Soviet Politics 1917-1991

Soviet Politics 1917-1991
Author: Mary McAuley
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780198780663

In the space of mere months in 1991, the Soviet Union saw an attempted coup fail, Gorbachev leave office, the Baltic states acquire independence, Leningrad vote to rename itself St Petersburg, the Communist Party disband, and the Russian flag fly over the Kremlin. One of the world's great powers--a country of some 200 nationalities stretching across a dozen time zones--had simply disintegrated, ending an epoch in world history. Now, for the first time, we are able to look back and assess the complete 75 year experiment with communism. Based on extensive research and a first-hand knowledge of the Soviet system, Soviet Politics: 1917-1991 offers an authoritative and lively history of the entire spectrum of Soviet politics, from the October Revolution and the rise of Lenin to the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent States. McAuley ranges from the Revolution to the unprecedented crash industrialization and social mobility, to dictatorship and mass terror under Stalin, to conservative state control under Krushchev, Kosygin, and Brezhnev, and finally to the swift collapse of the state. The author offers a particularly stimulating analysis of the developments that brought an end to communist party rule and the breakup of the Soviet Union. She describes, for instance, how the 1989 elections undermined the Communist Party's assumption of unqualified popular support (Yeltsin, the bete noire of the Moscow party, was swept in, and Soloviev, a deputy member of the Politburo, who ran unopposed in Leningrad, failed to garner 50% of the vote). She shows how the Congress of that year, televised nationally, revealed to a wrapt nation a Party no longer solidly united behind one stand, where deputies openly criticized the government, the KGB, and the Afghan war. And she paints a striking portrait of Gorbachev trying to reconcile irreconcilable interests, to heal the rift between Democrats and Party conservatives, as the center began to unravel. By the end of 1991, the USSR was gone forever, with momentous and unpredictable consequences not only for the peoples of the former Soviet Union, but for the world as a whole. Soviet Politics helps readers make sense of the developments since 1985, showing how and why the system fell apart. It will interest anyone wanting a full understanding of current world events.

Soviet Politics 1917-1991

Soviet Politics 1917-1991
Author: Mary McAuley
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780198780670

Based on first-hand knowledge of the Soviet system since the Krushchev period, and research into both Soviet history and contemporary politics, this book provides a stimulating analysis of the developments which brought an end to Communist Party rule and the breakup of the USSR.

Understanding Russian Politics

Understanding Russian Politics
Author: Stephen White
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 483
Release: 2011-03-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1139496832

A fresh and compelling interpretation of Russian politics by a leading authority, this textbook focuses on political developments in the world's largest country under Putin and Medvedev. Using a wealth of primary sources, it covers economic, social and foreign policy, and the 'system' of politics that has developed in recent years. Opposing arguments are presented and students are encouraged to reach their own judgements on key events and issues such as privatisation and corruption. This textbook tackles timely topics such as gender and inequality issues; organised religion; the economic krizis; and Russia's place in the international community. It uses numerous examples to place this powerful and richly-endowed country in context, with a focus on the place of ordinary people which shows how policy is translated to Russians' everyday lives.

Soviet Strategic Thought, 1917-91

Soviet Strategic Thought, 1917-91
Author: Andrei A. Kokoshin
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1998-01-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780262611381

During the Cold War, Westerners were obsessed with the military policies of the Soviet Union. Until the demise of the Soviet Union, however, few details of Moscow's thinking on military matters were available. In this book, Andrei Kokoshin reveals how Soviet military theorists developed and debated the concepts that provided the basis for the Kremlin's defense policies. Drawing on Soviet-era archives and unpublished materials, he sheds light on this important chapter in the history of Russia and the world.The book covers three main themes: the relationship between politics and military strategy in the Soviet Union; how the Soviet political and military leadership assessed threats to Soviet security, the nature of future wars, and methods of warfare; and the relationship between offense and defense in Soviet military strategy. Kokoshin places the strategic concepts behind Moscow's military policies in the context of internal and international struggles for power, and assesses the future role of military power in Russia's national security strategy.

Soviet Tragedy

Soviet Tragedy
Author: Martin Malia
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2008-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 143911854X

"The Soviet Tragedy is an essential coda to the literature of Soviet studies...Insofar as [he] returns the power of ideology to its central place in Soviet history, Malia has made an enormous contribution. He has written the history of a utopian illusion and the tragic consequences it had for the people of the Soviet Union and the world." -- David Remnick, The New York Review of Books "In Martin Malia, the Soviet Union had one of its most acute observers. With this book, it may well have found the cornerstone of its history." -- Francois Furet, author of Interpreting the French Revolution "The Soviet Tragedy offers the most thorough scholarly analysis of the Communist phenomenon that we are likely to get for a long while to come...Malia states that his narrative is intended 'to substantiate the basic argument,' and this is certainly an argumentative book, which drives its thesis home with hammer blows. On this breathtaking journey, Malia is a witty and often brilliantly penetrating guide. He has much wisdom to impart." -- The Times Literary Supplement "This is history at the high level, well deployed factually, but particularly worthwhile in the philosophical and political context -- at once a view and an overview." -- The Washington Post

An Economic History of the U.S.S.R.

An Economic History of the U.S.S.R.
Author: Alec Nove
Publisher: IICA
Total Pages: 420
Release: 1969
Genre: Soviet Union
ISBN:

Study in historical perspective of developments in economic policy in the USSR - covers economic structures and economic administration prior to and during the 1st world war, the position during the 50 years of the communist regime, political leadership of the country, the collective economy, industrialization, political problems, economic growth, etc. Bibliography pp. 389 to 391, and statistical tables.

The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
Author: Martin Mccauley
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 623
Release: 2014-01-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317867823

'An expert in probing mafia-type relationships in present-day Russia, Martin McCauley here offers a vigorously written scrutiny of Soviet politics and society since the days of Lenin and Stalin.' John Keep, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto. The birth of the Soviet Union surprised many; its demise amazed the whole world. How did imperial Russia give way to the Soviet Union in 1917, and why did the USSR collapse so quickly in 1991? Marxism promised paradise on earth, but the Communist Party never had true power, instead allowing Lenin and Stalin to become dictators who ruled in its name. The failure of the planned economy to live up to expectations led to a boom in the unplanned economy, in particular the black market. In turn, this led to the growth of organised crime and corruption within the government. The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union examines the strengths, weaknesses, and contradictions of the first Marxist state, and reassesses the role of power, authority and legitimacy in Soviet politics. Including first-person accounts, anecdotes, illustrations and diagrams to illustrate key concepts, McCauley provides a seminal history of twentieth-century Russia.

The Soviet Union 1917-1991

The Soviet Union 1917-1991
Author: Martin Mccauley
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2014-02-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317901789

A second edition of this famous survey has been eagerly awaited. When the first edition appeared Brezhnev was still in power, Gorbachev did not make it to the index, and the USSR was a superpower. Today the Soviet experiment is over and the USSR no longer exists. How? Why? Martin McCauley has reworked and greatly expanded his book to answer these questions, and to provide a complete account of the Soviet years. Essential reading to an appreciation of recent history -- and to a better understanding of whatever happens next.

Soviet Chess 1917-1991

Soviet Chess 1917-1991
Author: Andrew Soltis
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2016-04-07
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1476611238

This large and magnificent work of art is both an interpretive history of Soviet chess from the Bolshevik Revolution to the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 and a record of the most interesting games played. The text traces the phenomenal growth of chess from the Revolutionary days to the devastations of World War II, and then from the Golden Age of Soviet-dominated chess in the 1950s to the challenge of Bobby Fischer and the quest to find his Soviet match. Included are 249 games, each with a diagram; most are annotated and many have never before been published outside the Soviet Union. The text is augmented by photographs and includes 63 tournament and match scoretables. Also included are a bibliography, an appendix of records achieved in Soviet national championships, two indexes of openings, and an index of players and opponents.

All Shook Up

All Shook Up
Author: Nigel Raab
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages:
Release: 2017-04-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0773550046

Earthquakes, nuclear accidents, and floods were among the many unexpected tragedies that struck the Soviet Union over its history. Requiring the immediate mobilization of vast resources and aid, and embedded within a specific context and time, these catastrophes provide critical insights into the nature of the twentieth-century Communist state. All Shook Up takes a close look at the representation in film, the political repercussions, and the social opportunities of large-scale catastrophes in separate Soviet epochs, including the 1927 earthquake in the Crimean peninsula, the 1948 earthquake in Ashgabat, the Tashkent earthquake in 1966, the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, and the Armenian earthquake in 1988. Juxtaposing various disaster responses and demonstrating the ways both Soviet authorities and citizens molded them to their own cultural needs, Nigel Raab highlights the radical shifts in disaster policy from one leader to the next. Given the opportunity to act outside regular parameters, Soviet residents not only rebuilt their devastated cities, but also experimented with new values and crafted their own worldview while the state struggled to return the situation to normal. Based on archival research conducted in Russia and Ukraine, All Shook Up fills a gap in a global literature and challenges stereotypical representations of the Soviet Union as a monolithic state.