perhaps the largest contemporary writer. Subsequent works were perceived as weaker compared to the "infinite rage" of the "Yawning Heights" or the "directness" of the "Bright Future". Emigrant criticism, positively assessing the first two books, later ignored his works, not least because of the satire on dissidents. Zinoviev gained the greatest popularity in France, where the "Yawning Heights" temporarily destroyed the image of the Soviet Union, created by Solzhenitsyn's book "The Gulag Archipelago". In contrast to the generally accepted Western ideas about the "evil empire", shared by Solzhenitsyn and the third wave of immigrants, Zinoviev gave the Soviet system a kind of existential value. In the émigré environment, the opinion that the understanding of the Soviet Union by Zinoviev should be taken seriously was quite common. Estimates of Zinoviev as sociologist in the West are ambiguous. His works were considered as the first attempt of the Soviet philosopher to propose a critique of Soviet institutions independent of official dogma and a holistic concept of the Soviet system, presented in its original form. In the 1980s, his books attracted the attention of a number of historians and social scientists, changing their perception of Soviet society, and "lured" some Slavists. Sovietologists perceived "Communism as a Reality" with respect, but criticized some of the key statements. Outside of Sovietology, the ideas of Zinoviev influenced the political researchers of Ronald of Tyr, and especially of Jon Elster, who believed that the Ibanian model of "ineffectiveness" allows one to comprehend political irrationality. Interest in Zinoviev expressed in the collective collection "Alexander Zinoviev: a Writer and Thinker" (1988). In 1992, Michael Kirkwood's monograph "Alexander Zinoviev: An Introduction to His Work" was published. In general, the impact of Zinoviev on Sovietology was insignificant. The Western establishment was indifferent to Zinoviev, his works were considered as a subject of study, and not as part of intellectual dialogue. According to Konstantin Krylov, numerous European awards and titles of "honorary citizen of Orange and Ravenna" represented rather "tinsel". Outside of France and Italy, especially in English-speaking countries, the perception of Zinoviev's ideas as a social theorist was much cooler. Commentators Philip Hanson and Michael Kirkwood noted that the format of the interview, in which Zinoviev usually spoke, simplified and exaggerated his ideas, exacerbating the negative attitude in the English-speaking world. Zinoviev's harsh public statements even before perestroika contributed to his "semi-quarantine" in the academic environment. Oleg Kharkhordin summarized the reasons