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Shadows & Whispers: Powers & Politics Inside the Kremlin from Brezhnev to Gorbachev
The former, long-time Moscow bureau chief for the "Washington Post" details the Kremlin intrigues, infights, and maneuvers of the early 1980s that culminated in the selection of Gorbachev as Communist Party general secretary.
"Unique reporting on the Soviet leadership.Dusko Doder provides penetrating insights into the men at the top and how they got there."
- William Hyland, Editor, Foreign Affairs, and Deputy National Security Advisor
"Kremlin politics by a journalist with extraordinary contacts and the skill to make the most of them."
- Marshall Shulman, former Director of the Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union, Columbia University
"Unique reporting on the Soviet leadership.Dusko Doder provides penetrating insights into the men at the top and how they got there."
- William Hyland, Editor, Foreign Affairs, and Deputy National Security Advisor
"Kremlin politics by a journalist with extraordinary contacts and the skill to make the most of them."
- Marshall Shulman, former Director of the Harriman Institute for Advanced Study of the Soviet Union, Columbia University
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 1986
24 people want to read
About the author
Dusko Doder
17 books8 followersDusko Doder was an American journalist. He was the head of the Moscow bureau of the The Washington Post from 1981 until 1985.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 4, 2008
Written by the former Washington Post Moscow Bureau chief - using his notes taken during the years he was covering the region.
I read this book to try to get more familiar with Soviet history - especially Soviet leaders after Stalin. It focuses on the period from Breshnev's death to Gorbachev's becoming general secretary - a period that within three or four years saw the deaths (of natural causes) of Breshnev, Andropov, and Chernenko in fairly quick succession.
The book turned out to be pretty detailed about the efforts of Andropov and later Gorbachev to reform and open the Soviet Union's economic and political systems while still maintaining a communist state. It also discussed the old guard resistence to these reformers, personified by the "breshnevites" and later Chernenko.
I was fascinated by this book. It went into a lot of detail about policy decisions and arguments within the Kremlin, which I found interesting, but I can imagine might not be as fascinating to others.
I read this book to try to get more familiar with Soviet history - especially Soviet leaders after Stalin. It focuses on the period from Breshnev's death to Gorbachev's becoming general secretary - a period that within three or four years saw the deaths (of natural causes) of Breshnev, Andropov, and Chernenko in fairly quick succession.
The book turned out to be pretty detailed about the efforts of Andropov and later Gorbachev to reform and open the Soviet Union's economic and political systems while still maintaining a communist state. It also discussed the old guard resistence to these reformers, personified by the "breshnevites" and later Chernenko.
I was fascinated by this book. It went into a lot of detail about policy decisions and arguments within the Kremlin, which I found interesting, but I can imagine might not be as fascinating to others.
December 13, 2012
While this book suffers from some frustrating vagueness, I can completely understand where it comes from -- and perhaps that was the author's intent, since information was so hard to come by on the spot with the Kremlin always watching.
What I found particularly interesting about this was to get a Russian viewpoint on some of those early 80s events and negotiations. The author talked to people from all social strata and had an excellent grasp on the "Russian" viewpoint -- from which many events look rather different than they do in our textbooks. Certainly America is not the only country prone to this fault, but it's interesting the degree to which we assume that everything in the world happens because we willed it so, or in reaction to things that we did.
For example, there is a widespread belief sponsored by the Republican Party in this country that Reagan somehow, with varying ascribed degrees of brilliance, single-handedly brought down the USSR. While his policies certainly contribued, this book sheds fascinating light on the various other factors that went into that (and with which Reagan certainly had no influence or involvement).
What I found particularly interesting about this was to get a Russian viewpoint on some of those early 80s events and negotiations. The author talked to people from all social strata and had an excellent grasp on the "Russian" viewpoint -- from which many events look rather different than they do in our textbooks. Certainly America is not the only country prone to this fault, but it's interesting the degree to which we assume that everything in the world happens because we willed it so, or in reaction to things that we did.
For example, there is a widespread belief sponsored by the Republican Party in this country that Reagan somehow, with varying ascribed degrees of brilliance, single-handedly brought down the USSR. While his policies certainly contribued, this book sheds fascinating light on the various other factors that went into that (and with which Reagan certainly had no influence or involvement).
February 22, 2016
Fascinating read about an era I knew little about. As someone is is interested in Soviet history, I found this book rewarding in that it let me see into a world I knew about but knew little about (Hope I don't sound like Donald Rumsfeld). I remember the Soviet leaders growing up and seeing them on the news, particularly the numerous funerals, and this book gave me an idea of what they were actually like.
June 30, 2023
Really enjoyed it
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews