This book has been written for those who know already a lot about what happened in the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991. It is at times controversial, at times humorous, and, I hope, constantly provocative. My aim is for readers to say or at least think, Yes, I can now see things more clearly. The principal events of Soviet history are discussed. The central thesis is that the Soviet Union was far from unique, that its ideology bore nearly exclusively the marks of a religion and most of its functioning was derived from the French Revolution, from Nazi Germany, and from Imperial Russia. There is a lot written about the purges, a prediction made in 1984 about the demise of the Soviet Union and a short play about the unsuccessful coup against Gorbachev. The book ends with a light touchjokes about the Soviet system.
