Dramatic and confusing changes in what used to be the Soviet Union have transformed the world in which we live. Communist rule has given way to multiparty politics; a command economy is being painfully privatised; almost every social and cultural value has been overturned; and perestroika has now been swept away by the reforming policies of Boris Yeltsin. In turn, these policies are now challenged by a variety of conservative and nationalist forces. This fourth edition of Stephen White’s best-selling introductory text has been revised throughout. A new final chapter charts the first turbulent years of Yeltsin’s troubled presidency and the background to his radical policies. Clearly written but detailed and authoritative, After Gorbachev, like its predecessors, will continue to provide an unrivalled guide to the processes of transition, upheaval, and collapse which now characterise Russia and the post-Soviet republics.