Soviet Political Mind

Rating:
Summary: Sovietology and the importance of subjectivity
Review: Professor Robert C. Tucker's thin book, "The Soviet Political Mind" is an important commentative piece about the role of Soviet leaders, especially Stalin, in the nature of the development of the USSR's political landscape. This book is not meant to be a history text, which is not to say that the test is not factual. Tucker's claims about the leadership's role (as opposed to ideological or Russian historic forces) as the primary catalyst of state driven developments rests on the evidence of outward historical appearance and psychological presumptions. For example, Prof. Tucker makes claims about Stalin's disposition as an individual and the nature of his internal motivation to act in the way that he did without giving credence to, or even consideration of, his subsequent argument about the legitimizing power that his ideology possessed. Simply, Tucker argues, at times, that Stalin was a condemnable, aberrant personality in the Soviet experience, thereby undermining his later argument that Stalin was a natural outgrowth of the Soviet political landscape. This book is important because of its interesting unabashful approach to rational argument, however it should not be read without a serious critical eye.