Introduction

In the course of the present study the author has attempted to illuminate several facets of Soviet affairs that merit particular attention. The close ties between Soviet policies at home and abroad cannot be ignored. The most conspicuous example of the interaction of domestic and foreign policy is to be found in the proceedings of the Twentieth Congress. The border line between domestic and foreign policy with respect to the Soviet bloc is blurred, since within the period from 1947 to 1956 the Soviet internal system served in almost every way as a prototype for the People’s Democracies. Many studies have been written on various aspects of postwar Russia, but to the author’s knowledge no short general history has yet appeared covering the period from 1945 to 1961. The present study aims at giving the general shape of Soviet history during the years from 1945 to 1961.