The collapse of communism marked the close of an era of world
history. What took place in the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1991,
in the eyes of its proponents, constituted a "great experiment" in
the application of new modes of organization to social life, the
largest such experiment in history. "The Strange Death of Soviet
Communism," which first appeared as a special issue of "The
National Interest," brings together leading scholars of Soviet
history, who show why the experiment failed and how it has
destroyed the laboratory of socialist utopias.
Francis Fukuyama considers the role of long-term social and
intellectual modernization while Vladimir Kontorovich examines the
related factor of economic stagnation. Myron Rush then analyzes the
accidental and precedent-breaking accession and leadership of
Gorbachev. Charles Fairbanks looks at the more general factors of
change and rigidity within communist political culture. Chapters by
Peter Reddaway and Stephen Sestanovich conclude this section by
assessing respectively the role of internal pressure from Soviet
citizens and external pressure from the West. The next chapters
deal with why the West was surprised by the communist collapse.
This involves a critique of Western Sovietology both for its
scholarly failures and its ideological prejudices. Here, Peter
Rutland and William Odom deal with social science interpretations
of the Soviet Union while Robert Conquest and Richard Pipes reflect
on historians' readings of Soviet history. Martin Malia then offers
a comparative assessment of both. In the third section Irving
Kristol and Nathan Glazer discuss communism in relation to the
intellectuals in the West.
Although the authors are united in their anti-communist stance,
the volume is diverse in its perspectives and assessments of Soviet
communism. Taken together, these contributions show that the debate
on the legacy of communism and a subsequent rethinking of modern
history is just beginning. "The Strange Death of Soviet Communism"
will be of interest to historians, political scientists, Slavic
studies specialists, and sociologists.
"Nikolas K. Gvosdev" is editor of "The National Interest" and a
senior fellow in strategic studies at The Nixon Center. He is a
frequent commentator on international relations and U.S. foreign
policy. He is also author of six books including "Russia in The
National Interest" which is available from Transaction
Publishers.
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