title: The Role of Coercion and Falsification in the Preparation of Stalin-era Interrogation Protocols
metadata.name: dc.contributor.author
metadata.value: Brandenberger, D.
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.accessioned
metadata.value: 2023-08-18T09:18:29Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.available
metadata.value: 2023-08-18T09:18:29Z
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.date.issued
metadata.value: 2023-06
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.citation
metadata.value: Brandenberger D. ‘The Role of Coercion and Falsification in the Preparation of Stalin-era Interrogation Protocols’, Modern History of Russia, vol. 13, no. 2, 2023, pp. 376–399. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu24.2023.208 (In Russian)
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.identifier.other
metadata.value: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu24.2023.208
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.identifier.uri
metadata.value: http://hdl.handle.net/11701/43792
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.description.abstract
metadata.value: This article shows the problematic nature of modern studies that consider interrogation protocols of
  the Stalinist era to be reliable sources in their analyses. To begin with, these studies use primitive and inconsistent
  methodologies in their analysis of the interrogation protocols. Most of them approach the problem without
  the appropriate level of criticism, expressing little or no doubt about the content of these documents. Others,
  which claim to have adopted more specific methodological approaches, often base them on unverified hypotheses
  instead of empirically-proven principles. Secondly, these studies ignore recent work in neuroscience and
  cognitive, social, and clinical psychology that shows that coercion and torture undermine the ability of those
  under interrogation to give credible testimony. Biomedical studies have demonstrated that extremely stressful
  conditions (torture, coercion, blackmail, fear, deprivation of sleep and food, etc.) impair the function of the mind
  and erode its ability to retrieve reliable information from memory, especially affecting the accuracy and clarity
  of these recollections. Such techniques can significantly distort the testimony of detainees and even force those under interrogation to change their testimony, to repeat false information provided by the investigator or to
  falsely incriminate themselves. Thirdly, these studies overlook the fact that state security officials of that period
  systematically falsified interrogation protocols. Protocols, as a rule, were drawn up by the investigators and then
  were simply signed by those under interrogation — a practice that raises questions about how accurately these
  protocols convey the actual words, expressions and meanings contained in the elicited testimony. What’s more,
  many investigators are known to have often added details or to have embellished the confessions, while others
  made up entire conspiracies from scratch, before forcing the suspects to sign protocols recording their false
  confessions. This article illustrates these theses with evidence from the case of A. V. Putintsev, a state security
  investigator between 1941–1954.
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.language.iso
metadata.value: ru
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.publisher
metadata.value: St Petersburg State University
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.relation.ispartofseries
metadata.value: Modern History of Russia;Volume 13; Issue 2
metadata.lang: -
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: protocol
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: interrogation
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: coercion
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: torture
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: falsification
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: Ministry of State Security
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: repressions
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.subject
metadata.value: evidence
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.title
metadata.value: The Role of Coercion and Falsification in the Preparation of Stalin-era Interrogation Protocols
metadata.lang: en_GB
metadata.name: dc.type
metadata.value: Article
metadata.lang: en_GB
resources.filename: 08brandenberger_4.pdf
resources.url: https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/43792/1/08brandenberger_4.pdf
resources.format: Adobe PDF
resources.size: 847,45 kB