Soviet Civilization: A Cultural History

One of the earliest and most impassioned Soviet dissident writers, Andrei Sinyavsky offers a remarkable and sober introduction to the Soviet world through its literature, society, and political kaleidoscope. Sinyavsky makes a strong case for the concept that a new civilization replaced the outmoded and discredited one of tsarist Russia, and that a "new man" was wrought from the Revolution. With an eye toward the legacy of seventy years of Communist Party rule, he sets forth the ideas and impulses behind the October Revolution and examines their ongoing effects in Soviet culture and psychology even into the days of glasnost. Sinyavsky profiles Lenin as a scholar of power and State violence, and Stalin as the founder of a Church-State. He discusses the Soviet way of life, the evolution and remolding of the Russian language, the importance of the nationalities question, and the possible futures of Soviet civilization. As the Soviet Union continues to struggle with its heritage, this will remain an essential book.