Collapse

Vladislav M. Zubok offers a reinterpretation of the final years of the Soviet Union, arguing that its collapse was not inevitable. The book examines how Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms, separatist movements, and political pressures combined to drive the USSR into crisis.

Drawing on modern Russian history and Soviet politics, the account looks at the limits of authoritarian power and the forces that reshaped the late Cold War era. It provides a focused study of a major turning point in twentieth-century history.