Vision of a "new soviet man" in european and american historiography of the second half of the ХХ century

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyze the results of Western, Central European and American historiography discourse analysis regarding the phenomenon of a «new Soviet man» in the second half of the XX century. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of consistency, reliability, historicism, logic. General scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and specifically historical (historically genetic, historically typological, historically system) methods are used in the article. Scientific novelty. The article presents a unique complex historiographic analysis of the scattered publications dedicated to «Homo Soveticus» as highlighted in European studies. Conclusions. Within the frames of Western academic discourse, the concept of the «new man» has been investigated from various points of view, i.e. totalitarian, revisionist, axiological, identity history and history of subjectivity. The Western European researchers have focused primarily on general aspects of USSR citizens’ consciousness transformations under the influence of the Communist ideology, thus shaping out the key methodological approaches to the «new man» phenomenon and coining a specific term, «homo soveticus», to designate it. At the same time, regional versions of the Soviet project aimed at public consciousness transformation, specifically the Ukrainian one, still lack thorough investigation. In the end of 1980-ies, following the transit to democracy and a range of antitotalitarian revolutions, a critical perspective upon the Communist society studies was introduced through the emerging works of Eastern and Central European researchers. A focus upon primarily negative features of «homo soveticus» as a social anomaly induced by totalitarian regime has become a common denominator for the Eastern and Central European research discourse.