The Phenomenon of Soviet Modernity: Rethinking Our Past

The author reviews a collective monograph by Russian scientists, which is based on the results of the study of the social and cultural specifics of the Soviet modernity. The authors of the book proceed from the assumption that the Soviet project was an organic part of the Russian civilization. The reviewer points out the authors’ desire to move away from simplified assessments of the USSR, contrasting their multifaceted research with polar narratives (“official optimism” vs. “liberal pessimism”). The target of the study was the analysis of the activities of the Soviet state in the socio-cultural sphere and its real results through the prism of the civilizational approach. The economic, social and political determinants that defined the life of Soviet society are analyzed. It examines the Soviet regulatory and value space, paying special attention to the personal dimension of the Soviet civilization. The contradictions inherent in Soviet society at different stages of its evolution are subject to close study. Using the events of the Great Patriotic War as an example, the author identifies specific features of social action in Soviet society and examines the mechanisms of centralized governance in the USSR. Interviews with nonconformist sociologists illustrate how the struggle for honest science determined their academic reputation. The author of the review reflects on the possibilities and limitations of the project of Soviet Modernity and the model of Soviet person, including a comparison of the concept of the ordinary Soviet person with the concept of Western person. The reviewer polemics with the authors of the book on the civilization mission of the USSR and social and cultural factors of its collapse, noting the variety of reasons that led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Moreover, attention is paid to the phenomenon of nostalgia for the Soviet past in contemporary Russia and post-Soviet countries (retrotopia), and to the generational peculiarities of this phenomenon. The reviewer cites the findings of sociological studies that indicate that Russian youth idealize life in the USSR and contrast modern society with Soviet society. Among the undoubted advantages of the book, the reviewer notes the extensive empirical material of the research: excerpts from interviews and memoirs, from biographical stories of representatives of different generations who were born and lived in the USSR. According to the reviewer, the book can be useful to anyone interested in the realities of Soviet life and the legacy of the “Soviet project” in the post-Soviet space.