Final answer:
The synonym for incredulity is disbelief. Stephen Kotkin's study of Magnitogorsk shows how belief and disbelief can coexist, even in a system where people are expected to believe in the regime.
Step-by-step explanation:
The synonym for incredulity is disbelief. Incredulity means a state of not being willing or able to believe something. To understand this concept better, let's consider an example:
In Stephen Kotkin's study of Magnitogorsk, he discusses the difficulty in gauging the sincerity of belief of participants in the Bolshevik crusade. He concludes that there seems to have been little support for radical unbelief in the Communist cause for those living inside the USSR under Stalin. However, elements of belief and disbelief coexisted within everyone, along with a certain residual resentment. This shows that even in a system where people are expected to believe in the regime, there can be skepticism and doubt.