The Rites of Rulers : Ritual in Industrial Society - the Soviet Case (Paperback)

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.