Abstract

At the beginning of 1986, reflecting a common position at the time, one of the leading authorities on the USSR and Eastern Europe saw Gorbachev as nothing more than an updated version of Brezhnev. This was based in part on the personal history of the new Soviet leader, who for years had been responsible for the Party's agricultural policies. Such a critical position could have been entrusted only to a faithful Party member. Despite lingering skepticism, these opinions have changed radically in the past couple of years. Thus Moshe Lewin wagers on the success of perestroika as a profound reform of Russian society; and Seweryn Bialer accepts Gorbachev's claims on the basis of the growing difficulties of a Soviet economy unable to sustain the arms race.