The human factor in the failure of communism -- Defectors and exiles: disillusionment before the fall -- Soviet leaders: the reformers -- The ambivalence of high-level functionaries -- The political transformation of East European leaders -- Leading specialists in "state security" (political police) -- Conclusions: the unity of theory and practice -- Appendix: the interviews
Summary
"Paul Hollander focuses on the human aspects of the failure of Soviet communism. He examines how members of the Soviet political elite, leaders in communist Czechoslovakia and Hungary, high-ranking officials in agencies of control and coercion, and distinguished defectors and exiles experienced the erosion of ideals that undermined the political system they had once believed in."--Jacket