Kyiv. Изд-во "Наукова думка". 1976. 503 pp. Circulation 10 000. Price 2 rubles 52 kopecks.

Soviet social scientists have done a lot in the field of studying the process of formation and development of a new historical community of people in the USSR, its inherent features and characteristics .1 The historiography of the problem was recently supplemented by a fundamental collective work prepared at the Institute of the History of the USSR of the USSR Academy of Sciences 2 . Nevertheless, the book created by Ukrainian scientists 3 will take its rightful place among studies on the Soviet people as an outstanding social phenomenon of our time.

The preparation of the monograph, which was written by employees of the Institutes of History, Philosophy, Economics, State and Law, Literature, Linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, the Higher Party School under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and other scientific institutions and universities of the republic, significantly enriched the experience of bringing together specialists from various social sciences to study large complex problems. The author's team has found its own approach to the disclosure of the topic, which significantly differs from-

1 S. T. Kaltakhchyan. Leninism on the essence of the nation and the way to form an international community of people. Moscow, 1969; "The Soviet people - a new historical community of people". Volgograd. 1969; A. I. Kholmogorov. Internatsionalnye cherty sovetskikh natsii [International features of Soviet nations], Moscow, 1970. Unified and multinational. Riga. 1970; M. P. Kim. The Soviet people - a new historical community. M. 1972; M. I. Kulichenko. Natsional'nye otnosheniya v SSSR i tendentsii ikh razvitiya [National Relations in the USSR and trends in their development]. We are the Soviet people. New historical community of people, Moscow, 1973, et al.

2 " The Soviet people - a new historical community of people. Stanovlenie i razvitie [Formation and Development]. Moscow, 1975.

3 Authors ' collective: S. N. Baranovich, I. K. Beloded, L. K. Beschastny, V. N. Goncharova, F. Ya. Gorozsky, P. Z. Gorodensky, P. P. Gudzenko, S. K. Gutyansky, T. I. Derevyankin, A. I. Doronchenkov, V. E. Evdokimenko, A. N. Zenina, G. P. Izhakevich, P. D. Koval, N. V. Komarenko, S. A. Kryzhanovsky, S. V. Kulchitsky, A.V. Liolat, V. G. Lysenkov, I. N. Melnikova, G. A. Murashin, V. F. Panibudlaska, Yu. I. Rimarenko, M. M. Starushko, I. N. Teteruk, V. A. Chirko, A. G. Shevelev, F. P. Shevchenko. Editorial Board: A. G. Shevelev (Editor-in-chief), B. M. Babiy, P. I. Bagri, I. K. Beloded, N. V. Komarenko (Executive Secretary), S. A. Kryzhanovsky, A.V. Likholat (Deputy Editor-in-Chief, head of the author's team), V. I. Shinkaruk.

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it deviates from the path chosen, for example, by a team of Moscow specialists. First, the book consistently uses the problem-based method of covering the topic, which made it possible to identify a number of very important subjects in the structure of labor, such as the Communist Party-the leader of the Soviet People, educating workers in the Spirit of Soviet patriotism and socialist internationalism, the international contribution of the Soviet people to strengthening the world positions of socialism, etc. Second, the authors focused mainly on the characterization of two stages in the development of a new historical community of people - its formation in the transition period from capitalism to socialism and its improvement in the conditions of mature socialism; third, the book specifically analyzes the role of the unified national economic complex of the USSR in strengthening the solidity of the Soviet people, and considers the question of on the relationship between two types of communities: the Soviet people as a socio-class and interethnic community and communities of socio-ethnic (nations and nationalities); fourthly, using all-Union data, the authors widely cite materials on Ukraine, which gives them the opportunity to highlight not only special, but also mainly common, typical, and all-Soviet in the life of the peoples of the USSR; Fifth, researchers in some cases refused to" cross-cutting " consideration of some important issues (for example, language construction), choosing a retrospective method with the use of historical excursions and comparisons.

The architectonics of the study are quite coherent and logical, although not everything is equally perfect here. Thus, the problems related to the period of the Great Patriotic War and the post-war years are more organically "fit" into the section on the formation of the Soviet people, especially since the authors refer to the end of the 50s as "the final formation of the Soviet people as a new historical community of people" (p. 253). This period also goes chronologically beyond the scope of the section devoted to the development of the Soviet people in the conditions of mature socialism. In fact, the conclusions of the authors of this book and the above-mentioned monograph of the Institute of History of the USSR of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR on the question of the stages of formation and development of the Soviet people as a new historical community of people are completely identical. The analysis of the most diverse material led both to the conviction that in the process of building a socialist society in our country, a new historical community of people was mainly formed, which later acquired the features of maturity that were clearly manifested in the period of developed socialism (see pages 17, 182, 253, etc.).

In their assessments and conclusions, the authors rely on the provisions of party documents, scientific publications and documentary publications. The book is full of important generalizations, usually deeply reasoned. It convincingly reveals the historical roots of friendship and unity of the peoples of the USSR, and defines the victory of the Great October Revolution as a decisive prerequisite for the formation of the Soviet people. The author traces in detail the process of forming the state unity of the Soviet people, the most important role in which was played by the formation of the USSR. The authors show the creation of the economic foundations of a new historical community of people based on the materials on the socialist transformations in the national economy of the country and conclude that these foundations arose as a result of industrialization and collectivization of agriculture, which led to the undivided victory of socialist relations. The importance of overcoming the actual economic inequality of the peoples of the USSR in consolidating them into a socialist international community is well established. Perhaps for the first time, the formation of the material conditions for all-round cooperation of the Soviet peoples in connection with the formation of a single national economic complex of the USSR is covered in such detail (according to the authors (p.124), it was already formed in the second half of the 30s).

Serious attention is paid to the characteristics of social and class changes in the process of formation of a socialist society, the development of the working class - the leading force of inter-class and inter-ethnic unity of workers. The liquidation, first of the landlords and big capitalists, and then of the class of rural exploiters, the Nepman "new" bourgeoisie, as correctly shown in the book, was an indispensable condition for the formation of a community consisting only of working people. The working class, working in alliance with the non-proletarian working masses

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It represented the ever-growing core of a new historical community of people that was being formed (p. 146, etc.).

The authors consider the solution of the national question and the formation of socialist nations as necessary factors for creating interethnic unity. The conclusion that by the end of the transition period, mainly general Soviet features had matured in the national cultures of the peoples of the USSR (p. 175), and the Marxist - Leninist ideology of socialist internationalism had triumphed in the acute class struggle (p.182) is comprehensively justified.

The pages devoted to the Great Patriotic War convincingly reveal the social and class cohesion, patriotism and internationalism of the Soviet people, who saved the world from fascist enslavement and emerged from severe trials politically and morally stronger and hardened. The book also shows the development of the Soviet people in the post-war years. At the same time, it is emphasized that as socialism revealed its creative essence more and more fully, the new historical community of people acquired qualitatively new features, becoming more monolithic and cohesive.

Describing the flourishing of Soviet Ukraine in the fraternal family of the peoples of the USSR, the authors provide impressive data on the development of the republic's economy and culture in a single national economic complex of the country. These data also provide convincing evidence of the socio-economic and political unity of the socialist nations, of the spiritual community of the Soviet people.

The book presents a broad theme of the formation of social homogeneity in Soviet society: it traces the process of overcoming differences between classes and social groups, between mental and physical labor, between the city and the countryside; it describes common features in the way of life, ideological and moral appearance, psychology of the working people of each socialist nation and nationality, the laws of the objective process of their all-round rapprochement. The trend of rapprochement of nations is the leading one in the sphere of national relations in the USSR. Their distinctive feature at the present stage, the authors emphasize, is "the internationalization of material and spiritual life, which is increasingly deepening under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution" (p. 332). The development of the unified socialist culture of the Soviet people in the conditions of mature socialism is considered in the book in two aspects: the ideological community of national cultures, their international essence, the process of mutual influence and mutual enrichment of the literature and arts of the peoples of the USSR; the reflection of all-Soviet features inherent in the new historical community of people in the works of national writers and artists.

The book substantiates the position that the entire complex and multifaceted process of forming and developing a new historical community of people takes place under the leadership of the Communist Party, whose role is constantly increasing. The party leadership, the authors emphasize, is the key to further growth of the collectivity of the Soviet people, a guarantee of their success in communist construction.

The attempt to show the formation and development of a new historical community of people in the USSR in connection with the expansion and deepening of the world revolutionary process was fruitful. The book highlights the international significance of the Great October Revolution and the victory of socialism in the USSR; the contribution of the Soviet people to strengthening the position of socialism and the commonwealth of socialist countries; strengthening their socio-cultural ties and economic integration. The creation and strengthening of the world socialist system led to fundamental changes in the balance of power on the world stage in favor of socialism, and provided much more favorable conditions for the development of a new historical community of people than before.

Let us now note the gaps and shortcomings that exist in the monograph. It is hardly legitimate to begin the study of the process of forming a new historical community of people with the characteristics of the formation of the state unity of the Soviet people. Firstly, the formation of the political community of Soviet people was based on economic and social factors, and secondly, as the authors themselves correctly believe, the Soviet people is primarily a social and class community. These considerations, which follow from the essence of the phenomenon under study, determine the need for priority consideration of the socio-economic conditions of the formation of a new historical community, the impact on the relationship of people with each other.-

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social transformation in the economy, in social relations, the study of fundamental shifts in the position, role, and social nature of classes and social groups. All this had a decisive influence on the strengthening of the state unity of the Soviet people, the formation of socialist nations and nationalities, and it would be advisable to consider the complex of problems indicated here in the formation of the international community of the Soviet peoples in unity.

Not all important issues were covered in the book in sufficient detail. Thus, such topics as the social consequences of the scientific and technological revolution, its direct impact on industrial relations, and the spiritual world of people required more detailed disclosure. The influence of the concentration of production on the convergence of the two forms of socialist ownership and on the growing social and class unity of the Soviet people is briefly considered. The book contains practically no materials describing fundamental changes in the material culture of the peoples of the USSR, in the family and household sphere. A critical analysis of bourgeois falsifications of the social and class structure of Soviet society and national relations in the USSR would be highly desirable.

The vagueness of some conclusions is noteworthy. On the one hand, the authors, as mentioned above, associate with the end of the 1930s the formation of a new historical community of people in the USSR, on the other hand, they attribute to this time only the completion of the first stage in its formation (p.100). The semantic discrepancy between these provisions is obvious. The authors write that in the pre-war period "the term' people 'in its scope practically began to coincide with the concept of 'working masses' (p.97). It is well known that V. I. Lenin also found such a coincidence in an exploitative society, where the people (as opposed to the parasitic, exploitative part of society) are represented by "the mass, i.e., the entire totality of the working and exploited"4 . Under socialism, where there are no exploiting classes and society consists only of working people, the concepts of "people" and "society" become identical, which is impossible in an antagonistic system.

Due to the fact that the book sums up a well-known result of studying the problem, it is important to find ways to further deepen its scientific development. In this regard, the primary tasks are: to study the stages of formation and development of the Soviet people as a community (there are various points of view in the literature), and the question of the time of maturation of both socio-economic, cultural, ideological, and spiritual conditions of its formation deserves special attention; to study the process of transformation of public consciousness, formation and consolidation in it all-Soviet, international features; elucidation of the historical prospects for the development of communities of the "Soviet people" type, their relationship with the broader and qualitatively new community that is being formed in our time, covering the entire socialist system; involvement in the circulation of new types of sources (ethnographic, socio-statistical, folklore, etc.), which make it possible to enrich the analysis of a number of problems, especially such issues as the design and improvement of the spiritual image of the Soviet people, the mutual enrichment of national cultures, etc. There is a need to engage in a reasoned critique of bourgeois historiography on the problem of the formation and development of the Soviet people. The combination of comprehensive generalizing research with in-depth development of individual questions of the topic will undoubtedly benefit, which will help to clarify the already acquired knowledge and gain new ones.

4 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 41, p. 187.

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