The Soviet Union experienced its revival of the notion of personality (lichnost’) in Soviet academic discourse in the 1960s. Due to the fact that all these changes were embedded within the Soviet discourse of the scientific-technological revolution, this article takes a closer look at the specific twist the context might have given to the idea of the ‘all-round developed personality.’ The Soviet concept of the person is torn between an ardent faith in the creative individuality of the ‘new man’ and a deep mistrust of man’s ability to rise up to this expectation, let alone by autonomous initiative. Therefore Zwahlen argues that the Soviet concept of personality lacked neither concepts of individuality nor creativity, but rather a concept of ‘moral autonomy’ of the type associated with Kantian philosophy. Moreover, the lack of a concept of moral autonomy can be observed not only in the Soviet, but also in the Russian notion of personality in general. The article concludes with brief reflection on some consequences of this diagnosis for Russian contexts today.