The myth of Leviathan: A new interpretation by a British historian. Reflections on Mark Harrison’s Secret Leviathan: Secrecy and State Capacity under Soviet Communism

Russia's stricter information policy since February 2022 and the reduction of various statistical data publications have raised many questions about the legitimacy, necessity, and efficacy of these actions.British economic historian Mark Harrison considers that the modern Russian information policy has taken the Soviet traditions of secrecy.From his point of view, the Bolshevik elite aimed to retain power through mass concealment of the Soviet reality and the propagation of misleading information.Opposite to Harrison's view, this article identifies the military factor to be the primary reason for secrecy.Secrecy itself is used as a means of ensuring military security and preserving the internal stability of the state.My analysis has shown that secrecy was one of the features common to the countries involved in World War II and the subsequent Cold War.The extended period of military mobilization distinguished the USSR from other countries, which, surely, reflected in a high level of secrecy.This article identifies three periods in the USSR's information policy, which are distinguished by the level of military threat and government spending on defense.The conclusion states that the issue of secrecy in the USSR is insufficiently examined, and justifies the necessity to pursue a more meaningful modern information policy, taking into account the historical experience.