An examination of political, social and cultural developments in the Soviet Union. The book identifies the social tensions and political inconsistencies that spurred radical change in the government of Russia, from the turn of the century to the revolution of 1917. Kenez envisions that revolution as a crisis of authority that posed the question, 'Who shall govern Russia?' This question was resolved with the creation of the Soviet Union. Kenez traces the development of the Soviet Union from the Revolution, through the 1920s, the years of the New Economic Policies and into the Stalinist order. He shows 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. In this new edition, he also examines the post-Soviet period, tracing Russia's development up to the present day.

对苏联的政治、社会和文化发展的考察。该书确定了从世纪之交到1917年革命期间，刺激俄国政府发生剧烈变化的社会紧张和政治不一致。凯内兹将那场革命设想为一场权威危机，它提出了一个问题："谁来管理俄国？这个问题随着苏联的建立而得到解决。凯尼兹追溯了苏联的发展，从革命开始，经过20世纪20年代，新经济政策的年代，进入斯大林主义秩序。他展示了斯大林之后的苏联领导人如何努力寻找不使用斯大林的方法但也不公开否定过去的方法来统治国家，以及如何与资本主义西方进行和平但反感的共存谈判。在这个新版本中，他还研究了后苏维埃时期，追溯了俄罗斯直到今天的发展。