On November 8, political scientist Vladimir Gel՛man will give an open lecture, presenting his new research on the so-called “good Soviet Union”, an imagined socio-political and economic order that somehow resembles the late-Soviet past, while lacking its inherent flaws.
According to elite and mass surveys, the late-Soviet sociopolitical and economic order was largely perceived as the only viable alternative to domestic political and economic status quo in Russia before 2022. Political elites invested significant efforts and funds into deliberative promotion of a complex of ideational legacies through different tools. This complex, labeled a “Good Soviet Union,” is an imagined sociopolitical and economic order, which somehow resembles that of the late-Soviet past, while lacking its inherent flaws.
Elements of the Soviet legacy were selectively chosen for the sake of preservation of the current politico-economic status quo. They include the hierarchical mechanism of governance, low circulation of elites and their privileged status, state control over media, and repressions toward organized dissent. Meanwhile, other elements of the late-Soviet past, such as relatively low inequality and certain state social guarantees, have been discarded.
A “Good Soviet Union” model includes not only market economy and no shortages of goods and services, but also a lack of institutional constraints on rent-seeking and legalization of wealth and status of elites. Vladimir Gel’man considers a “Good Soviet Union” as a socially constructed legacy of the past and focuses on mechanisms of translation of this legacy into Russia’s current agenda through the analysis of policy preferences on the part of political elites. He will discuss its effects on politics and policy-making, as well as its limitations and constraints.
Vladimir Gel՛man – Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Researcher at YCIE, Professor at the University of Helsinki, author and editor of more than 20 books, author of over 150 scientific articles devoted to the problems of Russian politics from theoretical and comparative perspectives.
