This is the first volume of an integrated documentary history of the Soviet Union. The Soviet story - the revolution, Lenin, Stalinism, the Great Patriotic War, the era of Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Cold War, and the dramatic collapse under Gorbachev - looms large in history syllabuses across the world. This book should be a valuable resource for students at all levels, drawing upon the primary material that has come to light since the collapse of Communist rule in 1991. Combining narrative commentary and a selection of evocative documents, it provides an entree to debate over humanity's most momentous and tragic experiment. This volume is organised into three chronologically distinct parts, subdivided thematically and embedding over 200 documents. Key terms and references to individuals, places, events and institutions are explained and guidance provided on significant features of the primary sources. It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. Volume Two covers the period 1939-1991.