Armageddon averted : the Soviet collapse, 1970-2000 [2001]
In Research Room
Book
General Information
Original Title
Armageddon averted : the Soviet collapse, 1970-2000 / Stephen Kotkin.
General Information
Language
English
General Information
Published
Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2001.
General Information
Physical Description
xvii, 245 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps, ports. ; 20 cm.
Contents Summary
In 1991, the world looked in amazement at the collapse of the Soviet Union. But as Stephen Kotkin asserts in his concise, uncompromising history, this downfall was neither sudden nor unexpected but rather inevitable.
Combining historical and geopolitical analysis with an absorbing narrative, Kotkin draws upon extensive research, including memoirs of dozens of insiders and senior figures. He illuminates the factors that led to the demise of Communism and the USSR, putting the collapse in the context of the global economic changes from the 1970s to the present day, examining for example why the advent of Siberian oil had profound effects on the Soviet Union's raison d'etre. Kotkin also provides vivid portraits of key personalities. Using recently released archive materials, for example, he paints a new picture of Gorbachev's rise to General Secretary. Further, we see Gorbachev, the virtuoso tactician and resolutely committed reformer, "flabbergasted by the fact that his socialist renewal was leading to the system's liquidation"--and more or less going along with it. Here, too, is Boris Yeltsin, full of the theatrics and "ham-handed populism" that especially aggravated Gorbachev. Finally, Kotkin creates a compelling profile of the "stable mess" that is post-Soviet Russia, and he reminds us, with chilling immediacy, of what could not have been predicted--that the world's largest police state, with several million troops, a doomsday arsenal, and an appalling record of violence, would liquidate itself with barely a whimper.
At once authoritative and provocative, Armageddon Averted illuminates the collapse of the Soviet Union, revealing how "principled restraint and scheming self-interest brought a deadly system to meek dissolution"--publisher
Subjects
Subject Terms
Communism -> Soviet Union -> History.
Soviet Union History 1953-1985.
Soviet Union History 1985-1991.
Bibliographic Information
ISBN
0192802453
Holdings
| Item Type | Current Location | Collection | Call Number | Volume Info | Shelving Location | Public Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | OSA Archivum Library | General collection | 947.085 KOT | - | General Stacks | - |
Armageddon averted : the Soviet collapse, 1970-2000 [2001]
In Research Room
BookGeneral Information
Author
Kotkin, Stephen, 1959-
General Information
Original Title
Armageddon averted : the Soviet collapse, 1970-2000 / Stephen Kotkin.
General Information
Language
English
General Information
Published
Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2001.
General Information
Physical Description
xvii, 245 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps, ports. ; 20 cm.
Contents Summary
In 1991, the world looked in amazement at the collapse of the Soviet Union. But as Stephen Kotkin asserts in his concise, uncompromising history, this downfall was neither sudden nor unexpected but rather inevitable.
Combining historical and geopolitical analysis with an absorbing narrative, Kotkin draws upon extensive research, including memoirs of dozens of insiders and senior figures. He illuminates the factors that led to the demise of Communism and the USSR, putting the collapse in the context of the global economic changes from the 1970s to the present day, examining for example why the advent of Siberian oil had profound effects on the Soviet Union's raison d'etre. Kotkin also provides vivid portraits of key personalities. Using recently released archive materials, for example, he paints a new picture of Gorbachev's rise to General Secretary. Further, we see Gorbachev, the virtuoso tactician and resolutely committed reformer, "flabbergasted by the fact that his socialist renewal was leading to the system's liquidation"--and more or less going along with it. Here, too, is Boris Yeltsin, full of the theatrics and "ham-handed populism" that especially aggravated Gorbachev. Finally, Kotkin creates a compelling profile of the "stable mess" that is post-Soviet Russia, and he reminds us, with chilling immediacy, of what could not have been predicted--that the world's largest police state, with several million troops, a doomsday arsenal, and an appalling record of violence, would liquidate itself with barely a whimper.
At once authoritative and provocative, Armageddon Averted illuminates the collapse of the Soviet Union, revealing how "principled restraint and scheming self-interest brought a deadly system to meek dissolution"--publisher
Subjects
Subject Terms
Communism -> Soviet Union -> History.
Soviet Union History 1953-1985.
Soviet Union History 1985-1991.
Bibliographic Information
Library Special Collection
Bibliographic Information
ISBN
0192802453
Holdings
Book - 947.085 KOT
Item Type
Book
Current Location
OSA Archivum Library
Current Location
OSA Archivum Library
Call Number
947.085 KOT
Volume Info
-
Shelving Location
-
Public Note
-