The concept of "intelligentsia" has had a long life both as an actors' category and as a tool of historical analysis to understand the role of the educated elite in Russia and the Soviet Union. For a variety of reasons, this term has not achieved much prominence in exploring the assimilation of science and technology into Russian culture. This essay examines the term's convoluted historiography and makes a case for the utility of its revival--understanding "intelligentsia" not as a single concept or group but as a heterogeneous and evolving social institution. The entire volume is then introduced with these features in mind.
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Gordin et al. (2008) studied this question.