Stealing the State - Control & Collapse in Soviet Institutions

Steven Solnick argues, contrary to most current literature, that the Soviet system fell victim not to stalemate at the top nor to a revolution from below, but rather to opportunism from within. In three case studies--on the Communist Youth League, the system of job assignments for university graduates, and military conscription--Solnick makes use of rich archival sources and interviews to tell the story from a new perspective, and to employ and test Western theories of reform in the Soviet environment. He finds that even before Gorbachev, mechanisms for controlling bureaucrats in Soviet organizations were weak, allowing these individuals great latitude in their actions.