I like philosophical thought. I pursue thought, I pursue the dialectics of the mind. And then, after philosophy, come concepts. What then? Then comes politics.
Gorbachev
Abstract
One of the most intractable contemporary problems in the USSR is the Soviet federal dilemma. The late 1980s witnessed competing claims among the national minority groups of the USSR to rights of voice, representation, and cultural, economic, and even political sovereignty. Since the onset ofperestrojka, the principle of ‘nationalstatehood’ has acquired a new legitimacy. Nationality is one of the pillars of the federal reform. The drive to create a ‘new Soviet federalism’ has become an important component ofperestrojka. But, according to Leninist doctrine, the ‘nation’ is a transitional formation. Unless there is a significant departure from Leninist theory, the new acknowledgement of the ‘rights of nations’ in the USSR can only be a political — and thus temporary — concession. Can the ideology evolve in such a way as to provide ideologically-based political legitimacy to the notion of national-statehood? Is Gorbachev's ‘dynamic’ interpretation of Leninism capable of rejecting one of Lenin's most fundamental concepts? The thesis of this article is that Soviet federal reform requires a substantial departure from the Leninist tradition. The extent to which Soviet leaders are prepared to do this casts light on one of the perennial concerns of socialist thought, namely whether ideology matters at all.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
See Gorbachev's remarks to the Lithuanian PartyAktiv printed as ‘Vzaimnyj interes, vzaimnaja otvetstvennost',’Pravda (January 15, 1990), p. 1.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gleason, G. Lenin, Gorbachev, and ‘national-statehood’: Can Leninism countenance the new Soviet federal order?. Studies in Soviet Thought 40, 137–158 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00818976
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00818976