Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword – Blair A. Ruble
Introduction – Daniel Orlovsky
"Judging the Past, Charting the Future: On Aquariums and Fish Soup" – Daniel Orlovsky
"Social Perspectives on Soviet History, the Demise of Communism, and the Ongoing Transition" – Katherine Verdery
Commentary: Not the Juice But the Juicer – Reginald E. Zelnik
"Society, Past and Present, in Interpreting Russia" – Moshe Lewin
"From Sovietology to Comparative Political Economy" – Michael Burawoy
"Nationalism and National Identities" – followed by multiple contributions:
Rethinking Soviet Studies: Bringing the Non‑Russians Back In – Ronald Grigor Suny
Soviet Nationality Studies between Past and Future – Martha Brill Olcott
Commentary: Framing Post‑Soviet Nationality Studies – Gale Stokes
"Politics" – with essays such as:
Common Knowledge: Soviet Political Studies and the Problem of System Stability – Thomas F. Remington
Commentary: The Record of Soviet Studies – Gabriel A. Almond
Beyond Soviet Studies: The New Institutional Alternative – Scott A. Bruckner
"Economics" – including:
Rethinking Soviet Economic Studies – James R. Millar
Commentary: The Future of Soviet Economic Studies – Christopher Clague
Commentary: An Untenured Perspective on the Death of Soviet Economic Studies – Thomas Richardson
"Foreign Policy" –
The State of the Field: Soviet Foreign Policy – David Holloway
"Culture" – with contributions like:
The Relentless Cult of Novelty; or, How to Wreck the Century: Rethinking Soviet Studies – Nancy Condee
Cultural History and Russian Studies – Richard Stites
Contributors
Index

This volume is a carefully structured anthology that reassesses Sovietology and its evolution after the collapse of the USSR. Prominent scholars contribute essays and commentaries grouped by themes—offering critiques and charting future directions in the study of post‑Soviet realities. Key topics include social dynamics, institutional change, national identity, politics, economics, foreign policy, and culture.