Power and Politics in the Soviet Union

This work analyzes the nature of power in the USSR and its evolution since the Bolshevik Revolution. The main thrust of the book, however, is in tracing the fragmentation of power since Gorbachev introduced his reforms and examining the changes in the power structure of the former Soviet Union which have occurred as a result of perestroika. The attempted coup of August 1991 is seen in the context of the assertion of power by institutions such as the parliament and especially by the Soviet society. The present study scrutinizes the political processes which led to the coup and the reasons for its failure and presents diversified views of Soviet political scientists and analysts - a new phenomenon in the former USSR.