| Abstract: | We open this issue of The Soviet Review with a roundtable on the introduction of the "rule of law" in the USSR. Students of Russian history will recognize this discussion as one having century-old precedents; in this case, the topic was posed in the Theses of the CPSU Central Committee mandating the goal of "completing] the creation of a socialist law-governed state." As the participants freely acknowledge, it will require a "revolution of consciousness" for the idea to take hold that law is not a tool of the state, but rather, the state is subordinate to the law. Readers should pay particular attention to the discussants' views on the appropriate roles and relationships of state, party, and society, as well as their comments on rights and on the law. |
