ABSTRACT
A historical, interpretive approach to Soviet moral culture should distinguish several interrelated yet analytically separate levels of morality. Official pronouncements on Soviet moral culture were always internally contradictory, and, as in every orthodoxy, the changing interpretations of the dogma were more important than the dogma itself. The moral system generated by communist ideologies is rather unique in that it seeks to dispense with both key elements of traditional morality. After Stalin's death, Soviet society grew more socially, politically, and culturally heterogeneous. This is when conflicting interpretations of communist morality emerged. Changes in the former Soviet Union have been fast and dramatic, permeating all spheres of social and private life. Age difference is a major factor in predicting an individual's response to the economic, political, and moral upheavals in postcommunist Russia. Traditionalism is usually presented as a renaissance of spirituality, of universal values and national traditions distorted or suppressed by the communist regime.
