Sociology in Russia has developed since the beginning of the 20th century, despite an official ban onsociology in theSoviet Union from 1929 to 1956[1] and the dominance until recently ofMarxist sociology. Despite sharp divisions since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the field of sociology in Russia now includes over 300 university departments, approximately 30 academic journals and several professional associations.
The first sociological thinkers in theRussian Empire were significantly influenced byutopian thought.[2] The first Department of Sociology in Russia was opened in 1907, at thePsychoneurological Institute, and was headed byMaksim Kovalevsky andE.V. De Roberti.[2] Other Russian sociologists of that period includedNikolay Danilevsky,Nikolay Mikhaylovsky,Mikhail Tugan-Baranovsky andS.N. Yuzhakov.[2]
After the Russian Revolution, sociology at first continued to thrive, with notable works byPitirim Sorokin,Konstantin Takhtarev [ru] andNikolai Bukharin, who was a major representative of the shift towardsMarxism.[2] After about a decade of relatively free research,[2] sociology was gradually "politicized, Bolshevisized and eventually, Stalinized".[2][3] Pitirim Sorokin was expelled from Russia in 1922,[4] and K.M. Takhtarev' lectures at the university were banned in 1924.[5] Sociology was declared to be "bourgeois pseudo-science" in direct opposition to Marxism, and its practice – and the very name – were banned.[2] A 1929 ruling from the Institute of Philosophy of theCommunist Academy for Problems of Philosophy and Sociology declared that "sociology is a false science concocted by the French reactionaryAugust Compte [sic?], and the word itselfsociology is not to be used in Marxist literature".[2] Subsequently, from 1930s to 1950s, the discipline virtually ceased to exist in the Soviet Union.[3] During the period when sociology was banned, itsde facto replacement was "Historical Materialism" which was a component of Marxist theory.[6] Even in the era when its practice was allowed, and not replaced byMarxist philosophy, it was always dominated by Marxist thought; hence sociology in the Soviet Union and the entireEastern Bloc represented, to a significant extent, only one branch of sociology:Marxist sociology.[3]
With the death ofJoseph Stalin and the20th Party Congress in 1956, restrictions on sociological research were somewhat eased; the formation of theSoviet Sociological Association was allowed in 1957; and finally, afterthe 23rd Party Congress in 1966, sociology in the Soviet Union was again officially recognized as an acceptable branch of science.[2][7][6] 1962 saw the establishment of the first Russian English-language journal in the field,Soviet Sociology.[2] In 1968 an Institute for Concrete Social Research (later renamed the Institute of Sociology) was created at theSoviet Academy of Sciences[2] whereYuri Levada, founder of theLevada Center, attracted a small group of followers.[8]
Even throughout the Soviet period, there was a major split among Russian sociologists on whether to focus onMarxist-Leninist sociology (see alsoSoviet Marxism) or the more generalsociology of science.[2] The Marxist-Leninist approach, often supported by the Party, usually triumphed – until thefall of the Soviet Union.[2] Since then, lacking institutional support, it has begun to lose its dominant status, leading to increasingly visible splits and conflicts within Russian sociology.[2][9] According to Romanovsky and Toshchenko, sociologists in Russia have since broadened their study, in terms of both topics and geography.[10]
In 2009D. G. Podvoiskii noted that "in today’s Russian society, the status of sociology is extremely low", noting that neither the general public nor policymakers know much about sociology, nor do they care for sociologists' input.[11] In 2012, Russian sociologistVictor Vakhshtayn published an article in which he argued that Russian sociology is in crisis, and in the process of reinventing itself.[9] Russian sociologistsN.V. Romanovsky,Alfredo Gotsky andZhan Toshchenko [ru] countered with a less pessimistic view of sociology in Russia.[10] They note that the largest problem facing Russian sociology is the existence of poorly educated "pseudo-sociologists" who nonetheless grab the attention of media and politicians with their poorly researched claims.[10]
As of 2012[update], Russia has over 300 university departments of sociology, with about 110 conferring sociology degrees.[10] Between 1989 and 2003, 20,000 students graduated from departments of sociology in the country.[2] Major sociological conferences in Russia are theAll-Russia Sociological Congress andRussian Pathways.[9] TheRussian Society of Sociologists was founded in 1999, although according toG. V. Osipov, as of 2009, there were several alternate organizations (such as the Society of Sociologists and Demographers, the Kovalevskii Sociological Society and the Society of Professional Sociologists,), and it is not clear what is the proper successor to the Soviet Sociological Association (disbanded in 1999).[2] Two major centers of sociological research are the Institute of Sociology and the Institute of Sociopolitical Research, both at theRussian Academy of Sciences.[2] The M. Kovalevskii Prize is the most prestigious modern Russian award for sociological research.[2] There are about 30 sociology journals published in Russia, two of which are published in English:Sociological Research andSociety and Education.[10] Between 1998 and 2006 more than 1,000 sociological books and monographs, including several dictionaries and encyclopedias of sociology, were published in Russia.[2]
