This unique compendium of Soviet thought and dialogue introduces Western readers to the broad range of current debates in the Soviet Union concerning the past, present, and future of the country and its people. Andrei Melville, the Soviet academic who spearheaded this work, is convinced that Mikhail Gorbachev's initiatives have led his country to the brink of a domestic transformation, one that will lead to an entirely new stage of development. Melville chronicles the societal ills— repression, crime, and apathy—and the structural flaws—corruption, a stagnant economy, a monolithic...

This reader is intended to fill the urgent need for up-to-date materials on the Gorbachev era and to provide scholars and students with source materials and interpretations not available in standard texts. In addition, the book will be regularly revised and updated to take account of rapidly changing events. Alexander Dallin and Gail Lapidus have brought together outstanding Western analyses, as well as Soviet documents and commentary, dealing with developments in the USSR's politics, economy, society, culture, and foreign policy since 1985. The collection covers the full spectrum of...