A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to its Legacy

Hardback

Main Details

Title A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to its Legacy
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Peter Kenez
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:388
Dimensions(mm): Height 235,Width 157
ISBN/Barcode 9781107141056
ClassificationsDewey:947.084
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational
Edition 3rd Revised edition
Illustrations 25 Halftones, black and white

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 27 October 2016
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

This concise yet comprehensive textbook examines political, social, and cultural developments in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet period. It begins by identifying the social tensions and political inconsistencies that spurred radical change in Russia's government, from the turn of the century to the revolution of 1917. Peter Kenez presents this revolution as a crisis of authority that the creation of the Soviet Union resolved. The text traces the progress of the Soviet Union through the 1920s, the years of the New Economic Policies, and into the Stalinist order. It illustrates how post-Stalin Soviet leaders struggled to find ways to rule the country without using Stalin's methods - but also without openly repudiating the past - and to negotiate a peaceful but antipathetic coexistence with the capitalist West. This updated third edition includes substantial new material, discussing the challenges Russia currently faces in the era of Putin.

Author Biography

Peter Kenez is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Coming of the Holocaust: From Antisemitism to Genocide (Cambridge, 2013) and Hungary from the Nazis to the Soviets: The Establishment of the Communist Regime in Hungary, 1944-1948 (Cambridge, 2006).