1991 Reports

The Self-Destruction of Soviet Ideology

Schull, Joseph

Perestroika and Soviet ideology are both in their death throes today, and little remains but the task of making sense of their demise. Many people would argue that understanding perestroika has little to do with the study of Soviet ideology, because this ideology was already irrelevant when perestroika began.! On this view, perestroika meant the final eclipse of ideology as an effective force in Soviet politics. It seems to me that, on the contrary, Soviet ideology has brought the death of perestroika; that is, the refusal of the Gorbachev regime to part with essential elements of official ideology has directly contributed to the failure of its attempt to transform the Soviet polity. Insofar as it is important to understand the causes of perestroika’s demise, one must take account of the ideological factor. The point of my discussion here is to explain just how this is so.