Petro Iu. Shelest was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine from 1963 until his demise in 1972. His tenure of office coincided with a period of rising social unrest, cultural turmoil, and national assertiveness—processes reflected in the Ukrainian party. The mass arrests of Ukrainian dissidents and the dismissal of many party and state officials in the wake of Shelest's ouster represented an attempt to reverse the partial gains made during the 1960s. The central leadership in Moscow charged Volodymyr V. Scherbytsky, the new first secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine, with the task of returning Ukraine to a state of subservient "normality". The successes and failures of Shcherbytsky's mission represent the major theme of this collection of essays. which deals with the national question, dissent and opposition, literary politics, the economy, and ethno-demographic trends.