History of the Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics no longer exists. The Union has been eroded, the constituent republics have successfully challenged Moscow's central authority and the role of the communist party has been played out. Mikhail Gorbachev's position has been undermined. With his policies of perestroika and glasnost he tried to improve the existing system. However, the openness revealed the total bankruptcy of the party and the state and the party leader soon lost control of developments. The failed coup d'état on 19 August 1991 gave the process of decline and disintegration a final and fatal impulse. The process of decline is also evident in the field of foreign policy. THE HISTORY OF THE SOVIET UNION places the current changes in a historical perspective. The authors show how the communist party was able to establish and strengthen its dominant position after the October Revolution of 1917.