Sign-In
Cart
Mikhail Gorbachev: A Soviet Life
Paperback
Series: Lives of World Leaders and Luminaries
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 25 2024
Pages: 138
Weight: 0.43
Height: 0.30 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Mikhail Gorbachev was a man of profound contradictions: a committed Communist who dismantled the Soviet system, a visionary peacemaker celebrated in the West, and a figure of scorn in his own country. As the last leader of the Soviet Union, his story is that of the tumultuous final years of a global superpower. This biography delves into the life of the man who, in trying to save an empire, inadvertently brought about its demise, and in doing so, reshaped the course of the 20th century.
Born to peasant parents in 1931, Gorbachev's early life was steeped in the hardships of Stalin's rule, the trauma of the Great Purge, and the devastation of World War II. From grueling work on a combine harvester that earned him a prestigious state award to his university days in Moscow, his ascent through the ranks of the Communist Party was steady and impressive. This work traces his journey from a provincial outpost in Stavropol to the very center of power, detailing the patronage and political skill that made him, in 1985, the youngest member of the Politburo to become General Secretary.
Inheriting a superpower in a state of profound stagnation, crippled by economic inefficiency and the immense cost of the arms race, Gorbachev unleashed his two defining policies: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). What began as an attempt to revitalize socialism soon took on a revolutionary life of its own. On the world stage, his New Thinking led to landmark arms control treaties with Ronald Reagan, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and his momentous decision not to intervene as the Berlin Wall fell and the captive nations of Eastern Europe broke free.
While lauded abroad, Gorbachev's reforms unleashed a torrent of chaos at home. The newfound openness gave voice to long-suppressed nationalist movements, threatening to tear the multi-ethnic state apart. The economic restructuring led to widespread shortages and turmoil, fueling popular discontent. Caught between hard-line Communists who resisted his reforms and radical democrats, led by his great rival Boris Yeltsin, Gorbachev found his authority crumbling, a process fatally accelerated by the failed hard-line coup in August 1991.
This biography follows Gorbachev through this dramatic downfall, the final power struggle with Yeltsin, and the swift, almost surreal dissolution of the country he led. It explores his final, poignant act of resignation on Christmas Day 1991, his post-Soviet life as a critic and elder statesman, and the deep personal and political partnership with his wife, Raisa. It is the definitive account of a leader whose legacy remains fiercely contested-a man celebrated for ending the Cold War, yet blamed for the collapse of a nation and the loss of its prestige.
Also from
Bugeja, Alex
Sailing Free: A Life on the Waves: How to Live, Travel, and Explore the World by Yacht
Bugeja, Alex
Paperback
Rolling Freedom: Embracing the Van Life: A Practical Guide to Adventure, Minimalism, and Living on the Road
Bugeja, Alex
Paperback
Also in
Political Biographies
Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America
Murphy, Chris
Hardcover
Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded Usaid
Enrich, Nicholas
Hardcover
American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump
Bird, Kai
Goldmark, Susan
Hardcover
The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation
Clyburn, Jim
Hardcover
Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution
Hemingway, Mollie
Hardcover
Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities
Stefanik, Elise
Hardcover
The Power Broker (Pulitzer Prize Winner): Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Caro, Robert A.
Paperback
King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation
Anderson, Scott
Hardcover
The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the Cia, and the Rise of America's Secret Government
Talbot, David
Paperback
How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will (Large Print Edition)
Kennedy, John
Paperback
Don't Tell the President: The Best, Worst, and Mostly Untold Stories from Presidential Advance
Becker, Jean
Collamore, Tom
Hardcover
Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress
Rinehart, Lorissa
Hardcover
Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines
Jean-Pierre, Karine
Hardcover
The Assassination of Leon Trotsky: Espionage, Scandal, and the Crime of the Century
Melton, H. Keith
West, Nigel
Hardcover
Finding the Third Way: Lessons in the Politics of Civility from My Journey Through History
Davis, Lanny J.
Hardcover
Slow Poison: IDI Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State
Mamdani, Mahmood
Hardcover
The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight
Ralston, Jon
Hardcover
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
Browder, Bill
Paperback
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man
Trump, Mary L.
Paperback
Starting Somewhere: Community Organizing for Socially Awkward People Who've Had Enough
Douglass, Roderick
Paperback
Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary
Griffin-Gracy, Major
Meronek, Toshio
Paperback
The First Fascist: The Sensational Life and Dark Legacy of the Marquis de Morès
Luzzatto, Sergio
Hardcover
King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation
Anderson, Scott
Paperback
The Road to Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage Through
Struecker, Jeff
Paperback
The Power Broker (Pulitzer Prize Winner): Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Caro, Robert A.
Hardcover
My Struggle: English Translation of Mein Kamphf - Mein Kampt - Mein Kampf
Murphy, James
Mein Kampf, Kamphf English Kampt
Hitler, Adolf
Paperback
The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist
Day, Dorothy
Paperback
Dreams of a White Snow Lion: The Remarkable Life, Vision, and Deeds of the Dalai Lama
Dhargye, Sherab
Bianca, Mariateresa
Hardcover
The Architect of Espionage: The Man Who Built Israel's Mossad Into the World's Boldest Intelligence Force
Katz, Samuel M.
Hardcover
Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House
Leganski, John
Hardcover
Hey Yang, Where's My Thousand Bucks?: And Other True Stories of Staggering Depth
Yang, Andrew
Hardcover
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
Millard, Candice
Paperback
G-Man (Pulitzer Prize Winner): J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
Gage, Beverly
Paperback
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Larson, Erik
Hardcover
A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid
Gobodo-Madikizela, Pumla
Paperback
Ni Venganza Ni Perdón: Una Amistad Al Filo del Poder / Neither Revenge Nor Forgiveness: A Friendship on the Edge of Power
Scherer Ibarra, Julio
Fernández Menéndez, Jorge
Paperback
Detenido: El Diario de Supervivencia Y Determinación de Un Niño
Morales, Gerardo Iván
Esperanza, David
Paperback
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
I Wish Someone Had Told Me . . .: The Best Advice for Building a Great Career and a Meaningful Life
Perino, Dana
Hardcover
The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon's Enduring Impact on America
Whitaker, Mark
Hardcover
The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon's Enduring Impact on America
Whitaker, Mark
Paperback
This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story (Large Print Edition)
Gershkovich, Evan
Paperback
With a Name Like Chief: Reflections on Recovery and Identity Through the Seven Sacred Teachings
Chief, Kevin
Slayen, Stu
Paperback
Mitos de la Historia Mexicana: de Hidalgo a Zedillo / Myths of Mexican History
Rosas, Alejandro
Paperback
Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods
Hill, Julia
Paperback
Presidenta: La Victoria de Una Mujer En Un País de Hombres / Madam President: A Woman's Victory in a Country of Men
Zepeda Patterson, Jorge
Paperback