This systematic observation of foreign policy within the Soviet Union shows how such phenomena as nuclear warfare, continued Western prosperity, and the Sino-Soviet split have forced analysts to diverge sharply from traditional Leninist orthodoxy. The result has been a Soviet analysis of world politics that is considerably more complex and politically sophisticated than westerners often assume. This is manifested in an increasingly multipolar world view, accepting the continued existence of the United States, in which the USSR is seen as an integral component of an international system rather...

This is the first detailed political and social history in English of Stalin's industrial revolution during the first Five-Year Plan. The diversion of vast resources into industrialization severely squeezed national consumption, imposing a heavy burden and sacrifice on the entire nation.