The Development Of Sociology In The Soviet Union

This fascinating and comprehensive volume traces the development, scope and character of sociological research in Russia and subsequently the Soviet Union from the turn of the 20th century to the 1990s. Opening with the lively social debates of pre-Revolution Russia, Elizabeth Weinberg discusses the intellectual factions of the post-Revolutionary period and the eventual replacement of 'idealism' with 'materialism', leading to the emergence of Soviet sociology in 1956. The book examines the methods of research that were accepted as valid for Marxist research, offering a profile of key Soviet sociologists and the research climate in which they operated. It also discusses the main areas of research that predominated in Soviet sociology, with separate chapters on two of the most significant: public opinion research and time-budget studies. This fully revised, newly updated edition of The Development of Sociology in the Soviet Union concludes with a discussion of the involvement of Soviet sociologists in the processes of perestroika and glasnost, and the changing position of sociology from the late 1980s onwards.

This fascinating and comprehensive volume traces the development, scope and character of sociological research in Russia and subsequently the Soviet Union from the turn of the 20th century to the 1990s.

This book represents the first comprehensive historical treatment of sociology in Russia from the mid-nineteenth century through the pre-revolutionary and Soviet eras to the present day. It sheds new light on the dramatic history of sociology in the Russian context; dramatic both in its relationship with state power, and in the large-scale societal transformations it has had to grapple with. The authors highlight several particularities including the late institutionalization of sociology in the Soviet period, the breaks in continuity between its main historical periods and the relationship between sociology and power throughout its history. This valuable work will appeal to social science and history scholars, as well as readers interested in the history of contemporary Russia.

A complex and tense relationship of «dissenting assent» between the various strata of the population of the USSR on the one hand, and the country's party-state regime on the other is hidden under the monolithic surface of Soviet society. Its evolution spans the sixty odd years of the Soviet regime's continuing struggle against dissent. The future of the USSR and thus of the entire world will be affected by the course of this hidden confrontation. The effect of this situation on political change in the USSR is considered from a historical, sociological, and political perspective. Some general problems of political theory emerge from the discussion. Attempts are made at developing a general concept of political change. Models of such change are formulated and applied in consideration of future developments in the Soviet Union.

USSR. Social theory comprising a collection of articles on the development of soviet sociology - includes an historical outline of social theories and a description of recent research methods applied by soviet sociologists.