Part 1 Introduction; Chapter 1 General Background; Part 2 Analysis; Chapter 2 The Seizure of Power; Chapter 3 The Imposition of the Stalinist System; Chapter 4 StalinâEUR(TM)s System at its Height; Chapter 5 De-Stalinization and the Critical Year of 1956; Chapter 6 A Decade of Consolidation; Part 3 Assessment; Chapter 7 Achievements and Failures; Part 4 Documents;

The underlying theme of this new study is the communists' attempt to mould the region's varied economic, social, intellectual and cultural characteristics according to the model of the Soviet Union.