Ilya Zemtsov was born in the Baku region of Russia. He holds advanced graduate de-grees in philosophy and sociology. Prior to his departure from Russia in 1973, he was a member of the executive board of the Soviet Sociological Association, and di-rector of the department of social science at institutes of higher education in his -native Baku and in Yaroslav. After his emi-gration to Israel, he was a professor at the Hebrew University. Presently, he is the di-rector of the International Research Cen-ter on Contemporary Society, and editor in chief of Crossroads, a quarterly journal issued in England. He has authored sev-eral books on Soviet society and polity, including a major study of Gorbachev pub-lished earlier this year by Transaction. Dr. Zemtsov is a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Preface, Prologue: In Retrospect, 1. Rising over the Abyss, 2. In Moscow: "Ever Ready", 3. Lessons of Political Maneuvering, 4. The Party Boss, 5. The Struggle for Succession, 6. Leader for the Meanwhile, 7. The Brezhnev Era Replayed, 8. The Future Can Be Known from the Past, Bibliography, Glossary, Annotated Index