THE RISE OF A POLEMIC REPRESENTATION IN THE CONTEXT OF GLASNOST REFORM

This paper examines the sociogenesis of a polemic representation, paying close attention to the context of repre­sen­ta­tional production. By means of content analysis of the written press from 1988-89, it will be illustrated how this representation originated in a context that retained past ideological characteristics both at the level of discourse and social practices and how it was presented to the Other. In the perestroika period, the official Soviet discourse, even if it was change-oriented, was thematized in the framework of the typical wooden language, so that the new emancipated representation (about glasnost) would not contradict the hegemonic one (of socialist ideology). Social conflict escalated when a group of intel­lectuals, taking advantage of the glasnost reform, engaged more seriously with the national issues and put forward this polemic representation, which opposed the hegemonic representation of the Soviet Communist Party. Based on in-depth interviews with participants in diverse protest actions from that period, I intended to elucidate how their polemic represen­tation was initially shaped in confrontation with Others (those who did not share these beliefs), as well as how this was expressed at the level of intergroup relations, and how it is now presented by means of narrative discourses.