  We consider the Schr\"odinger--Poisson--Newton equations for crystals with a
cubic lattice and one ion per cell. We linearize this dynamics at the ground
state and introduce a novel class of the ion charge densities which provide the
stability of the linearized dynamics. This is the first result on linear
stability for crystals.
  Our key result is the {\it energy positivity} for the Bloch generators of the
linearized dynamics under a Wiener-type condition on the ion charge density. We
also assume an additional condition which cancels the negative contribution
caused by electrostatic instability.
  The proof of the energy positivity relies on a special factorization of the
corresponding Hamilton functional. We show that the energy positivity can fail
if the additional condition breaks down while the Wiener condition holds.
  The Bloch generators are nonselfadjoint (and even nonsymmetric) Hamilton
operators. We diagonalize these generators using our theory of spectral
resolution of the Hamilton ope\-rators {\it with positive definite energy}
\ci{KK2014a,KK2014b}. Using this spectral resolution, we establish the
stability of the linearized crystal dynamics.
