The Implicit Social Contract in Soviet Higher Education and Its Transformation in the 1990s

Abstract

The article presents a theoretical analysis and characterizes the parameters of the implicit social contract between society and the intelligentsia during the latter part of the Soviet period. The specificity of this type of implicit social contract is demonstrated, particularly regarding the potential benefits and existing limitations in pursuing higher education and realizing the life ambitions of the Soviet intelligentsia. The archetypes and behavioral strategies of individuals during the Soviet era are examined, both in terms of socially accepted and deviant conduct. The institutional elements that shape the experiences of individuals with higher education during the Soviet period are described, specifically the influence of officially proclaimed morality, ethical norms, and coercive mechanisms as value systems. The issue of the overproduction of individuals with higher education is highlighted, which resulted in the devaluation of its significance and a decline in social status for the technical intelligentsia during the Soviet period. The problems surrounding the quality of primary and higher education in the USSR are discussed, and the factors contributing to its crisis in the late USSR are identified. The transformation of values in the post-Soviet period is examined, and some consequences stemming from this transformation are explored.