LTSovietinės Lietuvos visuomenė susidėjo iš daugelio kartais vienos kitas papildančių, kartais prieštaraujančių bendruomenių. Dalis buvo archetipų, pirmiausiai – kovotojo, dalis – instinktų, pirmiausiai – gero gyvenimo siekimo – valdžioje. Visi gyveno pagal savo pasaulio ir visuomenės sampratas. Kovotojai kovojo, menininkai kūrė, vagys vogė, kombinatoriai kombinavo. Kaip rašė Milanas Kundera, „ištikimybė komunizmui neturėjo nieko bendro su Marksu ir jo teorijomis. Epocha suteikė galimybę žmonėms realizuoti įvairiausius savo psichologinius poreikius; kai šie poreikiai tapo nereikalingi, žmonės jų atsisakė, netgi to nepastebėję“. [Leidėjo anotacija]
ENThe book formulates the theoretical framework of the archetypal history of mentalities and provides some examples of their practical application. The first chapter examines the main concepts and assumptions applicable in this field of research, as well as the distinction between the so-called objective and archetypal history. The second chapter focuses on the peculiarities of the emergence and dissemination of Marxist mentalities in Russia. It analyses the peculiarities of the Russian mentality in the process of the emergence, creation, and collapse of socialism, as well as the psychological reasons for the emergence and popularity of Putinism in certain levels of society. The third chapter analyses the peculiarities of the dissemination of Marxist ideas and the Marxist worldview in Lithuania. It distinguishes the main imagined communities during the Soviet era, analysing the peculiarities of their mentalities, as well as the specifics of their change. The Annex provides interviews with people who lived in the Soviet Union. Their memories, on the one hand, illustrate and complement the issues examined in Chapter 3, while, on the other hand, they can serve as material for other researchers and other interpretations of the Soviet era. [From the publication]