Renunciation in Stalin's Russia

During the Stalin era, those accused of counter revolutionary crimes and their family members were desperate to be relieved of the stigma of being a class enemy and the punishments that accompanied it. One approach to dealing with the threat of being disenfranchised was to renounce ones class origins, even if this meant renouncing ones family, community, spouse or religion. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.