Moscow's Heavy Shadow

Moscow's Heavy Shadow tells the story of the collapse of the USSR from the perspective of the many millions of Soviet citizens who experienced it as a period of abjection and violence. Mikhail Gorbachev and the leaders of the USSR saw the years of reform preceding the collapse as opportunities for rebuilding ( perestroika ), rejuvenation, and openness ( glasnost ). For those in provincial cities across the Soviet Union, however, these reforms led to rapid change, economic collapse, and violence.