ABSTRACT
Whereas many observers o f the former Soviet Union share the view that attitudes rooted in the Soviet and Tsarist past constitute an important obstacle to social and economic progress, hardly any systematic analysis has been made o f what can be characterised as the Stalinist socio-psychological syndrome.1 Here it is suggested that Stalinist rule, and more broadly, the communist and tsarist past, has produced a system of values, norms and behavioural patterns that is quite persistent and that is able to replicate itself. The syndrome is labelled 'Stalinist' as the syndrome was perfected under Stalin and can be best explained with regard to the Stalinist socio-economic system. Some of its traits have been preserved since then, even when the party-state on which this system was built had collapsed.
