Part 1 The origins of Soviet socialism: the historical emergence of socialism; Soviet socialism under Lenin, 1917-24. Part 2 The triumph of orthodoxy: Soviet socialism from Stalin to Chernenko; the Stalin era, 1924-53; the Khrushchev era, 1953-64; Brezhnev and after, 1964-85. Part 3 Gorbachev and the reshaping of Soviet socialism: Gorbachev and the critique of Soviet socialism, 1985-89; Gorbachev and the renewal of Soviet socialism, 1989-91; alternative socialist visions - the Old Guard and the New Left; conclusion - the end of socialism, the end of history'.