Gorbachev Memoirs

  gorbachev memoirs: Memoirs Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, 1996 In these long-awaited memoirs, Mikhail Gorbachev looks back on a lifetime that mirrors the fate of the Russian people. From the persecution of his family under Stalin to his first political steps, to his extraordinary rise within the Communist Party, Gorbachev recounts the events that led to his own disillusionment, without which the eventual implosion of communism would not have taken place. He casts an equally sharp eye on the policies of both past communist governments and present-day reformers.--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
  gorbachev memoirs: Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, 1995 In these memoirs Gorbachev reveals his feelings about the sad state of his country today. He tells us of his childhood in the North Caucasus during World War II, of coming to Moscow as a student and meeting Raisa Maksimovna, of his glittering career as a Party functionary - and his eventual role as one of the most powerful men in the world.
  gorbachev memoirs: Gorbachev: His Life and Times William Taubman, 2017-09-05 Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction The definitive biography of the transformational Russian leader by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Khrushchev. Essential reading for the twenty-first [century]. —Radhika Jones, The New York Times Book Review When Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, the USSR. was one of the world’s two superpowers. By 1989, his liberal policies of perestroika and glasnost had permanently transformed Soviet Communism, and had made enemies of radicals on the right and left. By 1990 he, more than anyone else, had ended the Cold War, and in 1991, after barely escaping from a coup attempt, he unintentionally presided over the collapse of the Soviet Union he had tried to save. In the first comprehensive biography of the final Soviet leader, William Taubman shows how a peasant boy became the Soviet system’s gravedigger, how he clambered to the top of a system designed to keep people like him down, how he found common ground with America’s arch-conservative president Ronald Reagan, and how he permitted the USSR and its East European empire to break apart without using force to preserve them. Throughout, Taubman portrays the many sides of Gorbachev’s unique character that, by Gorbachev’s own admission, make him difficult to understand. Was he in fact a truly great leader, or was he brought low in the end by his own shortcomings, as well as by the unyielding forces he faced? Drawing on interviews with Gorbachev himself, transcripts and documents from the Russian archives, and interviews with Kremlin aides and adversaries, as well as foreign leaders, Taubman’s intensely personal portrait extends to Gorbachev’s remarkable marriage to a woman he deeply loved, and to the family that they raised together. Nuanced and poignant, yet unsparing and honest, this sweeping account has all the amplitude of a great Russian novel.
  gorbachev memoirs: Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev, 2007-03-31 Mikhail Gorbachev is the man who changed everything. It was Gorbachev's initiative that raised the Iron Curtain; his actions that resulted in one of the era's most symbolic events, the demolition on the Berlin Wall; his reforms that set in train events leading to the fall of Communism.Twelve years ago, when Gorbachev came to power, the globe was still divided into two armed camps, one for each superpower - as it had been ever since 1945. The Cold War dominated international politics, from Angola to Afghanistan. The man who became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 was much younger than his predecessors, yet there was little else to distinguish him from the stony-faced apparatchiks waving from the Kremlin. He seemed a model Communist, ideologically committed to socialism, raised wholly within the confines of the Party. Yet Gorbachev realized that the system could not continue. What was it about this man which enabled him to see so much more clearly than his colleagues?Like most who start a revolution, Gorbachev has been left behind. No longer in power, he has been forced to endure criticism from those wise after the event - most notably Boris Yeltsin, who became undisputed leader after the failed military coup that finally displaced Gorbachev from office. In these memoirs Gorbachev reveals his feelings about the sad state of his country today. He tells us of his childhood in the North Caucasus during the Second World War, of coming to Moscow as a student and meeting Raisa Maksimovna, of his glittering career as a Party functionary, eventually becoming one of the most powerful men in the world. This is a historical document of the first importance. It is also a fascinating human story, an insider's account of the events that we never dared believe could happen.
  gorbachev memoirs: My Years with Gorbachev and Shevardnadze Pavel Palazchenko, 1997-01-01 As the principal English interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev and his foreign minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, in the critical period of 1985-1991, Pavel Palazchenko participated in all U.S.-Soviet summit talks leading to the end of the Cold War. This personal and political memoir sheds new light on Soviet/American relations and personalities during that time. Palazchenko focuses on what he saw with his own eyes during important negotiating sessions with world leaders such as Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker, and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He shares his impressions and opinions about these leaders as well as their Soviet counterparts and gives a firsthand account of the phase of preparation leading up to important international events, including the process of hammering out positions on sensitive arms control issues. Palazchenko describes the events themselves, such as the summits in Reykjavik, Malta, and Moscow, adding many fascinating details to previous accounts. Palazchenko contends that the peaceful end of the Cold War was possible not because of some behind-the-scenes dealings, but because of the trust that gradually developed between world leaders. He shows us how this developing trust led to the remarkably peaceful transition from the dangerous pre-1985 confrontation to the new relationships between major powers. This book sheds light on Soviet thinking about Soviet-U.S. relations, the Third World, arms control, German reunification, and the Gulf War. It also provides an insider's view of domestic politics and policy during Gorbachev's last year in power and Soviet developments leading up to the collapse of the USSR.
  gorbachev memoirs: Memoirs David Rockefeller, 2003-10-28 Born into one of the wealthiest families in America—he was the youngest son of Standard Oil scion John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the celebrated patron of modern art Abby Aldrich Rockefeller—David Rockefeller has carried his birthright into a distinguished life of his own. His dealings with world leaders from Zhou Enlai and Mikhail Gorbachev to Anwar Sadat and Ariel Sharon, his service to every American president since Eisenhower, his remarkable world travels and personal dedication to his home city of New York—here, the first time a Rockefeller has told his own story, is an account of a truly rich life.
  gorbachev memoirs: Perestroika Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, 1994
  gorbachev memoirs: The New Russia Mikhail Gorbachev, 2016-06-08 After years of rapprochement, the relationship between Russia and the West is more strained now than it has been in the past 25 years. Putin’s motives, his reasons for seeking confrontation with the West, remain for many a mystery. Not for Mikhail Gorbachev. In this new work, Russia’s elder statesman draws on his wealth of knowledge and experience to reveal the development of Putin’s regime and the intentions behind it. He argues that Putin has significantly diminished the achievements of perestroika and is part of an over-centralized system that presents a precarious future for Russia. Faced with this, Gorbachev advocates a radical reform of politics and a new fostering of pluralism and social democracy. Gorbachev’s insightful analysis moves beyond internal politics to address wider problems in the region, including the Ukraine conflict, as well as the global challenges of poverty and climate change. Above all else, he insists that solutions are to be found by returning to the atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation which was so instrumental in ending the Cold War. This book represents the summation of Gorbachev’s thinking on the course that Russia has taken since 1991 and stands as a testament to one of the greatest and most influential statesmen of the twentieth century.
  gorbachev memoirs: Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev, 1999-10-20 The last president of the Soviet Union discusses Communism, the Cold War, and bringing democracy to Russia in this sweeping political memoir. Drawing on his own experience and rich archival material, Mikhail Gorbachev shares his illuminating perspective on Russia's past, present, and future place in the world. Beginning with the October Revolution of 1917, he notes how much Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party did to modernize Russia. While he argues that the Soviet Union had a positive influence on social policy in the West, Gorbachev maintains that this positive development was cut short by Stalinist totalitarianism. Discussing the fall of the USSR in depth, Gorbachev examines the goals of perestroika, awakening ethnic tensions, the inability of democrats to unite, and his own attempts to preserve the union through reform. In retracing those fateful days, he explains the origins of Russia's present crisis. He then lays out a blueprint for Russia’s future, charting a path toward meaningful economic and political reforms. He also presents possible resolutions to a number of international dilemmas, including NATO expansion, the role of the UN, the fate of nuclear weapons, and environmental problems
  gorbachev memoirs: For the Soul of Mankind Melvyn P. Leffler, 2008-09-02 “A masterful account of the Cold War by a distinguished historian in full stride.” —G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs To the amazement of the public, pundits, and even the policymakers themselves, the ideological and political battles that endangered the world for half a century came to an end in 1990. How did that happen? What caused the cold war in the first place, and why did it last as long as it did? To answer these questions, Melvyn P. Leffler homes in on four crucial episodes when American and Soviet leaders considered modulating, avoiding, or ending their global struggle “for the soul of mankind,” and asks why they failed: Stalin and Truman devising new policies after 1945; Malenkov and Eisenhower exploring the chance for peace after Stalin’s death in 1953; Kennedy, Khrushchev, and LBJ trying to reduce tensions after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962; and Brezhnev and Carter aiming to sustain détente after the Helsinki Conference of 1975. Leffler then illuminates how Reagan, Bush, and, above all, Gorbachev managed to extricate themselves form the policies and mind-sets that had imprisoned their predecessors, making it possible to reconfigure Soviet-American relations after decades of confrontation. Praise for For the Soul of Mankind “[A] sweeping work . . . Leffler is one of America’s most distinguished cold war historians, and this enlightening, readable study is the product of years of research and reflection.” —Jonathan Rosenberg, The Christian Science Monitor “Leffler has produced possibly the most readable and insightful study of the Cold War yet.” —Publishers Weekly, (starred review) “Professor Leffler has the benefit of almost two decades of hindsight as well as access to recently declassified American and Soviet documents. The result is a series of fresh and often provocative perspectives on the struggle.” —Booklist
  gorbachev memoirs: Imperial Overstretch: Germany in Soviet Policy from Stalin to Gorbachev Hannes Adomeit, 2016-07-11 Das Buch ist eine Analyse von Aufstieg und Fall des sowjetischen Herrschaftssystems in dem Gebiet, das zur Zeit des Kalten Krieges Osteuropa genannt wurde, und der Rolle, die das Deutschlandproblem dabei gespielt hat. Gestützt auf die Auswertung neuer Quellen aus den Partei- und Staatsarchiven ehemals kommunistischerer Länder rekonstruiert es die folgende Entwicklung: die Teilung Deutschlands und dabei die Rolle der Sowjetunion unter Stalin; das eiserne Festhalten seiner Nachfolger an der Teilung; ihr zunehmendes Bewusstsein der hohen Kosten, welche die Aufrechterhaltung des imperialen Systems in Ostmitteleuropa verursachte; der Fehlschlag ihrer Anstrengungen, die wachsende wirtschaftliche und finanzielle Abhängigkeit der DDR von der Bundesrepublik zu verhindern; und schließlich die Gründe dafür, warum Gorbatschow die Auflösung des sowjetischen Herrschaftsbereichs in Ostmitteleuropa hinnahm und sogar der Mitgliedschaft des wiedervereinigten Deutschlands in der Nato zustimmte.Angesichts der russischen Okkupation der Krim, der anhaltenden Krise in der Ostukraine und der dadurch ausgelösten Gegenreaktionen von NATO und EU scheint sich der Kalte Krieg in Europa zurückgemeldet zu haben. Geeigneter kann der Zeitpunkt für die überarbeitete Neuauflage des sich inzwischen zu einem Standardwerk entwickelten Buches von Hannes Adomeit nicht sein. Seine profunde Kenntnis und Auseinandersetzung mit sowjetischer und russischer Politik seit fünf Jahrzehnten und sein Zugang zu neuem russischen Archivmaterial qualifiziert ihn zu einem der besten und erfahrensten Experten auf internationaler Ebene. Wer die sowjetische Politik nach dem II. Weltkrieg bis zur Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands und ihre Implikationen für die letzten 25 Jahre verstehen will, kommt an Adomeits Buch und seiner analytischen Brillanz nicht vorbei. Prof. Dr. h.c. Horst Teltschik, September 2015 Of all of the analyses of the fall of the Soviet Union and reunification of Germany, Hannes Adomeit's 1998 classic, Imperial Overstretch, has stood the test of time. Its re-publication here by Nomos, with some modest updates by the author, will be welcomed by scholars, students, the policy community, and the informed public, as a trenchant interpretation of what happened to the 'Soviet bloc', but also as an introduction to the assertive imperial politics of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation. Norman M. Naimark, Stanford University, November 2015
  gorbachev memoirs: Russia's Dead End Andrei A. Kovalev, 2017-08-01 An internal account of the political activities taking place inside the Kremlin from the fall of the USSR under the administration of Gorbachev to the future of Russia under Putin--Provided by publisher.
  gorbachev memoirs: The Gorbachev Factor Archie Brown, 1997 The author writes about Gorbachev, both as the statesman and as the man. He explores how an ordinary man can become a world leader, wielding enormous power.
  gorbachev memoirs: Memories Andreĭ Andreevich Gromyko, 1989 Andrei Gromyko has held high office in the Soviet government for more than 50 years, serving under every leader from Stalin to Gorbachev. As his country's Foreign Minister, he met and negotiated with almost every world leader. His memoirs describe the intrigues of power-politics behind the scenes in the Kremlin, and the characters and events which have dominated his political life. They provide unprecented insight into half a century of Soviet and world politics.
  gorbachev memoirs: My Life in Politics Jacques Chirac, 2012-11-13 Along with Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, and Francois Mitterand, Jacques Chirac is one of the most iconic statesmen of the twentieth century. Two-time president of France, mayor of Paris, and international politician, a recent poll voted him the most admired political figure in France, with current president Nicolas Sarkozy ranking in 32nd place. This memoir covers the full scope of Chirac's political career of more than 50 years and includes the last century's most significant events. A protégé of General de Gaulle, Chirac started political life after France's defeat in Algeria in the early 1960s. He then became Prime Minister George de Pompidou's bulldozer and a personal negotiator with Saddam Hussein for France's oil interests in the Persian Gulf. He sold Iraq its first nuclear reactor and incurred the wrath of the United States and Israel, which he discusses in striking detail. As mayor of Paris, Chirac was famed for his success in beautifying the City of Lights and keeping it whole during the heady days of the 1968 riots. As president in the 1990s and early 2000s, Chirac took controversial steps to privatize the economy and plan the European Union. Chirac seldom pulls punches and in several dramatic chapters describes his opposition to the US invasion of Iraq in 2002 and his personal meetings with George W. Bush. These landmark events are brought into sharp focus in this memoir that the popular French magazine Paris Match said steals the show even after its author decamped the presidential palace.
  gorbachev memoirs: The Return Daniel Treisman, 2012-01-10 Professor Daniel Treisman answers some of scholars' most pressing questions that haunt modern day Russia. Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate, and could its collapse have been avoided? Did Yeltsin destroy too much or too little of the Soviet political order? What explains Putin's unprecedented popularity with the Russian public? How did the oligarchs reshape the Russian economy? Treisman suggests that these questions can be answered by looking back through the dynamic political and social traditions of the region. Rigorous rather than rhetorical, this book uses historically documented evidence with modern day conditions to paint a complete picture of Russia today. In a time when global politics are more important than ever, it is critical for us to understand the inner workings.
  gorbachev memoirs: A Failed Empire Vladislav M. Zubok, 2009-02-01 In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. A Failed Empire provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.
  gorbachev memoirs: I Hope Raisa Maksimovna Gorbacheva, Georgiĭ V. Pri︠a︡khin, 1991 The First Lady of the USSR recalls her childhood and education, marriage to Mikhail Gorbachev, experiences during his rise to political power, meetings with world leaders, and dramatic changes in the Soviet Union
  gorbachev memoirs: Moving Violations John Hockenberry, 1996-06-27 A journalist for National Public Radio and ABC News recounts the challenges he has faced as a paraplegic at home and abroad, from the dangers of war-torn Iraq and Jerusalem to discrimination at home. Reprint.
  gorbachev memoirs: Way Out There In the Blue Frances FitzGerald, 2001-02-21 Way Out There in the Blue is a major work of history by the Pulitzer Prize­winning author of Fire in the Lake. Using the Star Wars missile defense program as a magnifying glass on his presidency, Frances FitzGerald gives us a wholly original portrait of Ronald Reagan, the most puzzling president of the last half of the twentieth century. Reagan's presidency and the man himself have always been difficult to fathom. His influence was enormous, and the few powerful ideas he espoused remain with us still -- yet he seemed nothing more than a charming, simple-minded, inattentive actor. FitzGerald shows us a Reagan far more complex than the man we thought we knew. A master of the American language and of self-presentation, the greatest storyteller ever to occupy the Oval Office, Reagan created a compelling public persona that bore little relationship to himself. The real Ronald Reagan -- the Reagan who emerges from FitzGerald's book -- was a gifted politician with a deep understanding of the American national psyche and at the same time an executive almost totally disengaged from the policies of his administration and from the people who surrounded him. The idea that America should have an impregnable shield against nuclear weapons was Reagan's invention. His famous Star Wars speech, in which he promised us such a shield and called upon scientists to produce it, gave rise to the Strategic Defense Initiative. Reagan used his sure understanding of American mythology, history and politics to persuade the country that a perfect defense against Soviet nuclear weapons would be possible, even though the technology did not exist and was not remotely feasible. His idea turned into a multibillion-dollar research program. SDI played a central role in U.S.-Soviet relations at a crucial juncture in the Cold War, and in a different form it survives to this day. Drawing on prodigious research, including interviews with the participants, FitzGerald offers new insights into American foreign policy in the Reagan era. She gives us revealing portraits of major players in Reagan's administration, including George Shultz, Caspar Weinberger, Donald Regan and Paul Nitze, and she provides a radically new view of what happened at the Reagan-Gorbachev summits in Geneva, Reykjavik, Washington and Moscow. FitzGerald describes the fierce battles among Reagan's advisers and the frightening increase of Cold War tensions during Reagan's first term. She shows how the president who presided over the greatest peacetime military buildup came to espouse the elimination of nuclear weapons, and how the man who insisted that the Soviet Union was an evil empire came to embrace the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, and to proclaim an end to the Cold War long before most in Washington understood that it had ended. Way Out There in the Blue is a ground-breaking history of the American side of the end of the Cold War. Both appalling and funny, it is a black comedy in which Reagan, playing the role he wrote for himself, is the hero.
  gorbachev memoirs: Khrushchev: The Man and His Era William Taubman, 2004-03-30 Tells the life story of twentieth-century Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, featuring information from previously inaccessible Russian and Ukrainian archives.
  gorbachev memoirs: Memoirs of a Critical Communist Livio Maitan, 2019 Livio Maitan's Memoirs of a Critical Communist tells of the life of a revolutionary communist in the second half of the 20th century. From his early commitment to communism in 1942 under fascism in Italy, Livio chose to be 'against the current' by rejecting both Stalinism and social democracy, and charted a course towards democratic and revolutionary Marxism. His translator, Gregor Benton, writes: Livio Maitan helped inspire the growth of Italian Trotskyism. There was also a wave of Maoism in the 1960s and a debate ensued, to which Livio contributed his book on China, Party, Army, and Masses. I was deeply influenced by it, and I translated it for New Left Books. The book combined criticism of the Chinese Revolution with support. From it, I learned how to write engaged scholarship. Livio could have shone at a leading university had he wanted, but instead he spent most of his life working on a shoestring. In 2002, he wrote this history of the Fourth International to go alongside his autobiography.Translating this new book was a bittersweet experience. Through it, I was able to relive chapter by chapter my wild political youth and my middle age. Livio Maitan's spirit lifts this story from a catalogue of false starts into a chronicle of heroism and optimism. He died before Black Lives Matter, Me Too, Corbynism, Gilets Jaunes, Extinction Rebellion, and other new struggles, but he paved the way for them. This book shows the road to socialism remains open.
  gorbachev memoirs: Reagan and Gorbachev Jack Matlock, 2004-07-20 “[Matlock’s] account of Reagan’s achievement as the nation’s diplomat in chief is a public service.”—The New York Times Book Review “Engrossing . . . authoritative . . . a detailed and reliable narrative that future historians will be able to draw on to illuminate one of the most dramatic periods in modern history.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review In Reagan and Gorbachev, Jack F. Matlock, Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to the U.S.S.R. and principal adviser to Ronald Reagan on Soviet and European affairs, gives an eyewitness account of how the Cold War ended. Working from his own papers, recent interviews with major figures, and unparalleled access to the best and latest sources, Matlock offers an insider’s perspective on a diplomatic campaign far more sophisticated than previously thought, waged by two leaders of surpassing vision. Matlock details how Reagan privately pursued improved U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations even while engaging in public saber rattling. When Gorbachev assumed leadership, however, Reagan and his advisers found a willing partner in peace. Matlock shows how both leaders took risks that yielded great rewards and offers unprecedented insight into the often cordial working relationship between Reagan and Gorbachev. Both epic and intimate, Reagan and Gorbachev will be the standard reference on the end of the Cold War, a work that is critical to our understanding of the present and the past.
  gorbachev memoirs: How It All Began Nikolai Bukharin, 1998-06-05 Here at last in English is Nikolai Bukharin's autobiographical novel and final work. Many dissident texts of the Stalin era were saved by chance, by bravery, or by cunning; others were systematically destroyed. Bukharin's work, however, was simultaneously preserved and suppressed within Stalin's personal archives. At once novel, memoir, political apology, and historical document, How It All Began, known in Russia as the prison novel, adds deeply to our understanding of this vital intellectual and maligned historical figure. The panoramic story, composed under the worst of circumstances, traces the transformation of a sensitive young man into a fiery agitator, and presents a revealing new perspective on the background and causes of the revolution that transformed the face of the twentieth century. Among the millions of victims of the reign of terror in the Soviet Union of the 1930's, Bukharin stands out as a special case. Not yet 30 when the Bolsheviks took power, he was one of the youngest, most popular, and most intellectual members of the Communist Party. In the 1920's and 30's, he defended Lenin's liberal New Economic Policy, claiming that Stalin's policies of forced industrialization constituted a military-feudal exploitation of the masses. He also warned of the approaching tide of European fascism and its threat to the new Bolshevik revolution. For his opposition, Bukharin paid with his freedom and his life. He was arrested and spent a year in prison. In what was one of the most infamous show trials of the time, Bukharin confessed to being a counterrevolutionary while denying any particular crime and was executed in his prison cell on March 15, 1938. While in prison, Bukharin wrote four books, of which this unfinished novel was the last. It traces the development of Nikolai Kolya Petrov (closely modeled on Nikolai Kolya Bukharin) from his early childhood though to age fifteen. In lyrical and poetic terms it paints a picture of Nikolai's growing political consciousness and ends with his activism on the eve of the failed 1905 revolution. The novel is presented here along with the only surviving letter from Bukharin to his wife during his time in prison, an epistle filled with fear, longing, and hope for his family and his nation. The introduction by Stephen F. Cohen articulates Bukharin's significance in Soviet history and reveals the troubled journey of this novel from Stalin's archives into the light of day.
  gorbachev memoirs: The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy Chris Miller, 2016-10-13 For half a century the Soviet economy was inefficient but stable. In the late 1980s, to the surprise of nearly everyone, it suddenly collapsed. Why did this happen? And what role did Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s economic reforms play in the country’s dissolution? In this groundbreaking study, Chris Miller shows that Gorbachev and his allies tried to learn from the great success story of transitions from socialism to capitalism, Deng Xiaoping’s China. Why, then, were efforts to revitalize Soviet socialism so much less successful than in China? Making use of never-before-studied documents from the Soviet politburo and other archives, Miller argues that the difference between the Soviet Union and China — and the ultimate cause of the Soviet collapse — was not economics but politics. The Soviet government was divided by bitter conflict, and Gorbachev, the ostensible Soviet autocrat, was unable to outmaneuver the interest groups that were threatened by his economic reforms. Miller’s analysis settles long-standing debates about the politics and economics of perestroika, transforming our understanding of the causes of the Soviet Union’s rapid demise.
  gorbachev memoirs: Spy Handler Victor Cherkashin, Gregory Feifer, 2008-08-05 Victor Cherkashin's incredible career in the KGB spanned thirty-eight years, from Stalin's death in 1953 to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. In this riveting memoir, Cherkashin provides a remarkable insider's view of the KGB's prolonged conflict with the United States, from his recruitment through his rising career in counterintelligence to his prime spot as the KGB's number- two man at the Soviet Embassy in Washington. Victor Cherkashin's story will shed stark new light on the KGB's inner workings over four decades and reveal new details about its major cases. Cherkashin's story is rich in episode and drama. He took part in some of the highest-profile Cold War cases, including tracking down U.S. and British spies around the world. He was posted to stations in the U.S., Australia, India, and Lebanon and traveled the globe for operations in England, Europe, and the Middle East. But it was in 1985, known as the Year of the Spy, that Cherkashin scored two of the biggest coups of the Cold War. In April of that year, he recruited disgruntled CIA officer Aldrich Ames, becoming his principal handler. Refuting and clarifying other published versions, Cherkashin will offer the most complete account on how and why Ames turned against his country. Cherkashin will also reveal new details about Robert Hanssen's recruitment and later exposure, as only he can. And he will address whether there is an undiscovered KGB spy-another Hanssen or Ames-still at large. Spy Handler will be a major addition to Cold War history, told by one of its key participants.
  gorbachev memoirs: There Was a Turkey on the Farm Valeri Gorbachev, 2020-09-01 A brand new picture book from beloved author illustrator Valeri Gorbachev. Turkey is bored! She can’t find anyone to be friends with on the farm—hen is too busy with her chicks, rooster crows too loud, and who could be friends with goat who has a beard and horns? But when Turkey ventures off the farm to find a friend, she meets someone who would love to be her companion: sly, hungry fox. Will her farm friends save her? Valeri Gorbachev’s indelible sense of humor and heart make this a wonderful book for the whole family!
  gorbachev memoirs: Gorbachev and His Revolution Mark Galeotti, 1997-01-29 By turns radical, uncertain, ambitious, and autocratic, Mikhail Gorbachev in his bid to reform the Soviet Union has shaped the contemporary world. In 1985, he set out to modernize the Soviet state and revive his Communist Party. Instead, by the end of 1991, the USSR had fragmented and the Party was banned. Institutions which had survived for 70 years, notwithstanding Stalin's murderous purges and the Nazi war machine, proved unable to survive his well-meant reforms.
  gorbachev memoirs: Cats are Cats Valeri Gorbachev, 2019-11-12 Miss Bell's new kitten turns out to be a tiger! But cats are cats, and she loves him all the same. This Level D book is perfect for new readers. One day Miss Bell bought a tiny kitten she named Tiger. He had stripes like a tiger, a tail like a tiger, and a smile like a tiger. He was very cute, and she loved him a lot. But Tiger got bigger. . . and kept getting bigger . . . Exuberant watercolor illustrations chronicle the transformation of Tiger from tiny kitten to giant jungle beast and his doting owner's efforts to accommodate his growing needs-- no matter what the neighbors think-- in this funny, warmhearted celebration of unconditional love. The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors—create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own! Level D, for late kindergarten, features longer sentences and greater variety in sentence structure than levels A, B, and C. May include questions. When Level D is mastered, follow up with Level E.
  gorbachev memoirs: Timebends Arthur Miller, 2012-08-30 'A beautifully structured narrative: tough, very moving, a political testimony of considerable force' - Harold Pinter 'As wise and witty and funny and brave as any of his plays' - Louis Auchincloss 'Wholly admirable' - Anthony Burgess ______________ Arthur Miller's plays have held the world's stages for almost half a century. Among them are Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons, which have been read and performed countless times across the world. His memoir, Timebends, shows that the life of the man is as compelling as his plays. With passion, wit and candour, Miller recalls his childhood in Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1920s and the Depression; his successes and failures in the theatre and in Hollywood; the formation of his political beliefs that, two decades later, brought him into confrontations with the House Committee of Un-American Activities; and his later work on behalf of human rights as the president of PEN International. He writes with astonishing perception and tenderness of Marilyn Monroe, his second wife, as well as the host of famous and infamous characters that have intersected with his adventurous life. Revealing and deeply moving, Timebends is Miller's love letter to the twentieth century: its energy, its humour, its chaos and moral struggles.
  gorbachev memoirs: Gorbachev's Glasnost Joseph Gibbs, 1999 In Gorbachev's Glasnost: The Soviet Media in the First Phase of Perestroika, author Joseph Gibbs traces the development of glasnost as both concept and policy, from the Leninist idea of criticism and self-criticism to Gorbachev's attempt to modernize and reinterpret that doctrine to fit his own political goals and aspirations.--BOOK JACKET.
  gorbachev memoirs: Not Me! Valeri Gorbachev, 2018-09 Bear loves everything about the beach. Not Chipmunk! As Chipmunk's beach mishaps pile up, Bear asks why he came. Chipmunk says, ''I came to be with you.'' A sweet reminder about the true nature of friendship. From SLJ: ''A satisfying seasonal story about the beach but also about best buds.''
  gorbachev memoirs: The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy Matthew J. Ouimet, 2003-10-16 Since the sudden collapse of the communist system in Eastern Europe in 1989, scholars have tried to explain why the Soviet Union stood by and watched as its empire crumbled. The recent release of extensive archival documentation in Moscow and the appearance of an increasing number of Soviet political memoirs now offer a greater perspective on this historic process and permit a much deeper look into its causes. The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy is a comprehensive study detailing the collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe between 1968 and 1989, focusing especially on the pivotal Solidarity uprisings in Poland. Based heavily on firsthand testimony and fresh archival findings, it constitutes a fundamental reassessment of Soviet foreign policy during this period. Perhaps most important, it offers a surprising account of how Soviet foreign policy initiatives in the late Brezhnev era defined the parameters of Mikhail Gorbachev's later position of laissez-faire toward Eastern Europe--a position that ultimately led to the downfall of socialist governments all over Europe.
  gorbachev memoirs: An Impossible Dream Guillaume Serina, 2019-08 The amazing untold story behind the meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik to stop the nuclear arms race. When Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev sat down in Reykjavik in 1986, George Shultz, the U.S. Secretary of State, said that it was `the poker game with the highest stakes ever played.' It was the last time the world had a chance to do away entirely with nuclear weapons. This is the behind-the-scenes story of this remarkable summit conference in the remote Icelandic capital. An Impossible Dream is the first exploration of recently-available archives from both sides -- top-secret Kremlin files and the personal papers of Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as the archives of Ronald Reagan. These chronicles, personal diaries, and previously classified memoranda are deeply enriched by the personal reminiscences of many of the key players of this era. Serina lays out this pivotal moment in history clearly and dramatically in this landmark work, as the world stands poised on the edge of a potential new arms race.
  gorbachev memoirs: Fighting the Cold War John R. Galvin, 2015-04-28 When four-star general John Rogers Galvin retired from the US Army after forty-four years of distinguished service in 1992, the Washington Post hailed him as a man without peer among living generals. In Fighting the Cold War: A Soldier's Memoir, the celebrated soldier, scholar, and statesman recounts his active participation in more than sixty years of international history—from the onset of World War II through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the post–Cold War era. Galvin's illustrious tenure included the rare opportunity to lead two different Department of Defense unified commands: United States Southern Command in Panama from 1985 to 1987 and United States European Command from 1987 to 1992. In his memoir, he recounts fascinating behind-the-scenes anecdotes about his interactions with world leaders, describing encounters such as his experience of watching President José Napoleón Duarte argue eloquently against US intervention in El Salvador; a private conversation with Pope John Paul II in which the pontiff spoke to him about what it means to be a man of peace; and his discussion with General William Westmoreland about soldiers' conduct in the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia. In addition, Galvin recalls his complex negotiations with a number of often difficult foreign heads of state, including Manuel Noriega, Augusto Pinochet, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Ratko Mladić. As NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the tumultuous five years that ended the Cold War, Galvin played a key role in shaping a new era. Fighting the Cold War illuminates his leadership and service as one of America's premier soldier-statesmen, revealing him to be not only a brilliant strategist and consummate diplomat but also a gifted historian and writer who taught and mentored generations of students.
  gorbachev memoirs: My Six Years with Gorbachev Anatoly C. Chernyaev, Anatoly S. Chernyaev, 2012-03-30 Drawing on his own diary as well as secret documents and transcripts of high-level meetings, Anatoly Chernyaev recounts the drama that swept the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1991. As Gorbachev&’s chief foreign policy aide for most of that period, he played a central role in efforts to halt the arms race, discard a confrontational ideology, and open his country to the world. And as Gorbachev&’s confidant on many domestic issues as well, Chernyaev offers rare insights into the struggle over glasnost, the growth of separatism, and the rise of Boris Yeltsin. While admiring of perestroika&’s founder, Chernyaev is frank in faulting Gorbachev for his hesitancy in economic reforms, for his delay in decentralizing Union-republic ties, and above all for his misplaced faith in the reformability of the Communist Party. Altogether this book is essential reading for those interested in the Cold War&’s end, the USSR&’s collapse, and especially the role played by ideas, ambitions, and key personalities in these momentous events.
  gorbachev memoirs: A Mountain of Crumbs Elena Gorokhova, 2010-08-19 A Mountain of Crumbs is the moving story of a young Soviet girl's discovery of the hidden truths of adulthood and her country's profound political deception. Elena, born with a desire to explore the world beyond her borders, finds her passion in the complexity of the English language - but in the Soviet Union of the 1960s, such a passion verges on the subversive. Elena's home is no longer the majestic Russia of literature or the tsars. Instead, it is a nation humiliated by its first faltering steps after World War II, putting up appearances for the sake of its regime and fighting to retain its pride. In this deeply affecting memoir, Elena re-creates the world that both oppressed and inspired her. She recounts stories passed down to her about the horrors of the Bolshevik Revolution and probes the daily deprivations and small joys of her family's bunkerlike existence. Through Elena's captivating voice, we learn not only the personal story of Russia in the second half of the twentieth century, but also the story of one rebellious citizen whose love of a foreign language finally transports her to a new world. 'This moving memoir made me cry' The New York Times
  gorbachev memoirs: Memoirs ( Volume 1 of 2) Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, 2018-09 Authobiography of one of the world's most powerful leaders, who once control the USSR. Vietnamese edition of Volume 1 of Mikhail Gorbachev's memoirs. Vietnamese translation by Pham Hong Anh.
  gorbachev memoirs: The Downing Street Years Margaret Thatcher, 2011-01-04 This first volume of Margaret Thatcher's memoirs encompasses the whole of her time as Prime Minister - the formation of her goals in the early 1980s, the Falklands, the General Election victories of 1983 and 1987 and, eventually, the circumstances of her fall from political power. She also gives frank accounts of her dealings with foreign statesmen and her own ministers.
Mikhail Gorbachev - Wikipedia
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev [f] [g] (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who …

Mikhail Gorbachev | Biography, Facts, Cold War,
Jun 9, 2025 · Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–91) and …

Death and funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev - Wikipedia
Gorbachev was the last living Soviet leader following the death of Georgy Malenkov in 1988, was the only one …

Mikhail Gorbachev - Simple English Wikipedia, the free e…
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev [4] (sometimes spelled Gorbachov) (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a …

General secretaryship of Mikhail Gorbachev - Wikipedia
Gorbachev's first public appearance as leader was at Chernenko's Red Square funeral, held on 14 March. [38] Two …

Mikhail Gorbachev - Wikipedia
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev [f] [g] (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's …

Mikhail Gorbachev | Biography, Facts, Cold War, & Significance
Jun 9, 2025 · Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–91) and president of the Soviet Union (1990–91). His efforts to democratize his country’s …

Death and funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev - Wikipedia
Gorbachev was the last living Soviet leader following the death of Georgy Malenkov in 1988, was the only one to have been born during the Soviet Union's existence, and the only one to have …

Mikhail Gorbachev - Simple English Wikipedia, the free …
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev [4] (sometimes spelled Gorbachov) (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician and leader from 1985 to 1991 during the end of the Cold War …

General secretaryship of Mikhail Gorbachev - Wikipedia
Gorbachev's first public appearance as leader was at Chernenko's Red Square funeral, held on 14 March. [38] Two months after being elected, he left Moscow for the first time, traveling to …

Mikhail Gorbachev summary | Britannica
Mikhail Gorbachev, (born March 2, 1931, Privolye, Stavropol region, Russia, U.S.S.R.—died August 30, 2022, Moscow, Russia), Soviet official and last president of the Soviet Union …

Mikhail Gorbachev: The Soviet leader who helped end the Cold War
Aug 30, 2022 · Gorbachev wanted to end the Cold War, successfully negotiating with US President Ronald Reagan for the abolition of a whole class of weapons through the …

Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet president who took down the …
Aug 30, 2022 · Mikhail Gorbachev – the last leader of the former Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991 – has died at the age of 91.

Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Reformist Soviet Leader, Is Dead at 91
Aug 30, 2022 · Mikhail S. Gorbachev had a profound effect on his time: In little more than six tumultuous years, he lifted the Iron Curtain, transforming the map of Europe and the political …

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died at 91
Aug 30, 2022 · Gorbachev was the Soviet Union's last leader and played a central role in ending the Cold War. The hospital that treated him said he died of a serious and protracted disease.