Book Examines Esoteric Belief Systems in Late Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

Joseph Kellner's 2025 publication 'The Spirit of Socialism: Culture and Belief at the Soviet Collapse' analyzes the emergence of alternative spiritual movements during the USSR's dissolution. The cultural history work investigates what the author calls the 'seeking phenomenon'—widespread quests for meaning among Soviet citizens before and after the state's collapse in 1991. Kellner, a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union, examines four specific esoteric communities that gained prominence in the 1990s: astrology, the Hare Krishna movement, the apocalyptic Vissarion sect, and Anatoly Fomenko's New Chronology historical revisionism. The book traces these movements' origins to Soviet-era institutions and practices, particularly hobbyist circles known as kruzhki that operated in semi-official spaces during the 1960s-1970s. Kellner argues that disillusionment among the technical intelligentsia during the Brezhnev stagnation period provided initial impetus for these searches, which expanded dramatically during Perestroika and the economic hardships of the 1990s. Methodologically, the work combines historical analysis with anthropological approaches, including interviews with community leaders and ordinary followers. Key Soviet institutions discussed include The Knowledge Society (established 1947) and its magazine Science and Religion (founded 1959), which initially promoted scientific atheism but later accommodated esoteric content. The book identifies three forms of disorientation characterizing the collapse period: erosion of epistemological authority, uncertainty about Russia's cultural identity, and confusion about historical time. While focused on belief systems, the research provides context for understanding artistic practices influenced by spirituality in late-Soviet and post-Soviet periods, referencing recent exhibitions at Moscow's Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. The analysis suggests these movements represent attempts to navigate profound cultural dislocation following the Soviet Union's dissolution.