The Afterlife of the ‘Soviet Man’

Rethinking Homo Sovieticus

Dr Gulnaz Sharafutdinova

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Hardback

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
20 April 2023

European history; Marxism & Communism; Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship

Series: Russian Shorts

Almost three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, today more often than ever, global media and intellectuals rely on the concept of homo sovieticus to explain Russia’s authoritarian ills. Homo sovieticus - or the Soviet man - is understood to be a double-thinking, suspicious and fearful conformist with no morality, an innate obedience to authority and no public demands; they have been forged in the fires of the totalitarian conditions in which they find themselves.

But where did this concept come from? What analytical and ideological pillars does it stand on? What is at stake in using this term today? The Afterlife of the ‘Soviet Man’ addresses all these questions and even explains why – at least in its contemporary usage – this concept should be abandoned altogether.

By: Dr Gulnaz Sharafutdinova
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781350167711
ISBN 10: 1350167711
Series: Russian Shorts
Pages: 136
Publication Date: 20 April 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Prologue 1. On Riding Bicycles and Human Judgement 2. Homo Sovieticus as Eastern European Dissent 3. Homo Sovieticus as Soviet Dissent 4. Homo Sovieticus as a Perestroika Child 5. Homo Sovieticus as Post-Soviet Empathy 6. Homo Post-Sovieticus as a Fight for the Continent Bibliography Index

Gulnaz Sharafutdinova is Reader in Russian Politics at King’s College London (King’s Russia Institute), UK. She is the author of Political Consequences of Crony Capitalism Inside Russia (2011) and the co-editor, along with Neringa Klumbyte, of Soviet Society In The Era of Late Socialism, 1964-1985 (2012).

Reviews for The Afterlife of the ‘Soviet Man’: Rethinking Homo Sovieticus

A very timely book about major attempts to analyse Soviet-Russian identity before and after the collapse of the USSR. Combining methodological clarity with empathy and erudition, the author rejects a reductionist 'totalitarian' approach in favour of nuanced observation. A useful corrective to any current analysis of Russia, in peace and at war. * Vladislav Zubok, Professor of History, the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK *