Russian university of the mid-twentieth century as a communication space in Irina Lupanova's book The past is passing before me

The university develops in the flow of social interactions, and its success is closely related to its corporate communicative culture. Philologist I. P. Lupanova (1921-2003), one of the most respected professors at Petrozavodsk State University from the 1950s to the 1970s, discussed various communication practices among the university staff in her autobiographical book written during the last years of her life. The book included her memoirs, a diary, and excerpts from letters, all of which contributed to the disclosure of the author’s individual vision and the changing angle of problems’ analysis. This article presents an analysis of the material in Lupanova’s book related to the communication patterns within the university. When approaching the book, this article uses the critical historical method, the problem-based method, and the hermeneutic approach. Lupanova’s book emphasizes the crucial role of teacher-student interaction within the university. Famous scientists M. K. Azadovsky and V. Ya. Propp, who were Lupanova’s supervisors at Leningrad State University, are shown in the book, above all, as talented teachers. The memoirist highly appreciates their severe exactingness and paternal care over their students. Lupanova views the ability to combine these qualities as the basis for pedagogical art. While working at Petrozavodsk University, she strove to follow the pedagogical principles of her teachers. The memoirs demonstrate that the “anti-cosmopolitan campaign” had a heavy impact not only on the fates of the persecuted teachers, but also on the lives of their students tormented by impotence and guilt. Through comprehending these events, Lupanova came to reject repressive methods and formed her inner independence. Lupanova outlined the possibilities of the university’s collegiate bodies for providing support and ensuring the professional growth of teachers from the 1950s to the 1970s. She showed that in the Brezhnev era the personnel policy at the university remained under the strict control of the ruling party. Dissent and unwanted contacts were suppressed through the administration and party organizations of the faculties, and the socio-demographic composition of the employees was monitored.