IDEAS ABOUT LEGAL PROGRESS IN SOVIET JURISPRUDENCE

The article examines the ideas of legal progress formed within the framework of Soviet legal science. From the point of view of the genesis of the idea of progressive legal development (progress) there are three main stages of the Soviet system: the first stage (1917 – mid-30s) is a period of ideological pluralism, the existence of different approaches to understanding the logic of legal development, and determining the prospects for the legal future of the country; the second stage (mid-30s – late 50s) is the era of ideological unity, the formation of the «general line of the party» in relation to the strategy of state and legal development of Soviet society, the creation of an integral system of law; the third stage (late 50s – 1991) is the period of legal liberalism, rethinking the social value of law, his role in the life of society, prospects for the legal development of the country. The author gives detailed characteristics of each of the selected periods, provides reviews of the main points of view, positions of Soviet jurists on the problem of legal development of society in this era.