The Gorbachev Factor

by Archie Brown

`To understand this singular man, the reader can do no better than to turn to Archie Brown's astute and lucid book. There have been several excellent works on Mr Gorbachev ... but none examines the subject as thoroughly as this volume ... a rich study, as impressive in its sweep as in its details.' Abraham Brumberg, New York Times`Archie Brown's book is not only a richly researched, easily readable biography of Gorbachev himself. It should be studied at once in every diplomatic service worthy of the name, starting with our own Foreign Office.' Michael Foot, Evening Standard`Archie Brown has mastered the material and met the people ... he writes with a historical perspective unavailable to authors of the instant biographies which appeared while Gorbachev was in power.' Rodric Braithwaite, Financial Times`Archie Brown's closely reasoned book ... makes a better case for Gorbachev's record as a reformer than Gorbachev's own memoirs ... the most thorough exposition of Gorbachev's domestic political record yet to appear.' Jack F. Matlock, Jr, New York Review of Books`This Oxford don, for years one of the world's most talented Kremlinologists, has already found the memoirs, documents and interviews that allow him to provide a remarkably detailed and authoritative account of the key moments in Gorbachev's career.' Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post`It is hard to come away from this admirable book without an affection for Gorbachev's insistence on peaceful change, his willingness to let Eastern Europe go and his determination to nurture a pluralist culture.' Nick Cohen, Observer`Brown's latest book is the product of many years of intensive it proves to be the most detailed and revealing study of the man who revolutionised the USSR. Excellent.' Good Book Guide

Genres: Russian History, History

441 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 28, 1996

About the author

Archibald Haworth Brown, commonly known as Archie Brown, is a British political scientist and historian. In 2005, he became an emeritus professor of politics at the University of Oxford and an emeritus fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford, where he served as a professor of politics and director of St Antony's Russian and East European Centre. He has written widely on Soviet and Russian politics, on communist politics more generally, on the Cold War, and on political leadership.

Reviews

[Legens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's structure is both its strength and its weakness: Separating change in the USSR by domestic policy, foreign policy, economy, and the nationalities' question makes each easier to understand, but severs the connections between them. While the book is not a biography of Gorbachev, he seems front and center of all change, obscuring the eroding belief in Communist orthodoxy among the wider elites. Still, it is a worthwhile (and well-written) account of these tumultuous years when the Soviet Union turned from hyperstability to sudden change.

[Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

did a good job of placing Gorbachev at the center of the end of the Cold War; I think failed to incorporate other factors significantly enough.

[Keziah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling read, thorough and packed with information. Love a good read on anything Gorbachev and the Soviet Union, this was enjoyed majorly.