veracity as compared to the effort in Angola and Afghanistan in arming RENAMO. Was the United States Government still trapped in the “Vietnam Syndrome”? Did the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) have the 3 same political and charismatic qualities as the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)? Were special interests or lobbyists influencing government bureaucrats to view decisions in a specific way? A significant part of this study is devoted to the question of how much influence did the bureaucracy and the politicians (both appointed and career) had on the important national security decision-making process involving Mozambique. Another question that could be asked is: Was the doctrine indirectly applied through third parties? In 1989 when the Reagan Administration ended, did President Reagan and the Reagan Administration achieve their objectives toward Mozambique. If so, was this due to the Reagan Doctrine or other factors? If not, did any actors or events interfere with the strategy? / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

The Reagan Administration took office in 1981 and began to implement against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), what became known as the Reagan Doctrine. The was an effort to break with previous the previous presidential administration’s policies toward the USSR and would involve the rollback of Communism, instead of simply just co-existing with Communism (Détente) or containing the spread of it. Part of the area that was subject to the Reagan Doctrine included the volatile southern African region, which had two Marxist-Leninist Regimes, namely Angola and Mozambique. Using Graham Allison’s bureaucratic political model, this study attempts to answer the question: “Even when all the prerequisites were met, why was there a decision to only implement a modified form of the Reagan Doctrine in Mozambique, instead of a full-blown effort, such as in, for example Angola or Afghanistan?” As will be shown in the research, the Reagan Doctrine was not a written doctrine, but had many different facets, as will be shown. The most significant part of the Reagan Doctrine was the recognition and arming of insurgents who confronted the Soviet backed regimes including RENAMO. There have been claims that the US Government did not recognize RENAMO. This is false as will be shown by the fact that President Reagan urged FRELIMO to negotiate with the RENAMO resistance. The real significance of this is that even if all prerequisites were met, why was there such reluctance to apply the doctrine with the veracity as compared to the effort in Angola and Afghanistan in arming RENAMO. Was the United States Government still trapped in the “Vietnam Syndrome”? Did the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) have the 3 same political and charismatic qualities as the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)? Were special interests or lobbyists influencing government bureaucrats to view decisions in a specific way? A significant part of this study is devoted to the question of how much influence did the bureaucracy and the politicians (both appointed and career) had on the important national security decision-making process involving Mozambique. Another question that could be asked is: Was the doctrine indirectly applied through third parties? In 1989 when the Reagan Administration ended, did President Reagan and the Reagan Administration achieve their objectives toward Mozambique. If so, was this due to the Reagan Doctrine or other factors? If not, did any actors or events interfere with the strategy? / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

An analysis of Soviet history and political thought in the context of imperialism and colonialism This study attempts to clarify problems with dominant liberal narratives and historiography relating to the Soviet Union, particularly relating to questions of empire and colonialism, and instead platforms Third World Marxists and other anti-imperialist scholars and revolutionaries whose views have been effectively sidelined and stifled. By tracing the history of political thought around these questions from pre-revolutionary Marxists through to Cold War era anti-colonial and pan-African scholars and revolutionaries alongside developments in the dynamic and forms of imperialism, and by situating anti-colonial nationalisms in the context of worldmaking rather than state building, this text aims to contribute to analyses of Soviet policy and its relationship to the global history of decolonisation in the 20th Century. This work identifies serious theoretical and ideological deficiencies in existing literature and concludes that concise definitions of imperialism and empire such as those used by V.I. Lenin and Kwame Nkrumah are not consistent with commonly held beliefs about the role played by the Soviet Union in the history of anti-colonial and national liberation movements. Western liberal literature on this subject has suffered significantly as a result of political and ideological prejudices stemming directly from the US Cold War victory and psychological warfare campaigns targeting communist and anti-colonial movements to this end. My research indicates that misidentification and misuse of terms relating to empire and colonialism pose serious obstacles and risks to present and future efforts geared towards global peace and equality which add urgency to the correction of mistakes both in scholarly and popular historical, political, and cultural approaches to interpretations of Soviet history. / Graduate