This book tells the story of the perestroika era, from Gorbachev's appointment in 1985 through the failed coup and revolution of August 1991 to the suspension of the Communist Party's activities and beyond. The author describes first-hand the revolutionary changes in the Baltic Republics; the mood among striking miners in the Ukraine and Siberia; anti-Kremlin feeling in the Caucasus and the growing mood of rebellion against Communism in Russia itself.