Ilya Zemtsov was born in the Soviet Union and received advanced degrees in philosophy and sociology from the National Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Since 1973 he has lived in Israel, where he is professor of Russian Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and director of the International Research Center on Contemporary Society (IRCCS). He has published widely on many aspects of Soviet society. John H. Farrar was head of the Department of Strategic Studies, IRCCS, until the summer of 1987. Since completing the book, he has joined the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. During his thirty year career in the U.S. Army, he held a variety of positions on the Department of Army staff, in the Defense Intelligence Agency, and at NATO headquarters.