Afterlife of the 'Soviet Man'

<p>Almost three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union today more often than ever global media and intellectuals rely on the concept of <i>homo sovieticus </i>to explain Russia's authoritarian ills. <i>Homo sovieticus</i> - or the Soviet man - is understood to be a double-thinking suspicious and fearful conformist with no morality an innate obedience to authority and no public demands; they have been forged in the fires of the totalitarian conditions in which they find themselves. <p/>But where did this concept come from? What analytical and ideological pillars does it stand on? What is at stake in using this term today? <i>The Afterlife of the 'Soviet Man'</i> addresses all these questions and even explains why - at least in its contemporary usage - this concept should be abandoned altogether.</p>