This book is a brief, lucid account of Russian and Soviet history from ancient Kievan Rus' to the present day. It offers students and general readers an interesting introduction to the richness and variety of the experience of the Russian and Soviet peoples.

"John M. Thompson taught Russian history at Indiana University for seventeen years and is currently a visiting professor at Dartmouth College. He is also the author of Revolutionary Russia: 1917.
"

Preface -- General Theories of Crime, Law and Sanctions -- Law, Order and Sociology -- The Origins of the Conflict- Consensus Debate -- The Debate in the Nineteenth Century -- Twentieth-Century Resolutions -- Testing General Theories -- Theory Testing with the Nation-State -- England and Wales as a Test Case -- Law and Order in Canada -- The State of the Subject -- The Debate on Methodology: Positivism and Praxis -- Conclusions -- Technical Notes to Chapters