SOCIOLOGY OF POLITICS IN RUSSIA: FORMATION AND CONTEMPORARY STATE

Abstract

Sociology of Politics has emerged more than hundred years ago. At this moment Russia was among other countries that were the leaders in the field of Sociological Science. The Rus­sians made significant contributions to the international socio-political thought during early period. Concepts of Sociology of the State (M. Kovalevsky, B. Kystyakovsky) and Parties (M. Ostrogorsky), Sociology of Political Change (J. Gourvitch) and Political Stratification (O. Sorokin) were among other well known theories in Political Sociology at the end of XIX^th and in the beginning of XX^th century. But after the Great October Socialist Revolution during the early Soviet period Sociology of Politics has been prohibited by official authorities untill the end of the 1960s. During next two decades there have ocasionally been signs of an impending breakthrough in securing the status of Political Sociology. And only at the end of 1980s Sociology of Politics won the battle for legitimation and recognition as an independent academic discipline within Russia. Now one could see many attempts to lecture the University courses on Political Sociology in our coun­try. New academic discipline would have certain concrete areas and methods, including ex­amination of sociological aspects of the State, Parties, Pressure and Elite groups, Elections and so on. The Process of the Formation of Russian Sociology of Politics consists of three main stages (or waves): 1) Presoviet (or Prerevolutionary); 2) Soviet and 3) Postsoviet. During the first prerevolutionary period (late 1860s — middle 1920-s) we could see the first steps and works in Political Sociology: "Politics as the Science" by A. Stronin (1872), "On People's Representation" (1866) by B. Chicherin, the cycle of books written by M. Kovalevsky and so on. Second stage has been opened by "Khrushchevs reforms", because during I920-50s all political matters interpreted only under the totalitarian control of Marxist-Leninist Ideology. This Ideology prescribes a conceptual framework based on a specific inter­pretation of Marx's and Lenin views on classes, history, progress and the role of the workers' party and writers on social matters have to express themselves within this framework and vocabulary. Now we have the third Postsoviet period of the formation and development of Political Sociology in Russia. All the topics that has been prohibited to study during previous time such as elections, bureauc­racy, elites, pressure groups, power and many others are in the centre of the sociological analysis now. But as usually at the same time the perspectives of the future development of Political Sociology in Russia depend on political factors and interrelations between academicians and Government.