The Rites of Rulers: Ritual in Industrial Society--The Soviet Case.

List of illustrations Acknowledgements and abbreviations Introduction Part I. The Theory and Organisation of Ritual: 1. Ritual and related concepts 2. Ritual in Soviet society: a theoretical analysis 3. The beliefs and ritual of Soviet Marxism-Leninism as political religion 4. The organisation of Soviet ritual Part II. The Nature of Soviet Socialist Rituals: 5. Familial life-cycle ritual 6. Rituals of initiation into social or political collectives 7. Labour ritual 8. Holidays of the calendric cycle and their ritual 9. Ritual of the military-patriotic tradition 10. The mass political holidays of the revolutionary tradition: a historical review, 1918-1978 Part III. Selected Theoretical Issues in Soviet Ritual: 11. Analysis of Soviet ritual symbolism 12. Syncretism in Soviet symbolism 13. The impact of Soviet socialist ritual 14. Conclusion: ritual in modern society - a comparative analysis Appendices Bibliography Index.