This book provides an historical study of democratic life andinstitutions and their decline in the early years of the RussianRevolution. Rather than an event-by-event description of thisperiod, it is an attempt at interpretation and synthesis of thevast and relatively recent specialist literature on a subjectusually neglected by those analysing Soviet politics for the publicat large. While attempting to synthesize a wealth of historical materials,Farber also assesses the extent to which the disappearance ofSoviet democracy was due to objective circumstances, for example,the impact of the Civil War, and the extent to which it was theresult of Bolshevik politics and ideology. In this context, theauthor shows how there were, contrary to later Stalinist and ColdWar mythologies, considerable and significant disputes within thepre-Stalinist Bolshevik camp on matters relevant to thepreservation of the substantial democratic elements of the Octoberupheaval. As the processes of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Unionfind a response from below in a movement for democracy that may notbe willing to respect the limits of Gorbachev's programme, Farber'swork acquires a timely quality for those who, inside or outside theSoviet Union, are searching for a usable past in which to root thenew Soviet Spring. In presenting data known only to specialists to a larger publicion an original, novel and accessible interpretative framework,Farber adds an important new dimension to our thinking about theRussian Revolution and the origins of the Soviet state.