The first years of the post-Stalin period in Tatarstan: the relationships between the authorities and the creative intelligentsia

The paper analyses the moods of the Tatar creative intelligentsia and of the party and government bodies on the eve of the Thaw. Before the USSR Writers' Congress, local authorities reinforced party influence on the literature process. The resolution of TsK VKP(b) (9 August, 1944) maintained Stalin's cultural policy. At the same time some members of intelligentsia showed disagreement with party politics; attempts to start discussions took place, which was impossible in the previous period. These facts can be considered as the first signs of liberalization.