Final False Start (about the Catastrophic Revolution of 1991)

There are two aspects in the events of 1991, each of which can be called both a negative «catastrophe» and a positive «revolution»: this is the death of the «socialist experiment» and the collapse of the «imperial» USSR, the latter being a derivative of the former. For an objective understanding of the significance of these events, they must be considered in the context of long-term institutional socio-economic changes (first of all, the evolution from industrial to post-industrial society) and taking into account the modern theories of the sociology of revolutions. This approach leads to the conclusion that the main content of the events of 1991 is an objectively progressive «anti-nomenclature» (anti-political) revolution that took place «from above» (and therefore very inconsistent). It put an end to the Soviet system, which claimed to present «real socialism», but in fact turned out to be the «second edition» of the so-called Asiatic mode of production, and therefore, despite many «mobilization» achievements, it reached a dead end. Since the ex-Soviet «nomenklatura» was able to largely maintain (and in some aspects even strengthen) its privileged position, this creates a public demand for a new cycle of revolutionary events.

Keywords

the death of the USSR, theory of socio-economic systems, «real socialism», post-industrial society, «Asiatic mode of production», political society, sociology of revolution

Acknowledgment

This article is a translation of: Латов Ю.В. Финал фальстарта (о катастрофической революции 1991 г.) // Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniia. 2021. No 12: 67–77. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250015525-0

Received

23.12.2021

Publication date

24.12.2021

Number of characters

33961

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GOST	Latov Y. Final False Start (about the Catastrophic Revolution of 1991) // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2021. – Issue 12 C. 223-231 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250017621-6-1-en (circulation date: 28.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250017621-6
MLA	Latov, Yuri "Final False Start (about the Catastrophic Revolution of 1991)." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 12 (2021):223-231. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250017621-6
APA	Latov Y. (2021). Final False Start (about the Catastrophic Revolution of 1991). Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (12), pp.223-231 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250017621-6

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