ABSTRACT
Sociology fought for legitimacy within the Soviet system from the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, seeking recognition and support within three distinct spheres the academic community, the population at large and the official world. Sociology had to demonstrate the necessity for a social science let alone a discipline in addition to historical materialism. Sociology had to emphasize that it was not an outgrowth of bourgeois sociology. The general ethos within which Soviet sociology operated can best be described as one of 'problem-solving'. Sociology was actively involved in politics and the political agenda of the communist party. Sociology became a tool of reform, a tool of liberalization, an instrument for changing political realities. The ideological orientation of the Soviet regime clearly produced a particular set of problems for the development of 'an independent sociology'. Russian sociology is a 'reliable handmaiden to desired social reform', as well as a handmaiden to 'enlightened' social reform.
