Ten Years That Shook The World: The Gorbachev Era As Witnessed By His Chief Of Staff
Language: English
Published by Basic Books, 1994
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: SZ Global, Toronto, ON, CanadaSZ Global
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Condition: Used
US$ 97.53
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In Ten Years That Shook the World, Valery Boldin, a key Gorbachev aide, gives us a ringside seat to one of history's momentous developments - the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union - as well as a glimpse of the top-secret world behind the Iron Curtain. Here is a fascinating new perspective on the events, personalities, and forces involved in the ending of the cold war. Valery Boldin joined Gorbachev's staff in 1981 as an adviser on agricultural questions at a time when Gorbachev was still a lowly bureaucrat. But as Gorbachev's star rose, so did Boldin's. He soon became Gorbachev's right-hand man, first on the Central Committee and eventually as Chief of Staff. He witnessed at first hand the geritocracy that ruled the USSR during the days of Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko, and was thus in an ideal position to observe the combination of baroque maneuvering and genuine vision that propelled Gorbachev to the top. Present at the creation of perestroika - indeed, he was responsible for drafting key speeches and memoranda - Boldin sat in on many of the most fateful meetings of the era, dealing with the secret murder of Polish officers at Katyn, the Chernobyl disaster, the Afghan war, the secession of the Baltic republics, and the eventual disintegration of the Soviet economy and state. This book tells the story of all those events, portraying each of the key figures of the period both as private persons and as public personalities. But above all, this is the saga of Gorbachev himself (and Raisa): supremely intelligent, courageous, and, in the early years at least, visionary - but also personally ambitious, vain, and at times mean-spirited and disloyal to colleagues and subordinates.Boldin remained a progressive communist loyalist to the end, and he finally broke with his master in the vain hope that the Union could be saved.…
Seller Inventory # 9780465084074
- Title
- Ten Years That Shook The World: The Gorbachev Era As Witnessed By His Chief Of Staff
- Author
- Valery Boldin
- Publisher
- Basic Books
- Publication year
- 1994
- Condition
- Collectible-Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0465084079
- ISBN 13
- 9780465084074
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Reviews
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Reproachful, revelatory recollections of a protracted Gtterdmmerung from a former aide of the Soviet Union's last emperor. Boldin had a ringside seat in the Kremlin from 1981--when an upwardly mobile apparatchik named Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev raided Pravda to recruit him as an assistant--through 1991, when he was imprisoned for participating in an abortive coup against his erstwhile boss. The author's insider status allows him to offer illuminating insights on those who presided over (or precipitated) the collapse of both the USSR and Communist Party. By his censorious, discontinuous account, Gorbachev was a vain, ambitious opportunist overly mindful of Western opinion, who unleashed forces he did not fully understand and could not control, much less direct. According to Boldin, moreover, Gorbachev was surprisingly indecisive and hence ineffective in crisis situations--from the Chernobyl disaster through the unanticipated consequences of glasnost and perestroika. The author's disclosures and perspectives, however, come at a price. To begin with, readers must wade through a welter of teary prose detailing how, sick or well, Boldin was forced to work like a galley slave for an unappreciative, insensitive, and autocratic master. Further, in addition to assigning Gorbachev sole responsibility for the fall of a once-united state (plus such unwelcome side effects as industrial paralysis, a crime wave, reduced birth rates, and lower standards of living), the author charges him with a host of venial shortcomings. At several points, for example, he goes out of his way to make nasty comments about Gorbachev's regional accent. Nor does Boldin shrink form reiterating the central role selfless patriotism played in his own conversion from comrade to culpable critic. Revisionist history with a vengeance--and residual values for all the bitterness. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
More readable than Vladimir Egorov's Out of a Dead End into the Unknown (Quintessence Pub., 1993), this memoir by another Gorbachev aide is long on juicy details of life at the top in the former USSR but short on any perspective of Gorbachev's role in ending the Cold War and transforming international relations. The author, a former Pravda journalist, served Gorbachev for ten years before becoming a participant in the attempted coup of August 1991. His memoir, begun in jail, is what one would expect from an embittered and overworked underling: Gorbachev is depicted as vain, imperious, and corrupt, and Raisa comes off even worse. Adam Ulam's introduction gives some useful background while casting doubt on Boldin's reliability. Appropriate for most collections.
- Robert Decker, Palo Alto, Cal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Boldin prepared documents and speeches for the general secretary, but dismayed by the Communist Party's loosening grip on the Soviet Union, he mutinied with the plotters of August 1991. The question is whether the USSR was reformable after Gorbachev, given the initiatives he advanced and such pressures as nationalism. That Boldin thinks so is no compliment to his political acumen, but although he supported Gorbachev's program, his words drip with contempt concerning his boss's fabled tactical maneuvers. Arguing that such machinations materially accelerated the collapse, which is undoubtedly true, Boldin gives the inside view of key moments during Gorbachev's rule: his formulation of uskoreniye (acceleration), then perestroika, the several party congresses, and the elections of 1989--the point of no return in the party's loss of control. Boldin gradually came to dislike Gorbachev, criticizing his (and his wife's) luxurious tastes and penchant for political guile. These themes, common to several memoirs by the leader's associates (for example, Yegor Ligachev's Inside Gorbachev's Kremlin, ), exemplify what are now problems of historical reconstruction, problems the likes of which Sovietologist Adam Ulam (The Communists ), who contributes a typically well written introduction for Boldin, is beginning to tackle. Gilbert Taylor
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At SZ Global, we specialize in sourcing and offering a diverse selection of books across a wide range of categories, including fiction, literature, business, religious works, and more. Our inventory includes both contemporary titles and hard to find editions, carefully selected to meet the needs of readers, collectors, and enthusiasts. We are committed to providing accurate listings, reliable service, and a smooth purchasing experience. All orders are shipped from our Kuwait warehouse, and we take great care in packaging to ensure books arrive in the condition described. Returns are accepted at our designated return address in Toronto, Canada, in accordance with AbeBooks policies. Whether you are expanding your personal collection, searching for a specific title, or simply exploring, SZ Global aims to be a dependable source for quality books.…
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