It Was Forever, Until It Ended

Alexei Yurchak's book examines everyday life, language, and ideology in the final two decades of the Soviet Union, challenging traditional views of late socialism as stagnant or cynical.

Through analysis of public speech, rituals, and subcultures like the Leningrad underground, it reveals how Soviet citizens inhabited a 'hypernormalized' world where official discourse detached from reality, leading to the regime's sudden collapse.

The work draws on fieldwork and archival sources to illuminate the paradoxes of Soviet subjectivity.