This landmark book - now available in paperback - provides us with a full-scale assessment of the constitutional amendments in the USSR - the first major institutional assault by the forces of perestroika on the apparatuses of the Soviet party state. Professor Urban presents a critical analysis of the Soviet Union's new politico-governmental order. He charts the progress of democracy to show how the political system, already by perestroika, may be employed to extend reform into the economy and society of the USSR. This innovative book is based on internal documents, interviews with Soviet officials as well as a considerable amount of information that is not yet currently available in the West. It will be essential reading for both students and instructors as well as the general reader with an interest in Soviet politics.