A normal totalitarian society : how the Soviet Union functioned and how it collapsed
This study analyzes the ordinary functioning of the Soviet system from Stalin's death through the Soviet collapse and Russia's first post-Soviet decade. Without overlooking the USSR's repressive character, the author treats it as a "normal" system that employed socialist and nationalist ideologies
1 online resource (xv, 340 pages)
9780765613981, 0765613980
52888337
Theoretical concepts
Two components of Soviet ideology: socialism and Russian nationalism
Adjusting the revolutionary ideology to totalitarian goals
World revolution as a geopolitical instrument
Open and closed ideologies
Policy toward key social groups: workers and creative intelligentsia
The political system: the supreme leader as the major institution
An effective political machine
The economy: organic flaws and achievements
Public opinion: acceptance of the regime
The regime and the empire: a complex relationship
Reforms: alternatives in history
Reforming the system, destroying its fundamentals
Consequences