Historical Legacies of Communism
Modern Politics, Society, and Economic Development

Reveals how the legacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union affects modern politics, society and economic development in post-Communist Russia.

Alexander Libman (Author), Anastassia V. Obydenkova (Author)

9781108829984, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 January 2021

382 pages
15 x 23 x 2.5 cm, 0.69 kg

'The [Historical Legacies of Communism] makes a significant contribution to the literature … is a must-read for those interested in communist legacies and postcommunist developments' Liu Peng, Europe-Asia Studies

Libman and Obydenkova reveal how legacies of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) have survived in the politics, economic development, culture, and society of post-Communist regions in the 21st Century. The authors show how this impact is not driven by Communist ideology but by the clientelistic practices, opportunism and cynicism prevalent in the CPSU. Their study is built on a novel dataset of the CPSU membership rates in Russian regions in the 1950s-1980s, alongside case studies, interviews and an analysis of mass media previously only available in Russian and discussed here in English for the first time. It will appeal to students and scholars of Russian and Eastern European politics and history, and anyone who wants to better understand countries which live or have lived through Communism: from Eastern Europe to China and East Asian Communist states.

1. Introduction
2. The CPSU legacy: Leninism or clientelism? 3. Cultural environment and Soviet cinematography as a legacy of the CPSU
4. Measuring CPSU legacies
5. Democracy
6. Corruption
7. Inequality
8. Mortality
9. Attitudes towards migrants
10. Economic development and innovations
11. The origin and persistence of legacies
12. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], International relations [JPS], Marxism & Communism [JPFC], Comparative politics [JPB]