Originally published in 1981, this textbook was intended for university and college students, as well as advanced groups in schools, who were being introduced to Russian literature. It was the first book of its kind, and its purpose was twofold: to give those with a modicum of Russian an indication of the range and skill of Russian writers over the last 150 years; and to provide students with a wide selection of texts for explication, a technique neglected in the study of Russian literature. As part of the author's broader approach to the promotion of Russian literature for those whose grasp of the language may be limited, he provides rather literal translations of the texts in the first part, which are not intended to be models.

Volume Two of this new documentary history of the Soviet Union comprises over 270 documents and is organised into four chronologically distinct parts, subdivided thematically; it runs from the fraught diplomatic and military preamble of the Great Patriotic War to the final fracturing of the USSR along the national fault-lines of its 15 Union Republics. Slight overlap of chronological coverage with Volume One allows increased attention in Volume Two to foreign affairs. Areas in this volume that attract greatest student interest are the epic dramas at the beginning and end of the period -- the Great Patriotic War and Perestroika. The commentary is by Edward Acton, Professor of Modern European History at the University of East Anglia, who has published widely on the Russian revolution and the history of Russia and the USSR. The documents have been translated by Tom Stableford, Assistant Librarian, Slavonic and East European Collections, Bodleian Library, Oxford.

This is the first volume of a new integrated documentary history of the Soviet Union. The Soviet story-the revolution, Lenin, Stalinism, the Great Patriotic War, the era of Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Cold War, and the dramatic collapse under Gorbachev-looms large in history syllabuses across the world. This book will be a valuable resource for students at all levels, drawing upon the primary material that has come to light since the collapse of Communist rule in 1991. Combining lucid narrative commentary and a rich selection of evocative documents, it provides a lively entree to current debate over humanity's most momentous and tragic experiment. This volume is organised chronologically, subdivided thematically and incorporates over 200 documents. Key terms and references to individuals, places, events and institutions are explained and guidance provided on significant features of the primary sources. Conceived as companion to the highly-regarded, best-selling 4- volume Nazism 1919-1945: A Documentary Reader by Noakes & Pridham, also published by UEP, it assumes no prior knowledge of the subject.