McCauley, Martin

Presents a re-examination of Stalinism in light of the collapse of the Soviet Union, exploring the Russian Revolution and the Soviet State in the years between 1917 and 1929, and looking at three specific periods in the history of Stalinism. Includes a selection of documents.

The death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 left a political vacuum. By 1957 that vacuum was filled by Nikita Khrushchev. He pushed for economic reforms and more accountability from Communist Party leaders. He wrongly believed that he could accomplish all this without fundamentally changing the system.

A chronological examination of the Cold War from 1948 to 1991, along with a primary document section and an assessment section with questions to help readers analyze the events of this time period.