177 Facts About Alexander Zinoviev

Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist.

The creative heritage of Alexander Zinoviev includes about 40 books, covering a number of areas of knowledge: sociology, social philosophy, mathematical logic, ethics, political thought.

Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev was born in the village of Pakhtino in the Chukhlomsky District of Kostroma Province in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

The ancestors of Alexander Zinoviev, first mentioned in mid-18th-century documents, were state peasants.

Alexander Zinoviev's father spent most of his time working in Moscow while living in the countryside.

Alexander Zinoviev provided his children with art supplies, illustrated magazines, and books.

Alexander Zinoviev's mother came from a wealthy family who owned property in Saint Petersburg.

Biographers highlight the role of the mother in shaping Alexander's personality: Zinoviev recalled with love and respect her worldly wisdom and religious convictions, which determined the rules of behavior in the house.

Alexander Zinoviev's father was a non-believer; his mother, although a believer, was indifferent to Church rites.

From childhood, Alexander Zinoviev became a staunch atheist, looking all his life upon Orthodoxy, the church and its clergy with disgust.

Alexander Zinoviev considered atheism the only scientific component of Soviet Marxism.

Alexander Zinoviev lived with relatives in a 10-meter basement room on Bolshaya Spasskaya Street.

Alexander Zinoviev studied successfully; he liked mathematics and literature most of all.

Alexander Zinoviev read a lot additionally, was a frequenter of libraries; he read classics, both domestic and foreign.

Alexander Zinoviev began to consciously cultivate this position of extreme individualism, although later he always denied it, calling himself "the ideal collectivist".

Alexander Zinoviev chose the third way, concluding that evil is inevitably inherent in the social world, and that this world is essentially evil.

Together with his teacher, Alexander Zinoviev began to study the works of Marx and Engels, and was fascinated by dialectics.

Alexander Zinoviev was almost without funds, the meager scholarship was not enough, his father stopped helping him.

In search of an answer to the question of why the bright ideals of communism proclaimed were at variance with reality, Alexander Zinoviev thought about the figure of Stalin: "The Father of Nations" became the cause of the perversion of communist ideals.

In Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History, at the next Komsomol meeting at the end of 1939, Alexander Zinoviev emotionally spoke about the troubles and injustices that took place in the village, and openly criticized the personality cult of Stalin.

Alexander Zinoviev was sent for a psychiatric examination, and then expelled from the Komsomol and Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History.

Alexander Zinoviev recalled that the investigators were confident that someone had inspired his views to him, so they planned to let him go to reveal the entire anti-Soviet group.

When transferred to one of the apartments of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, Alexander Zinoviev managed to escape.

Alexander Zinoviev hid in different places: he left for Pakhtino for a while, then he wandered, and later returned to Moscow.

Subsequently, Alexander Zinoviev often returned to this story, including in his memoirs "The Confession of the Outcast", calling that year the "year of horror".

Alexander Zinoviev spent most of the war at the Ulyanovsk Aviation School.

At the aviation school, Alexander Zinoviev spent almost three years, mostly in reserve.

Alexander Zinoviev graduated from the aviation school at the end of 1944 and received the title of "junior lieutenant".

Alexander Zinoviev fought in the 2nd Guards Ground Attack Aviation Corps, the first combat flight on the IL-2 took place in March 1945 during the capture of Glogau.

Alexander Zinoviev recalled that the flights were enjoyable: I liked to feel like the owner of a combat vehicle, drop bombs, shoot cannons and machine guns; the fear of perishing was relieved by the realization that "this is only once".

Alexander Zinoviev was frustrated by the senselessness of military service, and repeatedly tried to quit, but failed.

Alexander Zinoviev managed to recover at the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University, with which the Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History was united.

Alexander Zinoviev originally did not plan a philosophical career, he thought of becoming a writer.

Reviews of the reviewers were negative, and Alexander Zinoviev destroyed the manuscript on the advice of Simonov.

Alexander Zinoviev studied mostly "excellently", mastering Marxist texts was not a big deal; he studied Kant, Marx and Hegel before the war.

The exception was the historian of philosophy, Valentin Asmus, with whom Alexander Zinoviev had a warm relationship all his life.

The closest friend of the not too sentimental Alexander Zinoviev was Karl Kantor.

Alexander Zinoviev despised Lenin's work "Materialism and Empirio-Criticism", he called it "Mtsizm-Mtsizm".

In everyday life, Alexander Zinoviev did not hide the anti-Stalinist views, openly and consistently condemning, for example, the antisemitic campaign.

In future society, Alexander Zinoviev did not see a place for himself, because he did not consider himself to be in any class and believed that he had survived by a miracle.

In Capital, Alexander Zinoviev was interested in the logical structure, rather than the economic or political description of capitalism, the dissertation considered the logical techniques used by Marx.

The peripetias of those events Alexander Zinoviev grotesque described in the novel "On the Eve of Paradise".

In 1951, Alexander Zinoviev married, in 1954, his daughter Tamara was born, a year later, the couple received a small room in a communal flat.

Alexander Zinoviev gradually lost interest in the logical circle, where Shchedrovitsky moved to the role of leader.

Alexander Zinoviev had his own ambitions, he was not satisfied with the "collective farm" and "party" model circle.

Alexander Zinoviev was actively involved in scientific work, but the first articles were rejected at sector meetings, which, according to Pavel Fokin, was an echo of the story of Ilyenkov, who was then persecuted.

For fifteen years Alexander Zinoviev published a number of monographs and many articles on non-classical logic.

Academic career developed rapidly: in 1960, Alexander Zinoviev became a senior researcher, in November 1962, by unanimous decision of the Academic Council of the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, received a doctorate for his study "The logic of statements and the theory of inference".

Alexander Zinoviev was engaged in logic not just as a scientific discipline, but reconsidered its foundations as part of the creation of a new field of intellectual activity.

At Moscow State University, Alexander Zinoviev formed a group of followers from domestic and foreign students and graduate students.

Listeners recalled that Alexander Zinoviev was impressive with his erudition, his classes were not "lectures on paper", but improvisations on a given topic, offering a systematic vision of the problem, a dynamic creative search.

Alexander Zinoviev did not finish speaking to the point of practically no phrases.

Alexander Zinoviev's thought rushed with such speed that the words could not keep up.

Olga Mironovna became his faithful ally for life; Alexander Zinoviev often spoke of her invaluable help and support.

In 1967, Alexander Zinoviev was not released to the international congress on logic in Amsterdam, although he was included in the official composition of the Soviet delegation.

Later, Alexander Zinoviev remarked: "The improvement of living conditions played a huge role in the growth of opposition and rebellious attitudes in the country".

In scientific and teaching activities, Alexander Zinoviev openly ignored the official ideology, in the late 1960s his position in the scientific community deteriorated.

The scientist was in conflict with representatives of the "liberal" wing of the Soviet intelligentsia, and, as biographers believe, their attitude towards Alexander Zinoviev was worse than that of the orthodox communists.

Alexander Zinoviev openly made friends with the well-known dissident Alexander Esenin-Volpin, inviting him to seminars on logic, and with Ernst Neizvestny, who he often visited.

Alexander Zinoviev was proud of this fact, Finnish logic had a high scientific authority.

Alexander Zinoviev wrote cleanly, the wife played the role of proofreader and editor.

Alexander Zinoviev did not count on a quick publication, for various reasons all Russian-language publishing houses rejected the manuscript.

Shortly before publication after another refusal of a trip abroad in June 1976, Alexander Zinoviev went into open conflict with the authorities.

Alexander Zinoviev invited Western journalists to his home and made a protest statement, and then turned in a party card at the Institute of Philosophy.

In early 1977, by decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Alexander Zinoviev was deprived of all state awards, including military, and academic degrees.

Alexander Zinoviev was even expelled from the Philosophical Society, of which he was not a member.

Alexander Zinoviev was left without a livelihood, he sold books and albums from his home collection, illegally edited scientific texts, and sometimes well-wishers helped financially, for example, Pyotr Kapitsa.

Alexander Zinoviev received invitations from universities in Europe and the United States, in particular, from the president of the University of Munich philosopher Nikolaus Lobkowitz, who knew his logical works.

Alexander Zinoviev was supported by the Austrian Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and the German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who touched upon his fate at a meeting with Leonid Brezhnev.

At the first press conference in Munich, which attracted a lot of attention from the press, Alexander Zinoviev said that he did not feel that he was a "victim of the regime", but considered the regime to be his victim.

Alexander Zinoviev distanced himself from the human rights and dissident movement and critically assessed the possibilities of democratization in the Soviet Union.

Alexander Zinoviev briefly taught logic at the University of Munich; his presence as a lecturer being rather political in nature.

Alexander Zinoviev was almost the main newsmaker of Russian emigration.

Publications of his books in different countries were published quarterly, Alexander Zinoviev participated in presentations, attended various congresses and symposia, where he gave reports, participated in conversations, gave interviews.

Alexander Zinoviev was invited to television to comment on any event in Russia, any sneeze, not to mention the death of the general secretaries.

Alexander Zinoviev defended his understanding of the Soviet system, wrote a lot about the relationship between capitalism and communism, the West and the East.

Alexander Zinoviev criticized the West for underestimating the communist threat due to a lack of understanding of the nature of Soviet society.

The West assessed the Soviet system through its own criteria Alexander Zinoviev argued that Western democracy and communism are completely different.

Alexander Zinoviev denied the role of the personal qualities of the Soviet leaders, considering them "social symbols", and urged the West not to listen to their promises.

Alexander Zinoviev tried to avoid the emigrant community, close relations were formed only with Vladimir Maximov; European intellectuals were friends with Friedrich Durrenmatt.

The language barrier was a problem - Alexander Zinoviev mastered professional vocabulary, but on the whole, he did not know German well, spoke mainly in English.

Alexander Zinoviev took Perestroika in a sharply negative way, calling it "Catastroika".

In 1987 and 1989, Alexander Zinoviev visited Chile twice; during his second trip, he was accepted by Augusto Pinochet.

Alexander Zinoviev conducted a lecture tour of the United States, and a series of successful creative evenings in Israel.

Alexander Zinoviev criticized Yeltsin's desire to "speed up" the restructuring, said he saw the character of his books in him, and called his promises about the abolition of privileges demagogic and unfulfilled.

Pavel Fokin noted that in his assessments Alexander Zinoviev hyperbolized Gorbachev's political role in the Soviet Union, without noticing Yeltsin's figure.

On July 1,1990, by decree of the President of the Soviet Union, Alexander Zinoviev was restored to Soviet citizenship, to which he reacted without enthusiasm, explaining that publishing his books was important for him.

Alexander Zinoviev had to explain that his words expressed the position of a scientist, not a politician.

Alexander Zinoviev believed that he was "boycotted" in Russia, as, incidentally, in the West, where he managed to publish with difficulty.

Alexander Zinoviev represented the "Global Humant Hill" in Moscow, and held a series of meetings with Sergey Baburin, Nikolai Ryzhkov and Gennady Zyuganov.

Alexander Zinoviev called for a vote for the Communist leader in the 1996 presidential election, considering the Communist Party of the Russian Federation one of the few positive political forces in the country, although his position was more radical than that of the parliamentary Communist opposition.

On June 30,1999, the Alexander Zinoviev family returned to Moscow.

Alexander Zinoviev believed that the war in the Balkans was being waged against Europe, which meant its degradation and marked the arrival of a new, post-democratic and post-communist totalitarianism.

Alexander Zinoviev stated that returning to Russia, he remains committed to genuine European values.

Alexander Zinoviev spoke positively about Vladimir Putin, pinned great hopes on him, considering his coming to power as the country's first chance after 1985 to break the deadlock and to resist Westernization and colonization.

In 2002, he wrote that Putin, having popular support, did not use the historical chance, refusing to revise the results of privatization and nationalize finance and energy; Alexander Zinoviev concluded that Putin's historical role was to legitimize the consequences of the Yeltsin coup.

At the suggestion of the rector of the Moscow University for the Humanities Igor Ilyinsky, the Alexander Zinoviev School was organized, where he taught a course of logical sociology, published on the Internet and published as a guide.

In recent years, Alexander Zinoviev was convinced that he was defending the side of the losers, and that Russia was doomed.

Alexander Zinoviev never joined any movement, although nationalists tried to draw him into their ranks.

Alexander Zinoviev kept radical rhetoric, giving account of the indifference and opportunism of the majority of the population; and attached importance to any protest and resistance, speaking, for example, in support of Eduard Limonov.

Alexander Zinoviev was carried away by the anti-scientific theory of Anatoly Fomenko, and wrote a preface to his book.

Alexander Zinoviev wanted to be heard, and sought to use any tribune and audience, any means and allies, including Fomenko's "crazy theory".

Alexander Zinoviev knew: no one is around, he did not hope for anything.

Alexander Zinoviev died on May 10,2006, from a brain tumor.

Posthumously, Alexander Zinoviev was awarded the title "Honorary Citizen of the Kostroma Region".

In 2009, a monument to Alexander Zinoviev was erected in Kostroma, on the territory of Nikolai Nekrasov Kostroma State University.

In 1959, Alexander Zinoviev considered his concept contradictory, making a choice in favor of mathematical logic.

The problem of logic, according to Alexander Zinoviev, was not in formal mathematical calculus, but in the development of "methods of reasoning, proof, methods of scientific knowledge".

Alexander Zinoviev tried, firstly, to overcome the classical and intuitionistic versions of logic and, secondly, to expand the field of logic research based on the methodology of empirical sciences.

Alexander Zinoviev insisted on the universality of logic, claiming the independence of logical rules from the empirical areas of their application.

Alexander Zinoviev denied ontological status to such concepts as a point or zero, considering them tools of knowledge; his approach in Western literature was characterized as logical nominalism.

Alexander Zinoviev investigated a number of questions of non-classical logic, from the general theory of signs to a logical analysis of motion, causality, space and time.

In "The Philosophical Problems of Multivalued Logic", multivalued logic was viewed as a generalization, not an abolition of classical two-valued logic, although Alexander Zinoviev concluded that the emergence of multivalued logic "dealt a blow" to the a priori classical logic.

Later, Alexander Zinoviev developed a general theory of succession, which was significantly different from classical and intuitionistic mathematical logic.

Alexander Zinoviev, proceeding from the thesis about the universality of logic, criticized the point of view that a special or quantum logic is necessary for the microworld, different from the methodological formalism of the macroworld.

Alexander Zinoviev's books showed the absurdity of the world of "real socialism", and described the state of minds of the Soviet intelligentsia of the late "stagnation" period: the characters constantly theorize, compare Soviet ideological myths and reality, try to get to the bottom of it and understand the nature of Soviet society.

Alexander Zinoviev's books combined science and literature: methods, concepts, scientific statements were artistic techniques, and literary images were used as scientific tools.

Alexander Zinoviev's books were not limited to the conventional paradigm, but covered a wide range of literary, historical, political, sociological, aesthetic, moral, and religious issues.

Alexander Zinoviev exposed and deconstructed the official language of Soviet slogans, a literate and normatively unified language, but filled with ideologemes and abstractions, creating illusory equality that deprived the individual of his freedom of choice.

The protest "anti-language" of Alexander Zinoviev resembles the folk Russian folklore, reflects the language of various social groups, primarily the intelligentsia, as well as the military, students, members of the party, members of informal communities.

Alexander Zinoviev used pleonasms, puns, slang and obscene vocabulary, introduced neologisms: scientific words, portmanteau words, abbreviations.

The rage of the Alexander Zinoviev language is aimed at a breakthrough to truth through lies and the hypocrisy of the established rules, by analogy with the miracle of "getting rid of the trouble" in a folk tale.

Alexander Zinoviev developed a theory of society based on his own research in the field of logic and the methodology of science, later calling his theory "logical sociology".

Alexander Zinoviev often argued that logic interested him as a tool for studying society.

The key philosophical device of Alexander Zinoviev was a detailed logical analysis of the specific content extracted from the original abstract premise.

The Alexander Zinoviev method allowed to deconstruct practically any general statements and was used in them primarily for the destruction of ideology, initially in the analysis of Soviet society, then the post-Soviet and Western ones.

Alexander Zinoviev considered the question of the primacy of society or the individual to be naive and outdated; in the modern world, man is a derivative of the social position, a set of social functions.

Alexander Zinoviev adhered to the essence of the traditional model of power as a necessary evil, but, noted Konstantin Krylov, in an extremely original way reduced two elements of this definition, emphasizing their difference.

Rats, according to Alexander Zinoviev, would have created a concentration camp.

Alexander Zinoviev considers the communist power in two planes: horizontal and vertical, the second is layered on the first.

The deep-seated processes Alexander Zinoviev considered the emergence and maturation of a new society: institutional and bureaucratic changes, the growth and complication of the system of power, the formation of social cells, etc.

Alexander Zinoviev emphasized the role of biological evolution in the emergence of human associations and showed the direction of social evolution towards the maximum separation of functions, by analogy with collective insects.

Alexander Zinoviev softened his attitude towards Soviet society and adjusted the estimates of the future.

The system of post-Soviet Russia Alexander Zinoviev considered as a secondary social creation.

Alexander Zinoviev did not consider the reforms of the 1990s the building of a market economy or Western democracy.

Alexander Zinoviev considered ideology to be a "virus" dangerous for society.

For early Alexander Zinoviev, sociology prevailed over history, he explored communism as a given, considering capitalism and communism in sync, as different structural variants of the existence of society.

Later, Alexander Zinoviev expanded his concept to the West: Communism and Westernism represent the varieties of the mass society of the 20th century, marking the end of human history.

The world is moving towards simplification; Evgeny Ponomarev believes that Alexander Zinoviev comes close to his views on the history of Konstantin Leontyev.

Alexander Zinoviev believed in the power of reason, as well as in the power of man, in the fact that the scientific understanding of society can change it.

In recent works, Alexander Zinoviev considered the communist utopia to be such an ideal.

Michael Kirkwood quoted Alexander Zinoviev as saying, believing that it explains the inconsistency of his thought:.

Alexander Zinoviev's ethics was a response to the social laws of existential egoism, in which there is neither morality nor freedom.

Ethics complements the pessimistic sociology, which, by its own admission, Alexander Zinoviev developed to create a "teaching about life" and find a place in society for himself as an "ideal communist".

Alexander Zinoviev often quoted phrase: "When people want to spit on the laws of gravity, they build airplanes".

The quintessence of Alexander Zinoviev's ethics is contained in the phrase: "I am a sovereign state"; he argued that he adhered to this principle all his life, even making his own constitution.

Alexander Zinoviev's ethics has the following features: simplicity and unconditionality, despite the fragility, weakness and complexity of its implementation; Responsibility, ethics are based on responsible individual judgment.

Five works by Alexander Zinoviev were published in the West, which was a unique case for Russian philosophical thought.

In general, the work of Alexander Zinoviev corresponded to the level of scientific achievements in the field of non-classical logic of the time, highly valued by such logicians as Kazimir Aydukevich, Jozef Bohensky, Georg von Wright, but did not attract much attention in the West.

Alexander Zinoviev gave priority to formal methods over formal calculi, which alienated his work from the main directions and trends of the logic and methodology of science of the second half of the 20th century.

Negatively, the fate of the logical heritage of Alexander Zinoviev was influenced by extra-scientific reasons: the collapse of his school after forced emigration, the ban in the Soviet Union of references to his work.

Alexander Zinoviev's prose was highly praised, for example, by Anthony Burgess and Eugene Ionesco, who considered Zinoviev to be perhaps the largest contemporary writer.

Alexander Zinoviev gained the greatest popularity in France, where the "Yawning Heights" temporarily destroyed the image of the Soviet Union, created by Solzhenitsyn's book "The Gulag Archipelago".

In contrast to the generally accepted Western ideas about the "evil empire", shared by Solzhenitsyn and the third wave of immigrants, Alexander Zinoviev gave the Soviet system a kind of existential value.

Alexander Zinoviev's works were considered as the first attempt of the Soviet philosopher to propose a critique of Soviet institutions independent of official dogma and a holistic concept of the Soviet system, presented in its original form.

Outside of Sovietology, the ideas of Alexander Zinoviev influenced the political researchers of Ronald of Tyr, and especially of Jon Elster, who believed that the Ibanian model of "ineffectiveness" allows one to comprehend political irrationality.

Commentators Philip Hanson and Michael Kirkwood noted that the format of the interview, in which Alexander Zinoviev usually spoke, simplified and exaggerated his ideas, exacerbating the negative attitude in the English-speaking world.

Alexander Zinoviev himself argued that Sovietologists were engaged because they pursued not scientific, but political goals: to find weaknesses, weaknesses and vulnerabilities in Communism in order to "kill the beast".

Alexander Zinoviev was the heir of 19th century scientism and Soviet scientism and was not familiar with the achievements of the classics of Western sociology.

Alexander Zinoviev was accused of apologizing for Stalin and justifying collectivization under the guise of objectivity.

Vladimir Berelovich concluded that the sociological concept of Alexander Zinoviev should be viewed not as a theory of Soviet society, but rather as a manifestation of the "mental universe" underlying the Soviet regime and its ideology.

Unlike Berdyaev and Solzhenitsyn, Alexander Zinoviev was guided by communism, rationality and society.

Alexander Zinoviev's post-communist opus, Hanson believes, simplifiedly generalized the non-Western world and exaggerated the invulnerability of the West; the commentator doubted that the Soviet Union was a super-society.

Alexander Zinoviev belonged to those Soviet philosophers who opposed dogma in science and humanitarian thought in the 1950s and 1960s, their heated debates influenced public attitudes, shaped the views and beliefs of the Soviet intelligentsia.

Alexander Zinoviev's books were written on the topic of the day, they reflected one or another public mindset, therefore in the 1980s their readers were "westerners", in the 1990s they were "soilers".

The difficulty of Alexander Zinoviev's language was not noticed by readers of samizdat; more important was the fact of reading forbidden literature; only later did complex style contribute to the disappearance of interest.

Later works by Alexander Zinoviev influenced, in particular, the sociologist Andrei Fursov and the political philosopher Vadim Tsymbursky.

In 2016, in the series "The Life of Wonderful People", a biography of Alexander Zinoviev was written by literary historian Pavel Fokin.

Alexander Zinoviev is considered as an independent Russian thinker, who combined philosophy, logic, sociology, ethics, literature in a holistic worldview.

The figure of Alexander Zinoviev is tragic, he was distinguished by pessimism and, probably, an extremely "tragic view of history".

However, Alexander Zinoviev was not an apologist for real communism and did not at all consider him an ideal.

Therefore, Mezhuev concludes, it is difficult for Alexander Zinoviev to compare with someone, to understand to whom he inherited, including in Russian thought.

Therefore, Alexander Zinoviev, according to Fursov, was at the forefront of world social thought; "Alexander Zinoviev's system" offers a promising answer to the question of the possibility of social knowledge that overcomes the limited views of the ruling and oppressed groups.

Only in 1989 did Alexander Zinoviev take up the position of archiconservatism, subsequently making every effort so that his early views would be forgotten.

Alexander Zinoviev was characterized by Dmitry Bykov as a person with a "clinical complete lack of fear", a conflicting egocentric and nonconformist.

Alexander Zinoviev will take a place in history next to Chaadaev, Herzen, Chernyshevsky.

Alexander Zinoviev posed questions of their magnitude, suffered the same pain.