Overview
- Analyses the tension between individual leadership and collective rule
- Covers the entire Soviet period and all Soviet leaders
- Links the Soviet period to literature on authoritarian rule
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership (PSPL)
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About this book
This book studies the way in which the top leadership in the Soviet Union changed over time from 1917 until the collapse of the country in 1991. Its principal focus is the tension between individual leadership and collective rule, and it charts how this played out over the life of the regime. The strategies used by the most prominent leader in each period – Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev – to acquire and retain power are counterposed to the strategies used by the other oligarchs to protect themselves and sustain their positions. This is analyzed against the backdrop of the emergence of norms designed to structure oligarch politics. The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in the fields of political leadership, Soviet politics and Soviet history.
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Keywords
- collective leadership
- Soviet politics
- Soviet leadership
- Soviet Union leaders
- Soviet political history
- Lenin and collective leadership
- Stalin and collective leadership
- Khrushchev and collective leadership
- Brezhnev and collective leadership
- Gorbachev and collective leadership
- oligarch politics
- Soviet history
- forms of political leadership
- individual leadership
- collective rule
- forms of government
- authoritarian regimes
- russian and post-soviet politics
Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Reviews
“The study of leadership has always been important, but seldom more so than today. In this masterful study of leadership patterns covering the whole Soviet period from 1917 to 1991, Gill stresses the shifting patterns between collective and individual leadership, and the crucial importance of elite unity for regime survival. In an era when authoritarian leadership is once again the centre of attention, this landmark study is essential reading in helping us understand patterns of authority and leadership survival.” (Professor Richard Sakwa, University of Kent, UK)
“This is a meticulous study of an important aspect of Soviet elite politics. Gill’s treatment is comprehensive, detailed, and compelling. The volume confirms long understood norms of Soviet leadership while also yielding new insights that will be valuable for even the most seasoned specialist. Drawing upon a rich array of sources, this is an important book that draws the reader into the labyrinth of Soviet elite politics.” (Professor John Pat Willerton, University of Arizona, USA)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Graeme Gill is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Australia. The author or editor of more than twenty books, as well as Soviet and Russian politics and history, he has published on the role of class in political development, the state and democratization.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Collective Leadership in Soviet Politics
Authors: Graeme Gill
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76962-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-76961-5Published: 03 April 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-08335-9Published: 22 December 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-76962-2Published: 21 March 2018
Series ISSN: 2947-5821
Series E-ISSN: 2947-583X
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 351
Topics: Political Leadership, Russian and Post-Soviet Politics, Political History