A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End (ISBN 0521864372)

Book Description:
An examination of political, social and cultural developments in the Soviet Union. Kenez traces the development of the Soviet Union from the Revolution to the complacency and corruption of the Gorbachev years. In this new edition, he also examines the post-Soviet period, tracing Russia's development up to the present day.

SUMMARY HISTORY OF THE FAILINGS OF THE SOVIET UNION:
Peter Kenez outlines all of Soviet history succintly yet completely. He argues that the Soviet "golden age" during the NEP (New Economic Policy) was doomed to failure because the Bolshevik state, by definition, could only function as a one-party, authoritarian power. Indeed, Kenez argues that the Soviet Union was always authoritarian, with the exception of Stalin's reign, when it was a totalitarian state. Stalin ruled with power that was so absolute that the Communist Party was deemed insignificant, no other figured gained lasting influence in government, and all were potentially subject to his terror. The Soviet Union met its demise and fall because the the regime could not reform itself and still remain in existence. The flawed, top-down structure of the economy, particularly the constant failures of collectivized farms, assured that the Soviet Union could never see economic prosperity comparable to the West. Kenez's ideally-sized history offers an intriguing, and critical, history of the Soviet Union. It is anti-Soviet, but still objective: for example, Kenez argues that the Cold War Soviet Union had neither the desire, nor the capacity, to promote worldwide revolution. The one glaring flaw of this book is its sparse treatment of Cold War diplomacy, as it argues that the Soviet crises were almost entirely from within. The book is an effortless read. Its most gripping effect is that you likely walk away convinced that Josef Satlin was doubtlessly one of most evil men in recorded history.

Cold War Political Pamphlet, not a serious reasearch:
This is a very shallow, biased piece of Cold War style journalism disguised as a historical research. The book is full of ungrounded generalizations and direct factual lies (I cannot call them mistakes, since the author must be familiar with archival data that give evidence to the contrary). All this is is tailored with one obvious goal in mind: to present the USSR in the worst possible light, demonise its leaders, slander its people, and discredit the socialist idea as such. You will know and understand less about Soviet Union after you have read this book than you do already. Do not waste your time, read serious, balanced scholarship instead.

An excellent, short history:
This compact and well-written book from Soviet historian Peter Kenez is an excellent short history of the Soviet Union. Perhaps the most welcome aspect of Kenez's book is his willingess to acknowledge the centrality of ideological considerations in shaping both the views and policies of the USSR's Marxist leaders. While this is not surprising given the author's previous interest in the "propaganda state," it is a needed corrective to the excessive emphasis on "social factors" that tend to dominate other histories of the USSR. Readers would have benefited from a more detailed bibliography or, better, a list of recommended readings from the author.

An EXTRAORDINARY "LIFE HISTORY"...in this case, that of the Soviet Communist Party:
Wow! I just finished this book, and I must say that it TRULY was an excellent, and most informative read! I remember when I picked it up I had those funny little "brain thoughts" (the ones like your conscience that says things to you, silently within your head), "Are you SURE you really want to read stuff like this?" and "Why would anyone want to know anything about the Communist Party?". Well, let me tell you, this book, in actuality, should perhaps be placed on EVERY high school reading list. I was fascinated by this book. And, the information that I learned from it is almost stunning to know. How the demise of the Czarist system, already in a state of anarchy, lead to the easily successful October Revolution, and then to the Bolshevicks fighting the "Whites" for control of the country. Lenin and Trotsky setting up the State for Marxism, and Communism. From the original NEP, which sort of worked, through the ever-increasing and stupid purges of Stalin, hurting the Communist State so deeply it could really not recover from them, through the devastation of WWII in the already economically bankrupt country, through Kruschev's Reign, on through Breshnev's, Gorbachev's, and Yeltsin's and into the "modern" and "free" Russia under Putin, this book just grips and holds you all the way through. It is broken down into "ages" if you will, of the Soviet development, and is easily understandable and shows one with near photographic clearness the mistakes made by those in charge, and also the reasons why, Communism, or closed-government systems do not, and cannot, work. As the book progresses, it is ever-clearer just how far off the mark the government is getting, until finally, the implosion from within is unavoidable. A truly fascinating piece of clearly written history that EVERYONE should read....trust me! By all means, pick up a copy of this truly wonderful and educational "progression" of the Soviet and get to see why this kind of government cannot work, with clearly seen outcomes and happenings from our own lifetime that mark the slow demise of the "System". This book is yet another great example of the value of those old words from my grade school days "Please Read...and Grow Your Mind." I cannot recommend this book highly enough. ~operabruin

Political and Economic Summary of the causes of the Failure of the Soviet Union:
Peter Kenez has written a succinct book on the underlying reasons for the success of the October Revolution and the failure of the Soviet Union. When the Russian Empire disintegrated in 1917, the country itself was on the verge of anarachy. Trotsky, brilliantly constructed the Red Army and used the railroad system to attack and keep at bay on the periphery four armies. Lenin instituted 'war communism' with the optimism that the rest of Europe would soon join him in a socialist revolution. When the European-wide revolution didn't materialize, the Bolshevicks didn't have a 'Plan B' so they just winged it. The "New Economic Program" which in reality was a mixed-economy, was the last time that Communism worked in the Soviet (which means council) Union. Under the NEPmen people were able to get consumer goods for the first time, and parallel to this there was a literacy push that pushed illiteracy down by half. Then Lenin died...and so did the hope of creating a 'new socialist man'. In his will Lenin named Trotsky as his successor and warned his old comrades against Stalin. But Stalin had used his time as Commissar for Nationalities to gain control of the internal security service (the Cheka later the NKVD, KGB) and was able to have himself declared Party Secretary. As we all know, whoever controls the Party makes the rules. In a period of ten years, Stalin was able to get rid of all the 'old comrades' and firmly take hold of the country. Like a recovering alcoholic, Stalin (a Georgian) was determined to be more Russian that any Russian (his idols were Peter the Great and Ivan the Fearsome/Terrible) and that so should everyone else. He spent his whole life compensating for a withered right arm and a speech impediment (a lisp). His five year plans devastated agriculture, which never truly recovered; while building a military-industrial complex that measure quantity but not quality. (If you produce millions of poor quality items, where only thousands are needed, some are useful and the rest go to waste.) Stalin fought the Second World War using men/soldiers like products of his industrial plants; he could afford to lose 25 million men, the Germans could not. His designers built weapons by copying German equipment and making out of the fewest parts possible, so that once again quantity was able to overcome quality flaws. After the war, the Soviet Army never went home from Eastern Europe. They stayed and kept the new 'Peoples Democracies' in power and in line. Having become a superpower, the Soviets refused to be left behind by the US; so they strove to create power for power. Unfortunatley, unlike the US, over a quarter of the Cities in the Soviet Union were destroyed during the war. Even if they had solely concentrated on rebuilding, recovery would have been difficult. But having to keep an eye on the 'Iron Curtain Nations' while spending 25% or more of the GDP on their military. When Gorbachav tried to make adjustments to the system, it collapsed like an old car when you fix the oil pump and with the increase in pressure blows out all of the gaskets. Communism never had a chance because Marxist/Leninism was never given a chance. The fall of Soviet Russia was the ending that all totalitarian regimes have, they implode because they exist under an unrealistic economy that doesn't adhere to the forces of supply and demand. You can't demand that people 'want' whatever you supply.