How did the Soviet Union evolve from Stalin’s iron-fisted rule to Putin’s era of “managed democracy”? In Season 9, Episode 18 of CSS Breakdown: Book by Book, we explore Chapter 18 of Norman Lowe’s Mastering Modern World History to trace Russia’s turbulent journey from 1953 to 2012.

We break this dramatic era into four phases:

Khrushchev’s De-Stalinization: Political “thaw,” ambitious reforms, and Cold War challenges.

Brezhnev’s Stagnation: Economic slowdown, suppression of freedoms, and the Brezhnev Doctrine.

Gorbachev’s Reforms: Glasnost, Perestroika, and the unintended collapse of the Soviet Union.

Yeltsin to Putin: Economic “shock therapy,” Chechen conflicts, and Russia’s transformation into a centralized, stable—but controversial—state.

This episode is a must-listen for CSS aspirants, history enthusiasts, and anyone studying the fall of communism, Cold War politics, and the foundations of modern Russia.

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