David R. Marples is Professor of History at the University of Alberta.

• INTRODUCTION PART ONE: BACKGROUND1. GORBACHEV COMES TO POWERPolitical Overview Glasnost Social, Environmental, and Nuclear Power Issues PART TWO: THE YEARS OF PERESTROIKA2. THE ECONOMY AND FOREIGN POLICYThe Economy, 1985-90Acceleration and Anti-Alcohol CampaignsCoal Miners’ StrikeEconomic Reform ProgrammesStagnationThe Pavlov Programme Foreign PolicyIdeology and Propaganda Arms ControlArchitects of Soviet Foreign PolicyEastern EuropeEnding the Cold War3. THE NATIONAL QUESTION The Submerged Dilemma Nagorno-Katabakh The Baltic States Georgia, Ukraine, and Belarus The Plenum on National Policy, September 1989 4. DOMESTIC POLITICS, 1989-MID-AUGUST 1991 The Congress of People’s Deputies and New Presidency The 28th Party Congress and Aftermath The Referendum of 17 March 1991 Toward a New Union Treaty 5. THE PUTSCH AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR The Putsch, 18-21 August 1991 Administrative Changes The Failure of the Union Treaty Yeltsin Consolidates His Power The Belavezha Agreement PART THREE: ASSESSMENT6. WHY DID THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSE? PART FOUR: DOCUMENTSChronologyGlossaryWho’s WhoGuide to Further Reading