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Discusses why the Communist Party of the Soviet Union collapsed in just three days after governing that nation for nearly eighty years. Transformation of active beliefs and ideology into reflex habits; Strength of Leninism-Stalinism; Experiences of the current generation; Role of Russian President Boris Yeltsin; Reflections on the Cold War; Position of the Bush administration; Outlook.

Comments on the direction taken by Western Sovietology over the past few decades that allowed it to be completely surprised by the recent coup attempt and subsequent changes in the Soviet Union. Misreading the influence of democratic centralism, which President Mikhail Gorbachev exploited; Ignoring the disintegration of the state; Failing to recognize the common-sense distinction between different political systems and regimes; Social science; The KGB; Details.

Presents an essay by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn adapted from his coming book, `Rebuilding Russia: Reflections and Tentative Proposals,' translated by Alexis Klimoff. Rebuilding the Russian government after the fall of communism; Need for the qualities of continuity and stability; Importance of democracy starting at the local level with grassroots issues; Importance of rediscovering a spiritual life; Repentence; Forces of glasnost and perestroika; Aim of universal suffrage; Details.

Profiles Russian President Boris Yeltsin, whose power has become pre-eminent in the Soviet Union since the August coup attempt. His 1990 autobiography, `Against the Grain'; Childhood; Rebellion; Advantage over Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev; Parallels with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; Ability to learn; Views on economics and private property; Support for Baltic independence; Vision for a Russian commonwealth; Details.

Looks at the future for the Soviet Union now that the anti-Communist democratic revolution has firmly taken root. Massive redistribution of power; Reconfiguration of the Soviet political firmament; Potential for violence of the sort currently in Yugoslavia; Question of nuclear arms; Issue of economic non-viability; Russian imperialism; Changing powers of Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin; Details.

Presents an analysis of the August Revolution that ended Communist rule in the Soviet Union. Legacy of Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin; Force of popular resistance; Restructuring of the governing systems; Threat of economic collapse; Reaction of the Bush administration; Historical perspective of Marxism-Leninism; Impact on foreign affairs; Role of the United States in the world now; Details.

Comments on the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Economic crisis faced by the country; State of the financial and administrative institutions of the country under the management of the Russian Republic; Leadership of Boris Yeltsin; Economic and military potential of the Russian Republic.

Discusses the various reactions of Western leaders to the news of the ousting of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during the attempted coup. French President Francois Mitterrand; German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher; British Prime Minister John Major and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; Neil Kinnock of Britain's Labour Party; The Soviet embassy in London; NATO; Re-examining the treaties concluded with Gorbachev; Details.

Reports on the reactions of the Soviet Union's former satellite countries to the August coup in Moscow. Reactions of Presidents Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia and Lech Walesa of Poland; Prime Minister Jozsef Antall of Hungary; The Slovak National Party; Support for Russian democrats; Impact on the domestic policies of the former satellites; Speeding up the revolution in Eastern Europe; Details.

Recounts the series of events in Moscow that created the foundation for the failure of the attempted coup by hardliners. Supporters of Russian President Boris Yeltsin surrounding the Parliament building of the Russian Republic (RSFSR); First conflict with the troops that resulted in the deaths of three citizens; Defiance of the Soviet citizens; Impact of the change; Details.

Assesses the fall of communism in the Soviet Union. Session of the Congress of People's Deputies this week; Plan for a new national structure from President Mikhail Gorbachev; Coup as the final proof of the transformation of the Soviet people since Gorbachev came to power; Role of Boris Yeltsin; Details.

Presents a letter from editor William F. Buckley about the demise of communism. Reference to the first issue of the "National Review" in 1955, which announced a war against communism and no substitute for victory; Description of how the communists lost the war, with key figures such as Ronald Reagan and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; Reasons for the ultimate decline of communism; Tribute to those Hungarians who died in the fight for freedom in 1956; Thanksgiving for the transfiguration of Russia.