ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book summarizes the argument that Mikhail Gorbachev is as much the product as the initiator of change in the USSR. It explains the false starts and grievous errors in Soviet economic policy during Gorbachev's first five years. The book describes chronicles the ecological crisis and explores its consequences for the population's health and broader demographic trends. It focuses on the evolving political system, providing not so much a narrative as an impressionistic evaluation of developments. The book discusses the nationalities issue and offers a concise survey of the way the cultural landscape has altered in the course of the five years under study. It also focuses on Central and Eastern Europe, using her detailed knowledge of the German situation to evaluate developments related to the "common European home".
