Reconceptualizing the Soviet system: Pluralism, totalitarianism and science

Abstract

The dismantling of the Soviet system suggested to T.H. Rigby that it corresponded more closely to a qualified version of the totalitarian model than to pluralist alternatives. Does the example of science, with its socially and culturally relevant claims to exceptionality, support or challenge this view? Scientific rationality presented a dilemma for the Soviet system, and it was of relevance when considering the effectiveness of government. Although the evidence suggests that the scientific community was able to protect itself and its disciplines to a certain extent, the regime continued to encroach on scientific independence right up until the glasnost era, and the scientific community's contribution to political life remained circumscribed. 'Totalitarianism' in modified form therefore remains a valuable concept for our understanding of the Soviet system.