The main theme of this book is the shaping of scientific theories and institutions in Russia and the former Soviet Union by social, economic and political factors. Major sections include the Tsarist period, the impact of the Russian Revolution, and relations between science and Soviet society.

Although by the 1980s the Soviet scientific establishment became the largest in the world, little is known about it in the West. Loren Graham presents the first concise, modern history of science in Russia, the Soviet Union, and the commonwealth of Independent States. Thoroughly up to date, the volume covers the Czarist period, the impact of the Russian Revolution, the relationship between science and Soviet society, the strengths of various scientific disciplines, and the effect of the fall of Communism.