This edited collection brings together noted scholars in a comparison of the reform efforts of Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev. Contributors examine the Communist Party in Khrushchev’s and Gorbachev’s times, the economy, agriculture, law, ideology, nationality policy, foreign affairs, defence policy, and Eastern Europe. These specialists suggest that while there are many similarities between the reform efforts of the two leaders - common substantive themes, common problems, and common political dangers - there are also important differences, the most crucial of which has been Gorbachev’s willingness to undertake fundamental systematic changes in the nature of the political system.