The main object in the books of Zinoviev is the Soviet world as a historical phenomenon, the phenomenon of Sovietness, described through the forbidden topics in the Soviet Union, primarily the taboo problem of social inequality. Zinoviev touched on topics such as drinking, sex, the lives of people with disabilities; ideological language of the Soviet people; degerized history of the Soviet Union in terms of the experience of the inhabitant. Zinoviev's books showed the absurdity of the world of "real socialism", described the state of minds of the Soviet intelligentsia of the late "stagnation" period: the characters constantly theorize, compare Soviet ideological myths and reality, try to get to the bottom of it and understand the nature of Soviet society. The characters criticize government policy and ridicule Soviet leaders, discuss economic problems, sympathize with dissidents and anti-Soviet terrorists, are interested in samizdat and Western radio stations, and have some sort of relationship with the State Security Committee. Prisons, camps and repression are placed on the periphery of social life. In contrast to the anti-Soviet dissident literature exposing the actions of individuals (Lenin, Stalin, etc.) or the "Party" or "bureaucracy" based on the dichotomy of "Power" and "People", Zinoviev describes society at the level of microsociology, his works echo with the "ironic sociological treatise" – the laws of Parkinson and Murphy.