The collapse of the USSR is a historical phenomenon, the causes of which are not fully understood even twenty years later. This book reconstructs the history of Perestroika through the lens of Moscow's "informal" political clubs—organizations independent of the CPSU that emerged in 1986-1987.

The historical narrative of Perestroika, examined through the activities of such protagonists as informal political clubs, offers its own version of the Soviet system's disintegration. This original form of political activism originated in academic circles but quickly spread beyond them. Its specificity lay in rejecting the classic strategy of frontal opposition typical of dissidence. Perhaps it was for this reason that it managed to destabilize the foundations of the existing political system.

Informal clubs proved to be important yet still little-known components of Perestroika. They participated in the formation of a new competitive political space that emerged in 1987 and was radically transformed in 1989 after the first free elections.

The research is based on the archival collections of the clubs (about thirty organizations), numerous in-depth interviews with their activists, as well as unpublished materials from one of Moscow's CPSU district committees, which was supposed to oversee the activities of these clubs.