Zinovyev On The Social And Axiological Transformation Of The Soviet Administerial Elite
Abstract
This article deals with the views of the famous Russian sociologist and philosopher, A.A. Zinovyev (1922–2006) on the Soviet administerial elite and the stages of its evolution. We analyze his perceptions of the ideological bases of this elite’s formation, the degree of its association with the society, and the alignment with the people’s interests. We studied the Basic social types of administrators typical of the early and the late USSR as described by A.A. Zinovyev. We show that according to him the first, Lenin’s stage of administrative elite activities, inspired by the spirit of communism, was headed by convinced communists who relied on the idea of involving the general public in the administration. Their activities were aimed at creating new forms of social life that would ensure social rights and benefits for the working people. According to A.A. Zinovyev, Stalin’s administrators retained faith in the communist cause. In this period, the popular rule went together with the party-state and state bureaucracy. The expansion of bureaucracy was controlled and mitigated. We identify Zinovyev's understanding of the purpose, the effects, and the form of Khrushchev’s destalinization. We make a lot of destructive social factors and processes that caused the spiritual rebirth, as identified by the sociologist. We note that the methodology of A.A. Zinovyev’s study of Soviet reality is related to the ideas of Max Weber and the establishment of the Neo-Kantian approach to the explanation of social evolution as dominated by values.
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About this article
Publication Date
29 November 2021
Article Doi
eBook ISBN
978-1-80296-116-4
Publisher
European Publisher
Volume
117
Print ISBN (optional)
-
Edition Number
1st Edition
Pages
1-2730
Subjects
Cultural development, technological development, socio-political transformations, globalization
Cite this article as:
Amelina, E. M. (2021). Zinovyev On The Social And Axiological Transformation Of The Soviet Administerial Elite. In D. K. Bataev, S. A. Gapurov, A. D. Osmaev, V. K. Akaev, L. M. Idigova, M. R. Ovhadov, A. R. Salgiriev, & M. M. Betilmerzaeva (Eds.), Social and Cultural Transformations in The Context of Modern Globalism, vol 117. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 1833-1839). European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2021.11.241