A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End

Peter Kenez's History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End examines not only political change, but also social and cultural developments. The book identifies the social tensions and political inconsistencies that spurred radical change in the government of Russia, beginning at the turn of the century and culminating in the revolution of 1917. Kenez envisions that revolution as a crisis of authority that posed the question, "Who shall govern Russia?" This question was resolved with the creation of the Soviet Union. Kenez traces the development of the Soviet Union from the Revolution, through the 1920s, the years of the New Economic Policies--which he sees as crucial to any interpretation of the history of the Soviet Union--and into the Stalinist order. He shows how post-Stalin Soviet leaders struggled to find ways to rule the country without using Stalin's methods but also without openly repudiating the past, and to negotiate a peaceful but antipathetic coexistence with the capitalist West.

Kenez (history, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) has distilled the voluminous literature on the Soviet Union's 75-year history to a succinct and factual summary. Throughout, Kenez emphasizes economics, creating an image of a hollow superpower that could neither feed its population nor produce a reasonable supply of consumer goods owing to its concentration on the defense industry. A secondary emphasis is on the cultural life of the era, discussing the films and literature of different periods. There is little on the 1917 revolution and only a short analysis of why the Soviet Union ultimately failed to thrive. Sources in the bibliography are primarily in English. Still, this is a valuable reading assignment for undergraduate survey courses that academic libraries should consider.AMarcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
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