Yeltsin

Timothy J. Colton

ISBN 10: 0465012728 / ISBN 13: 9780465012725

Published by Basic Books, US, 2011

About this Item

In this penetrating biography, Timothy J. Colton,one of the English-speaking world's foremost experts on Russia,traces the life and struggles of Russia's first popularly elected president, Boris Yeltsin. Colton vividly narrates the life of a man who rose from agrarian roots to forge a new destiny for Russia and whose attempt at bringing democracy to his countrymen remains one of the great unfinished stories of our time. Yeltsin provides a refreshing portrait of this controversial yet critical leader who buried the Soviet Union and birthed its troubled heir.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780465012725

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Yeltsin
• Publisher: Basic Books, US
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0465012728
• ISBN 13: 9780465012725
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 798 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Even after his death in April 2007, Boris Yeltsin remains the most controversial figure in recent Russian history. Although Mikhail Gorbachev presided over the decline of the Communist party and the withdrawal of Soviet control over eastern Europe, it was Yeltsin-Russia's first elected president-who buried the Soviet Union itself. Upon taking office, Yeltsin quickly embarked on a sweeping makeover of newly democratic Russia, beginning with a program of excruciatingly painful market reforms that earned him wide acclaim in the West and deep recrimination from many Russian citizens. In this, the first biography of Yeltsin's entire life, Soviet scholar Timothy Colton traces Yeltsin's development from a peasant boy in the Urals to a Communist party apparatchik, and then ultimately to a nemesis of the Soviet order. Based on unprecedented interviews with Yeltsin himself as well as scores of other Soviet officials, journalists, and businessmen, Colton explains how and why Yeltsin broke with single-party rule and launched his drive to replace it with democracy. Yeltsin's colossal attempt to bring democracy to Russia remains one of the great, unfinished stories of our time. As anti-Western policies and rhetoric resurface in Putin's increasingly bellicose Russia, Yeltsin offers essential insights into the past, present, and future of this vast and troubled nation.

About the Author

Timothy J. Colton is Morris and Anna Feldberg Professor of Government and Russian Studies and Director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. The author of numerous books and articles on Soviet history and politics, he lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.