The Naked Pravda Pulitzer-winner Benjamin Nathans on the Soviet dissident movement’s ‘many lives’
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Jun 23, 2025 Benjamin Nathans, a historian and author at the University of Pennsylvania, dives deep into the Soviet dissident movement in this engaging discussion. He connects the aspirations of post-Stalin Russia with present-day resistance against authoritarianism. Nathans explores historical parallels between past and current political challenges, the evolution of Soviet justice, and highlights the key contributions of figures like Alexander Volpin. His insights reveal how the fight for human rights shifted from revolutionary dreaming to legalistic strategies, resonating profoundly in today's global context.
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Evolution of Soviet Legal System
- The Soviet legal system was unstable in the 1960s, struggling between professional law and Stalin-era politicization.
- The concept of "socialist legality" aimed to formalize law unlike revolutionary or bourgeois legality.
Volpin's Mathematical Legalism
- Alexander Volpin, a math prodigy, linked his mathematical interest in truth to Soviet law as an ideal language.
- His legalistic strategy sought governmental adherence to Soviet laws to reduce arbitrariness and repression.
Limitations of Legalistic Opposition
- The rule of law alone can't sustain opposition movements; political agendas are necessary.
- Authoritarian regimes today manipulate legal systems more effectively than the Soviet Union did, limiting legalistic strategies.