ABSTRACT

History is always full of surprises as it unfolds before us. The Soviet Union, for decades a seemingly frozen monolith of totalitarian rigidity and paranoid bellicosity, suddenly finds itself under a leader in the person of Mikhail Gorbachev who calls for "radical restructuring," openness," and even a "revolution." Outsiders justly wonder if this m

part One|50 pages

Barriers to Change

chapter 1|16 pages

The Foundations of Stalinism

chapter 3|12 pages

Stalinism and Russian Political Culture

part Two|83 pages

Bases for Reform