ABSTRACT
Compared to the general propositions of the New Political Thinking, official Moscow showed far greater disarray and defensiveness with regard to the communist world. At the time of the October Revolution, Lenin had described world revolution as "essential" for the survival of the Soviet state. Soviet observers, it was commonly agreed, had underestimated the vitality of Western capitalism and the ability of the state to introduce reforms that seemingly went against the interests of the ruling class. Curiously, the New Political Thinking—focussing first and foremost on Soviet-American relations—had little to say about Soviet relations with "socialist countries." True, events in Eastern Europe went further than even Soviet reformers would have wished, but consistent commentators dismissed this as within the range of the tolerable: once Moscow had agreed not to intervene, the consequences had to be worked out without an active Soviet role.
