Today’s episode is the first of a two part programme with Dr Martin McCauley, formerly a senior lecturer in Russian and European history at the University of London. Dr McCauley has a long standing interest in the Soviet Union, having conducted research there in the late 1950s. He is the author of a wide range of books on the Soviet Union, including The Khruschev Era, and the excellent, Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union.

This first programme is taken from a lecture given at Guiseley School to Sixth Form students in March of 2014. In the lecture, Dr McCauley looks at the origins of the Marxist-Leninist ideology, and how successive leaders of the union tried and failed to reform the system over a period of some 70 years. He also takes some time to explore the reasons for the collapse of the Union, and makes some interesting points about the clan-like system of political patronage in operation in the USSR. 

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The Soviet Union came to an abrupt end in December 1991, with the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev from his position as President of the USSR, leaving a multitude of affiliated and independent states in its wake. However, the union had been fragmenting for some time, and there is a good deal of historical debate about how far the end of the Soviet Union was inevitable, and the extent to which Gorbachev might be held accountable for its demise.

To discuss the impact of Gorbachev, I am joined on the line today by Peter Kenez, who is Professor of History emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Professor Kenez’s interest in Soviet Russia encompasses aspects such as the mass mobilisation of support for the war, as well as soviet society and cinema. His most recent works include “A History of the Soviet Union from beginning to end”, an excellent core text, and “Hungary, from the Nazis to the Soviets.”

Professor Kenez' "A History of the Soviet Union" is a very interesting and lively read, and can be found on Amazon HERE. He has also written a number of other books on Soviet society including: "The Birth of the Propaganda State", "Hungary: From the Nazis to the Soviets", and "Cinema and Soviet Society". 


Finally, for those of you studying the Holocaust, Professor Kenez has also written a book tracing the origins of the Holocaust to the enlightenment ideas of the 18th Century. "The Coming of the Holocaust" gives a fantastic insight into the causes of one of the worst atrocities in human history, and can be bought HERE. 

Once again, any comments are much appreciated. Mr F

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