This book tells of the immense changes begun then, setting in train centrifugal forces which became uncontrollable, leading in six short years to the dissolution of that once powerful country - the USSR.
How did it happen? Why did it happen? Was it inevitable? As a journalist, Kate witnessed it all from the very beginning to the end and tells her story here. Alongside documenting the country's momentous political and social changes, Kate gives a vivid picture of her family's life among Russians.