Paul Julian Smith is the Professor of Spanish, University of Cambridge, and author of Contemporary Spanish Culture: TV, Fashion, Art and Film (2003). He is a regular contributor to Sight and Sound.

This book can be read as a history of emerging democracy, a historiographical examination, and as a case study drawing from, and contributing to, totalitarian theory specifically and political theory in general. Consequently, it should be of interest to diverse groups beyond the fields of Russian politics and regional studies. Historians of the period would be well served by reading this book, in addition to anyone interested in democratisation and comparative politics. The fact that Sherlock's clear prose is comparatively free of jargon will be a relief for specialists and non-specialists alike.

• Myth and History in Transitions From Nondemocratic Rule.- Authorizing Reform By Uncovering the Past.- Leninist Mythology and Reform.- Assessing the Genesis of Stalinism.- Societal Conquest and the Decay of the Center.- Myth, History, and Separatism in the Periphery.- History and Myth in the Post-Soviet Space.

Paul Julian Smith is the Professor of Spanish, University of Cambridge, and author of Contemporary Spanish Culture: TV, Fashion, Art and Film (2003). He is a regular contributor to Sight and Sound.

This book can be read as a history of emerging democracy, a historiographical examination, and as a case study drawing from, and contributing to, totalitarian theory specifically and political theory in general. Consequently, it should be of interest to diverse groups beyond the fields of Russian politics and regional studies. Historians of the period would be well served by reading this book, in addition to anyone interested in democratisation and comparative politics. The fact that Sherlock's clear prose is comparatively free of jargon will be a relief for specialists and non-specialists alike.

• Myth and History in Transitions From Nondemocratic Rule.- Authorizing Reform By Uncovering the Past.- Leninist Mythology and Reform.- Assessing the Genesis of Stalinism.- Societal Conquest and the Decay of the Center.- Myth, History, and Separatism in the Periphery.- History and Myth in the Post-Soviet Space.