'...provides an excellent overview for those coming to the subject for the first time, or those seeking to fit the specifics of a particular period into the wider picture. The text takes care to clarify the concepts used, does not assume previous knowledge and is interspersed with extracts from relevant period documents...Christian has succeeded in providing a readable textbook distinguished by a coherent line of argument throughout.' - Edwin Bacon, Slavonica

• List of Tables List of Figures Introduction Medieval and Early Modern Times The Russian Empire in the Early Nineteenth Century The 'Great Reforms' and the Rise of a Revolutionary Movement Economic and Social Change before 1914 The 1905 Revolution The Final Decade of Tsarist Rule and the February Revolution 1917 Civil War and the Origins of a New Social Order The New Economic Policy Collectivisation and Industrialisation The Stalinist Political Order The Great Patriotic War Reforming the Stalinist System, 1953 to 1964 Consolidation, Stagnation and Change, 1964 to 1982 Perestroika and the End of the Soviet Experiment, 1982 to 1991 Conclusion: The Failure of the Soviet Experiment Statistical Appendix Annotated Bibliography Glossary Chronology Acknowledgements Index.