Aleksandr Zinovyev

Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev (1922–2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist. Born into a poor peasant family, he participated in World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was a symbol of philosophical revival in the Soviet Union. After the Western publication of his satirical novel "Yawning Heights," he was expelled from the USSR in 1978 and lost his citizenship, later returning in 1999. His extensive work, spanning approximately 40 books, covered sociology, social philosophy, mathematical logic, ethics, and political thought. He is characterized as an independent and original thinker, often controversial, in Russian social thought. Zinoviev was critical of the Soviet system, Russian political system, the Western world, and globalization. His worldview was marked by pessimism and tragedy. His non-conformist views earned him criticism in both the West and Russia.