Abstract: The paper investigates the genesis and development of linguistic sovietology. The analysis of researches carried out in the USA and the UK delineates three stages in the evolution of this trend. The first stage is bounded by the time interval stretching from the October Revolution to World War II. The peculiarities of this stage are linked to a simultaneous formation of political communication research against the background of popularity of left ideology in the USA and the UK. The next stage covers the years of the Cold War, when ideological struggle was especially tensed. Finally, the article surveys the period embracing perestroika and the break-up of the Soviet Union