Chernenko: the Last Bolshevik: The Soviet Union on the Eve of Perestroika
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.73 (680 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0887382606 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 325 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-07-07 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Usually dismissed as a nonentity, Chernenko appears here as an important transitional figure in Soviet history The book is well written and filled with incisive observations on the operation of the Soviet political system Useful for scholars of Soviet politics at all levels; a must for graduate students.” —R. Without hesitation I recommend this book as essential reading on the recent Kremlin policy.” —Professor Yuri Glazov, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia “ a vivid, unvarnished, but objective account of Chernenko's rise to power. Mitchell, Choice “Zemtsov has once again shown that he is a first rate expert on the Soviet Union, that he knows the Soviet Union from the inside— supplies the reader with information which in its greater part was previously unknown— Highlights includ
The work delves into archival materials never before reported in either the East or West. is hard to understand or appreciate. Zemtsov's volume explains the paradox of a servile conservative member of th Politburo becoming an innovative, even courageous, leader during the thirteen fateful months he held Soviet power, ft is a tribute to this effort at reconstruction that what emerges is a rounded human being and not simply a political actor. This is the only full-length treatment of Chernenko. Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko. Thus, a post held by such awesome, fearsome figures as Lenin and Stalin passed into the hands of someone perceived as a nondescript bureaucrat, devoid of ideas or initiative, and crippled by old age and infirmity. This analytical study of the transformation of a peasant into a politician fills out a missing link without which the current impulse to reform in the U.S.S.R.
After his emigration to Israel, he was a professor at the Hebrew University. Presently, he is the director of the International Research Center on Contemporary Society, and editor in chief of Crossroads, a quarterly journal issued in England. He has authored several books on Soviet society and polity, including a major study of Gorbachev published earlier
"fascinating book about an often overlooked leader" according to KenLongLiveRussia. Wow! Konstantine Chernenko was truly the last great Commissar in the style of the old strongmen ruling over the vast and proud Soviet Empire and it's satellites around the World much like the Tsars for a millenium beforehand. A must read around a huge period of change in Global politics.