The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

by Sakwa; Richard

• ISBN13: 9780415122894
• ISBN10: 0415122899
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-08-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Through sources and documents, The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union by Richard Sakwa places the Soviet experience in historical and comparative context. The author introduces each source in this volume fully and provides commentary and analysis.Using eye-witness accounts, official documents and new materials which have just come to light, Richard Sakwa gives an historical overview of the Soviet Union from the revolution of 1906 to the fall of the regime.

Table of Contents

Series editor's preface	xi
Glossary	xiii
Acknowledgements	xv
Introduction	xix
The Rise of Bolshevism	1	(31)
Marx and the Russian road	1	(4)
The emergence of Bolshevism	5	(4)
Early critics of Leninism	9	(3)
1905 and beyond	12	(5)
The intelligentsia and revolution	17	(6)
Nationalism, imperialism and the Great War	23	(9)
1917: From Revolution to Revolution	32	(42)
Revolution and war	32	(5)
Policy issues and the way ahead	37	(7)
The road to power	44	(7)
The seizure of power	51	(5)
Bolsheviks in power -- first steps	56	(4)
Reactions to the Bolshevik coup	60	(3)
The struggle for a coalition government	63	(6)
1917 in perspective	69	(5)
The Birth of the Soviet State, 1917--1921	74	(53)
The consolidation of power	74	(4)
Peace and war	78	(4)
Industrial democracy and state capitalism	82	(7)
Critics of the Bolshevik revolution	89	(8)
War Communism and its critics	97	(7)
Bolshevism abroad	104	(3)
From reform to Kronstadt	107	(11)
Putting the lid on the opposition	118	(4)
Bolshevism in perspective	122	(5)
The Paths Diverge, 1921--1929	127	(49)
Launching the New Economic Policy	127	(8)
Political controversy	135	(5)
The formation of the USSR	140	(5)
Lenin's bequest	145	(11)
The `New Course' debate	156	(6)
Creating `Stalinism'	162	(6)
The end of NEP	168	(8)
Building Socialism, 1929--1939	176	(58)
Foreign policy	176	(3)
Collectivisation	179	(7)
Industrialisation and the creation of a new intelligentsia	186	(5)
Cultural transformation	191	(4)
Social conservatism	195	(4)
Anticipating the terror	199	(12)
The Great terror	211	(4)
The new `civilisation'	215	(19)
The Road to Berlin, 1939--1945	234	(55)
The diet of dictators	234	(17)
The Titans go to war	251	(10)
The Soviet war	261	(16)
Towards the post-war order	277	(7)
Flag over Berlin	284	(5)
The Cold Peace, 1945--1953	289	(24)
The onset of the Cold War	289	(8)
Reimposing orthodoxy	297	(5)
National relations	302	(2)
Stalinism abroad	304	(5)
Containment and beyond	309	(4)
Khrushchev and Reform, 1953--1964	313	(38)
The new course and agricultural problems	313	(3)
Destalinisation	316	(12)
National relations	328	(2)
The full-scale building of socialism	330	(4)
Intellectual critique	334	(7)
Cultural thaw and its limits	341	(3)
Khrushchev's foreign policy -- to the brink	344	(4)
Decline and fall	348	(3)
Brezhnev and Stagnation, 1964--1985	351	(72)
The Brezhnevite system	351	(11)
The end of the thaw and the rise of dissent	362	(5)
Socialism with a human face	367	(7)
Within-system reform and beyond	374	(10)
From under the rubble	384	(19)
Dissent and nationalism	403	(13)
The interregnum -- Andropov's authoritarian reform	416	(7)
Crisis and Fall of the Soviet System, 1985--1991	423	(74)
Early experiments	423	(3)
Some fruits of glasnost	426	(1)
Reform of the political system	427	(34)
Transcending the Cold War	461	(3)
Beyond perestroika -- Yeltsin resurgent	464	(6)
Attempts to save the union	470	(4)
The August 1991 coup	474	(13)
The end of the USSR	487	(10)
Further Reading	497	(2)
Bibliography	499	(6)
Index	505