Russian psychology at the turn of the 21st century and post-Soviet reforms in the humanities disciplines.

Abstract

The author traces the changes in Russian psychology in the past 25 years and links these changes to the earlier Russian legacy of Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) and Aleksei N. Leontiev (1903-1979). The move into the 21st century coincided for Russian psychology as well as for the Russian society at large with the reforms of perestroika, leading to greater openness in the academic sphere. In particular, Russian psychology was able to connect in a more free and fundamental way with its own heritage and with various developments around the world. The author discusses how these factors affected continuity and innovation with regard to the 2 dominant theoretical perspectives in Russian psychology--the cultural-historical theory of Vygotsky and the theory of activity, initially developed by Leontiev. The author argues that while there are now original and substantial shifts within Russian psychology--namely toward the new paradigm characterized by various researchers as "organic psychology," "nonclassical psychology," or even "post-non-classical" psychology--the issues of agency and meaning, which were central for the previous generation of Russian psychologists, such as Vygotsky, Leontiev, Luria, Zaporozhets, Rubinstein, and others, continue to inform the development of the discipline in the 21st century.