Gorbachev's Russia

The most up-to-date and in-depth analysis of the Soviet Union available, "Gorbachev’s Russia" examines the most recent political shifts and economic developments that have created the capacity for change within the main strata of Soviet society, explaining the larger trends which made these radical changes possible. In this book, Basile Kerblay, a leading expert on Soviet society, takes up this fascinating story from the early 1980s, analyzing events involved in the radical restructuring rocking the Soviet Union, including many which have yet to be written about in our newspapers. Kerblay discusses such topics as the importance of industrialization in altering Soviet society; the new, educated Soviet woman, and the erosion of traditional cultures and values. This is a full account of the Gorbachev experiment - from the first run of a new fashion magazine (150,000) to the number of unemployed that may result from economic reforms (fifteen million) - and the risks it runs. Kerblay includes an analysis of the recent restructuring in the government and Politburo and shows exactly what Gorbachev’s policies mean for the future of the Soviet Union. A balanced appraisal of the complex forces for and against perestroika, "Gorbachev’s Russia" is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what is happening in the Soviet Union.

The author, a scholar of Soviet studies at the Sorbornne, provides a concise and often illuminating account of the challenges confronting Gorbachev: Creation of a market economy must lead to painful increases of food prices now kept low by state subsidies; economic reform must be accomplished by bureaucrats unsuited to independent initiative; peasants, workers, and the army are wary of assaults on hard-won privileges; and many intellectuals, though longing for a return to humanist traditions, fear the elitism inherent in reform and free markets. Can he succeed? The final and hastily written chapter is equivocal: Gorbachev made real political gains during last July's stunning Party conference, but he remains far in advance of the thinking of most of his people. A satisfactory introduction, but one that will be superseded when the events of last summer are analyzed more thoroughly.
- Mark C. Carnes, Barnard Coll., Columbia
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.