Synopses & Reviews
Designed with the general reader in mind, this clearly written narrative history of the Soviet Union from the end of World War II to its collapse in 1991 provides an integrated introduction to the "Last of the Empires." There were more than one hundred nationalities in the USSR; Keep deals with those that held union-republic status, especially the Baltic peoples and those of Central Asia. His approach is to exclude foreign affairs and defense policy, emphasizing instead the central themes of political, economic, social, and cultural development with a good deal of attention paid to the key problem of inter-ethnic relations.
The story begins with the last years of Stalin's despotic rule. Keep does not explore the origins of Stalinism, which have been fully treated elsewhere, but treats these years as the introduction to the comparatively optimistic era of Khrushchev. Under his leadership Communist rule was reformed, though not necessarily liberalized, and there was an overall relaxation of police terror and an improvement in living standards. Keep shows how the ensuing Brezhnev years brought greater material prosperity but marked a setback to popular aspirations for change in other respects. Yet it was in these years that official ideology became less relevant than ever to people's everyday concerns; Keep argues that the Party lost moral authority due to internal corruption, and that the system gradually eroded. Finally, the younger and more pragmatic leadership symbolized by Gorbachev took over. The fate of their reform policies is the subject of the book's final chapters, which delineate how central institutions crumbled as national minorities claimed their rights and centrifugal pressures brought about the empire's collapse. Making use of a broad literature of "sovietological" expertise along with the new information that has become available since Soviet secrecy was relaxed in 1988, Last of the Empires sums up what is now known about postwar Soviet history and presents it in a clear and coherent narrative.
Synopsis
In 1945 the USSR was at the height of its international power and prestige, but years of prolonged hardship were to follow as Stalinist dictatorship was ruthlessly imposed. Since 1988 the mantle of Soviet secrecy has begun to lift, allowing historians access to some of the country's vast archival resources. Last of the Empires explores the central currents of political, cultural, social, and economic development running through 56 crucial years of Soviet rule, enabling us to gain a greater understanding of what has been called one of the most tragic experiences in human history.
About the Author
John Keep is a retired Professor of Modern Soviet History. His publications include
Debate on Power (OUP, 1979) and
Soldiers of the Czar: Army and Sociey in Russia, 1462-1874 (OUP, 1985).
Table of Contents
List of Tables
Maps
Introduction
1. I. The Dark Ages Stalin's Last Years
2. II. Hope Frustrated A Reformer in the Kremlin
3. Civilizing Soviet Government
4. Reorienting the Economy
5. Priority for the Village
6. The Rebirth of Conscience
7. The National Mosaic
8. III. Civil Society Resurgent For Faith and Freedom
9. The Lubianka and the Kremlin
10. The Party in Disarray
11. An Economy in Trouble
12. Agrarian and Environmental Dilemmas
13. Social Breakdown, cultural Renovation
14. The Russian National Movement
15. The Restless Empire
16. IV. The Empire Cracks Up Revolution from Above
17. Revolution from Below
18. Nemesis
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography
Glossary
Index