Three Soviet Leaders: Lenin, Stalin & Khrushchev

The three Soviet leaders included in this book cover three major phases in the development of the Soviet state. Under Lenin, Bolshevism takes root and defeats its internal enemies. Under Stalin, the state completes its transition to a fully communist state and defeats the external threat posed by the Nazi invasion. Under Krushchev, the system reforms itself in an attempt to achieve 'viability' on the world stage. Ultimate failure comes twenty years later when, under Gorbachev, it becomes clear that neither repression nor reform can save a system that is so fundamentally flawed.