Drawing on a wide range of post-Soviet materials, Christopher Read examines the reasons for the successes and failures of the Soviet system. He argues that the underlying reasons for the system's collapse can be found in the contradictions of the revolution, which gave birth to it. The consequences are traced from Stalin to Gorbachev's doomed attempt to transform the Soviet system. Particular attention is given to the divergence between the aspirations of the leadership and the social evolution of ordinary Russians.

Author Biography: Christopher Read is Reader in History, University of Warwick.