RUSSIAN SOCIOLOGY - THE 2ND COMING OF COMTE,AUGUST

Russian sociology, while significant before the 1917 revolution and in to the mid-1920s, was non-existent for a quarter of a century under St alin. His death and subsequent political liberalization under Krushche v allowed sociology to re-emerge under the protective wing of economic s. Curtailed by a ''period of stagnation'' during the Brezhnev reign, greater sociological freedom accompanied the Gorbachev glasnost period including access to Western sources and ideas previously ''forbidden. '' Totalitarian history and structure has conditioned Russian sociolog y; made it quite applied and wedded to social reform. Tatiana Zaslavsk aia provided leadership for sociological endeavors during former Sovie t years, and continues to do so. Her orientation and the reactions of her Novosibirsk State University colleagues to the ideas of various We stern social theorists provide some insight into the state of contempo rary Russian sociology.