Soviet Politics 1917-1991 - Softcover

McAuley, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198780672 ISBN 13: 9780198780670

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992

Synopsis

Now available in paperback, this timely work offers an authoritative and lively history of the entire spectrum of Soviet politics, from the rise of Lenin and the October Revolution of 1917 to the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It discusses in fascinating detail how Lenin's Communist party transformed the Tsarist empire, why Stalin's massive program to industrialize was coupled with one of the most horrific terror campaigns in history, and what we can expect from this erstwhile superpower in the years ahead. Based on extensive research and first-hand knowledge of the Soviet system, it offers a lucid and stimulating analysis of the developments which first sustained, then finally undermined, the Soviet state, pinpointing all the key political developments--revolution, state-building, party rule, terror, Nazi invasion, the Cold War, and the recent elections--and examining their significance in an especially well-wrought historical context. Timely, cogent, and comprehensive, Soviet Politics helps readers make sense of developments in the former USSR since 1985, showing how and why the system fell apart. It will interest anyone wanting a fuller understanding of current events, and their consequences for the world as a whole.

About this title

About the Author

Mary McAuley is a respected Sovietologist who teaches at Oxford University. She is the author of many books on the Soviet Union, most recently Bread and Justice: State and Society in Petrograd (Oxford, 1991).

Review

`A clear exposition of 74 years of Soviet power, as good a choice as any for the reader wishing to know the background to contemporary events ... it concentrates on the main structural elements of the edifice, and often illuminates them.'
John Lloyd, London Review of Books

`Very lively and immediately accessible, and a first-class introduction to the period and the major issues and dilemmas associated with it.'
Mark Galeotti, University of Keele

`Excellent and concise survey.'
Evan Mawdsley, University of Glasgow

`Very clear, comprehensive and readable. An ideal introduction to the Soviet Union.'
Miss B.J. Williams, University of Sussex

`This is an extremely readable book. Excellent for the beginner and an enjoyable and interesting read for those who already have some knowledge. I would highly recommend it.'
Dr Rachel Walker, Essex University

'Her appraisals of Nikita S. Khrushchev the impulsive reformer, and of Leonid I. Brezhnev the gray bureaucrat, are particularly lucid.'
The New Leader

'McAuley's book is useful and interesting in that it tackles the particularly fascinating problem of the Bolsheviks' search for political legitimacy after their seizure of power in October 1917.'
Ian D. Thatcher, Irish Slavonic Studies'

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0198780672
• ISBN 13: 9780198780670
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 140