Bücher von Vladimir Shlapentokh

In the wake of the USSR's collapse, more than 25 million Russians found themselves living outside Russian territory, their status ambiguous. This volume, prepared under the sponsorship of the Kennan Institute, offers a comprehensive and amply documented examination of the issue.

Based on Soviet sociological studies, Soviet fiction and film, and mass media reports, this volume explores the ways in which Soviet attitudes about love, sex, marriage, friendship, and children have been influenced by the evolution of Soviet ideology, politics, and economy since the Bolshevik revolution.

This is the first book to view Soviet ideology and public opinion from the perspective of Soviet mythology. The author puts forth the idea that mythology in Soviet life is one of the most important variables determining the path of Soviet history and examines how Soviet society adjusts to the important role of mythology in its life.

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.