Linguistics in the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union actively tried to incorporate Marxist ideals into the study of linguistics.

Linguists had important positions in the early Soviet state, as they were needed to develop alphabets for languages that previously had never been written.

[1] The leading linguist of the early Soviet era was Nicholas Marr, known for his Japhetic theory.

Politically, World War II caused a rise in nationalism, which Japhetic theory argued against.

These linguists, who were all staunch proponents of the Nostratic theory, included Vladislav Illich-Svitych, Aharon Dolgopolsky, and Sergei Starostin.