ABSTRACT

This reader is intended to fill the urgent need for up-to-date materials on the Gorbachev era and to provide scholars and students with source materials and interpretations not available in standard texts. In addition, the book will be regularly revised and updated to take account of rapidly changing events. Alexander Dallin and Gail Lapidus have brought together outstanding Western analyses, as well as Soviet documents and commentary, dealing with developments in the USSR's politics, economy, society, culture, and foreign policy since 1985. The collection covers the full spectrum of views—skeptical and enthusiastic, ideological and pragmatic—offered by journalists, politicians, observers, and participants. Introductory and concluding material by the editors provides the essential context to help students understand the myriad opinions put forth on the vast changes in the USSR and where its future may lie.

part 1|8 pages

Introduction

part 3|156 pages

Reform and the Political and Social System

chapter 10|14 pages

Political Change in the Soviet Union

chapter 17|27 pages

Gorbachev's Endgame

part 4|111 pages

Soviet Political Debates

chapter 18|17 pages

Glasnost' and Soviet Culture

chapter 20|10 pages

Advances and Debts

chapter 21|9 pages

Sources

chapter 22|5 pages

Are Our Principles Any Good?

chapter 26|9 pages

I Cannot Forgo My Principles

chapter 27|5 pages

The Tragedy of Centralism

chapter 29|5 pages

The Architects of Card Houses

part 7|148 pages

Foreign Policy and National Security