What Was Soviet Ideology?: A Theoretical Inquiry

By Petre Petrov

Because the Soviet Union loudly proclaimed to be an ideological state, its scholars have rarely scrutinized ideology as a concept. Instead, they have treated it as a self-evident fact and proceeded to deliberate the importance of the Marxist-Leninist creed in social life or political decision-making. In the context of the Cold War, such theoretical neglect was exacerbated by political investments that often outweighed--and deformed--intellectual priorities. This has left us today with a notion that is both worn out and opaque, over-used but under-thought. In What Was Soviet Ideology? Petre Petrov stakes a new theoretical ground beyond prevalent misconceptions, ready-made definitions, and popular stereotypes. Drawing on continental philosophy and critical theory, this book presents ideology as a dynamic form with its own inner dialectic, in which the Soviet ideological regime figures as an original moment, a sui generis phenomenon. Petrov argues that Soviet ideology should be seen not as a member of an existing species but as a qualitative transformation of the species, ideology, and itself.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1666937371
• ISBN13: 9781666937374
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"