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Collapse

The Fall of the Soviet Union

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Collapse

By: Vladislav M. Zubok
Narrated by: David de Vries
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About this listen

A major study of the collapse of the Soviet Union - showing how Gorbachev's misguided reforms led to its demise

In 1945, the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four million strong, 5,000 nuclear-tipped missiles, and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward, the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the 20th century.

Thirty years on, Vladislav Zubok offers a major reinterpretation of the final years of the USSR, refuting the notion that the breakup of the Soviet order was inevitable. Instead, Zubok reveals how Gorbachev's misguided reforms, intended to modernize and democratize the Soviet Union, deprived the government of resources and empowered separatism. Collapse sheds new light on Russian democratic populism, the Baltic struggle for independence, the crisis of Soviet finances - and the fragility of authoritarian state power.

©2021 Vladislav M. Zubok (P)2021 Tantor 20th Century Modern Russia Soviet Union Military Socialism

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A very thorough summary of the rapid collapse of the Soviet Union, with highlights of the choices made that had they been different, might have produced a very different outcome. Provides a good balance to Western sources as it has context missing from a lot of main stream discussion.

Analysis of the paths not taken

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Excellent and comprehensive study of the fall of the Soviet Union, showing how the collapse was not sudden but rather the result of a long decline with economic strains at the centre. This is a detailed study that will prove to be the new standard work on a critical period in world history that still has ramifications today.

Collapse by V. Zubok

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This book helps provide a better understanding of how Russia and the West arrived at the standoff they are today by deconstructing simplistic Western narratives of the Soviet Union's collapse. In particular, it focuses on Mikhail Gorbachevs reforms and how the manner of their execution opened Pandoras box.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in international relations.

Nuance triumphs over lazy narrative

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Having read (or listened to) many history books, I have found that many of the more recent texts are not written very engagingly, although they may have a tremendous depth of scholarship. An example of this is the highly rated "The Pursuit of Power" by Richard J Evans. Evans is a retired professor of history at Cambridge, and is widely regarded as a brilliant scholar. Sadly, at least in my view, his written style is leaden and uninspired. To be fair, I do not mean to pick on Evans, since there are very many other leading historians I could mention whose style does not impress.

This book, by contrast, written by a man for whom English is a second language, sparkles.

It is very long, and yet it never palls. The events, of course, are fascinating, and the perspective provided is one entirely new to most Western readers. The insight into Gorbachev, a vastly significant figure in world history, is invaluable. The implications of this history for the scelerotic bureaucracies in the West are both ominous and interesting. In particular, it is instructive to compare George H W Bush and James Baker III with Joe Biden and Anthony Blinken.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. In describing one of the most puzzling and yet significant changes in recent history, I have never read anything so clear, fair and comprehensive. In illuminating the background to the current terrible events in Ukraine, it is also very valuable.

I can only hope that the author writes more. In particular, a history of Yeltsin's time in office, with Putin's rise to power, would complete the picture of a country moving through a period of crisis.

Finally, the performance of the reader is also excellent. His voice is easy to listen to, and he handles the (numerous) difficult foreign names and words, in several languages, with aplomb. At least to my ears...

Superb history of hugely important period

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One of the best history book. Zubak explained the collapse of USSR from different angles and perspective. This book is a must if you want to understand the current Russia

superb

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