CITIZEN AND STATE

LINK TO... MRS. WOOD'S CLASSES RUSSIA HOMEPAGE SOURCES OF POWER POLITICAL CHANGE SOCIETY AND POLITICS CITIZEN AND STATE POLITICAL BELIEFS POLITICAL PARTICIPATION POLITICAL FRAMEWORK

In the old days of the Soviet Union, citizens' beliefs and attitudes toward their government were molded by Communist Party doctrines. At the heart of this doctrine was Marxism, which predicted the demise of the capitalist west. This belief fed into Russian nationalism and supported the notion that the Russian government and way of life would eventually prevail. The ideals of the early revolutionary period envisioned a world transformed by egalitarianism and the elimination of poverty and oppression. As Stalinism set in, the ideals shifted to pragmatic internal development, and many of the old tendencies toward absolutism and repression returned. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought out much hostility toward the government that is reflected in the population today.