Forthcoming Series: Contemporary Studies in Sovietology

Edited by Robert van Voren, Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Vytautas Magnus, University in Kaunas, Lithuania

Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of Communism in Europe, a new interest in Sovietology is emerging. There are several reasons for this. First of all, a growing number of people understand that the collapse of the political (Soviet) system did not automatically lead to an end to Sovietism and it’s influence on daily political, social and cultural life in the countries that were communist or socialist prior to 1991. In fact, there is a widespread understanding that much of Sovietism is still there, and will continue to have its influence for many years to come.

Interestingly, Sovietology is probably least developed is the former USSR itself. Although this is easily explainable (people were more busy forgetting than remembering) this is rapidly changing. A new generation of students and scholars is emerging that is keen to understand the present by getting to know the past. In other words: this new generation understands that much of what is happening now is inextricably influenced by Soviet times, yet has no conscious knowledge of what “Soviet life” was like in practice. They search for answers to their questions by researching the past.

Contemporary Studies in Sovietology is a new series by Rodopi that deals with all aspects of Soviet and post-Soviet life in countries that were part of the “Soviet Empire”, e.g. the USSR and Central & Eastern Europe. In selected cases books dealing with “colonies” of the USSR in the Third World that were (financially, militarily) dependent on Moscow will be included in the series.

Contemporary Studies in Sovietology deals with all aspects of Soviet and post-Soviet life, e.g. political, economic, social and cultural, but wishes to discern itself from other series by selecting books that are either unorthodox in their approach, open new discussions and debates or deal with issues that have hitherto not been explored and/or exposed.

Although the series focuses primarily on scholarly works, it also includes books that contribute to research because of their unusual content and or unorthodox approach (e.g. memoirs, collections of hitherto unpublished documents and other archival materials).

Editorial Board

• David Aprasidze, Professor of Caucasian Studies, Ilia State University (Tbilisi) and Director of the State Party and KGB Archives of Georgia
• Aukse Balcytiene, Professor of Journalism and deputy rector of the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania
• Martin Dewhirst, former Lecturer in Russian literature and history at the University of Glasgow, UK
• Leonidas Donskis, Vice-President for research at ISM University of Management and Economics, Vilnius, Lithuania.
• Sarunas Liekis, Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomatic Studies of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania
• Andrei Piontkovsky, political writer and analyst and former Director of the Strategic Studies Center (Moscow), Russia
• Peter Reddaway, Professor Emeritus, George Washington University, Washington D.C., USA
• John Ryder, Professor of Philosophy, and President of Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan
• David Satter, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a fellow of the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), USA
• Elizabeth Teague, Senior Research Analyst, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London, UK
• Giga Zedania, Professor and Director of the Institute of Studies of Modernity at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia