The Fate of Marxism in Russia

A former Communist Party senior official turned heretic offers an impassioned and devastating indictment of Soviet communism. Yakovlev, at one time a chief hard-line propagandist, became an architect of perestroika 's liberal reforms under Mikhail Gorbachev. Expelled from the Party in 1991, he is currently vice-president of the Gorbachev Foundation in Moscow and continues to oppose efforts to restore the old order. Viewing Bolshevism as a natural outgrowth of Marxist theory instead of an aberration, he graphically demonstrates its disastrous economic, spiritual, moral and political effects. He also assesses the incomplete gains of perestroika , calling for a gradual political and economic renewal requiring competence, openness and hard work at all levels. On a more specific level, Yakovlev also advocates the prohibition of monopolies, a substantial reduction in military spending and ``eco-development'' attuned to environmental impact. An appendix includes five speeches which he gave in the West in 1991-92. (Oct.)