Igor Kon, Silence Breaker

“He took on the task of teaching the people and the country to speak and think about their social and psychological problems. First of all, he gave names to social phenomena that worried everyone, and thus created the opportunity to discuss them. After all, what is not named, it is impossible to discuss. For example, recently there has been renewed active talk about the fact that Russian citizens are gaining self-respect. But for the first time this word came into use thanks to Igor Kon’s book «The Sociology of Personality» in 1967. I think that this helped a huge number of people to realize their dignity! Or «conformity». Life was full of them, people adapted, they didn’t say what they think … And so Cohn wrote about the famous American studies of conformity — and it became possible not only to condemn this phenomenon, but also to discuss it, think about its psychological mechanisms, look for ways to resist social pressure.

He pulled out to the surface of consciousness that which had previously been nameless somewhere in the depths. And of course, Kon is the ideologist of the Russian sexual revolution. Today it is difficult to imagine how hushed up everything that concerned the floor. And when 14 pages about sex appeared in the Soviet Pedagogy magazine under the modest title Sexual Morality in the Light of Sociology, it was like a bomb blast. Many, by the way, were surprised: why does a serious person do “this”? Publishing on sexuality during the Soviet era was more difficult for Cohn than on any other topic. He understood that in a totalitarian country this is one of the most guarded and protected secrets. And to remove the secrecy stamp from it meant to take a step towards freedom. Igor Kon is one of those who shaped our current consciousness and understanding of the world. We will be grateful to him for that.»

See also: Igor Kon’s latest video interview for PSYCHOLOGIES