Why did democracy fail in Russia, and why couldn't society establish control over the ruling elites? The articles by L. Gudkov, included in the book "Recurrent Totalitarianism," are united by the search for an answer to this fundamental question.

To identify the reasons preventing the country from breaking free from its totalitarian past, the author examines numerous factors shaping mass consciousness. Traditions of state violence, mass amorality (or the morality of adaptation), the reproduction of imperial and militaristic "historical consciousness," and impulses of counter-modernization are just a partial list of issues that fall within L. Gudkov's scope.

Relying on numerous research materials conducted by the Levada Center since the late 1980s, the author offers theoretical frameworks and analytical constructs that reflect the real socio-political situation. The articles that make up the book were written between 2009 and 2019 and reflect the dynamics of changes in Russian mass consciousness over the past decade.

"Recurrent Totalitarianism" is a natural continuation of the work begun by the author in the books "Negative Identity" (2004) and "Abortive Modernization" (2011). Lev Gudkov is a sociologist, Doctor of Philosophy, Scientific Director of the Levada Center*, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal "Public Opinion Herald."

*Included in the register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent.