Introduction PART I The origins of Soviet socialism The historical emergence of socialism; Soviet socialism under Lenin, 1917--24 PART II 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 III 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 adn the New Left; Conclusion: the end of socialism, the end of history?.