The fall of communism and the break-up of the Soviet Union into 15
independent states in December 1991 was one of the most significant
events of the 20th century. In the last years of Soviet rule, images
of mass protests on the streets of Moscow, Tbilisi and Vilnius,
bloodshed in Baku, striking miners, Mikhail Gorbachev wooing the West,
and Boris Yeltsin defiantly mounting a tank in front of the White
House building in Moscow, shattered all of the old certainties about
the seemingly unbreakable communist system. Gorbachev and Yeltsin were
the dominant figures in this process, but non-Russian national
movements, workers, intellectuals, and international developments all
had roles to play. Jeremy Smith presents the dramatic events of
1985-91 in a clear and succinct form, setting out a variety of
interpretations for the demise of communism in the Soviet Union, and
suggesting new approaches to answering the unresolved question of why
it happened. Smith discusses the long-term and short-term factors
behind the extraordinary collapse, assessing the impact of economic
crisis, nationalism, personalities and democratization in the process.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780230802735
Publisert
2017
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Bloomsbury Academic
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter