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Yeltsin: A Life
Even after his death in April 2007, Boris Yeltsin remains the most controversial figure in recent Russian history. Although Mikhail Gorbachev presided over the decline of the Communist party and the withdrawal of Soviet control over eastern Europe, it was Yeltsin-Russia's first elected president-who buried the Soviet Union itself. Upon taking office, Yeltsin quickly embarked on a sweeping makeover of newly democratic Russia, beginning with a program of excruciatingly painful market reforms that earned him wide acclaim in the West and deep recrimination from many Russian citizens. In this, the first biography of Yeltsin's entire life, Soviet scholar Timothy Colton traces Yeltsin's development from a peasant boy in the Urals to a Communist party apparatchik , and then ultimately to a nemesis of the Soviet order. Based on unprecedented interviews with Yeltsin himself as well as scores of other Soviet officials, journalists, and businessmen, Colton explains how and why Yeltsin broke with single-party rule and launched his drive to replace it with democracy. Yeltsin's colossal attempt to bring democracy to Russia remains one of the great, unfinished stories of our time. As anti-Western policies and rhetoric resurface in Putin's increasingly bellicose Russia, Yeltsin offers essential insights into the past, present, and future of this vast and troubled nation.
640 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 15, 2012
This took a while to read. Not that Colton's biography of Boris Yeltsin was boring...it wasn't. I got a lot out of the biography, but it was a challenging read, especially for a casual reader of history.
Colton's portrayal of Russia's president was extremely detailed, contained almost everything a historian would ever want to know about Yeltsin's roller coaster life as a youth, as a student, and his confrontations inside the Soviet bureaucracy. The book includes a mini-history of his epic battles with Gorbachev, and how Yeltsin became the Russian people's true leader during the fall of the USSR.
In writing this book (over 600 pages with end notes), Colton captured Yeltsin difficult family life and showed readers what Yeltsin had to endure to escape poverty to attend university, become an engineer and use his knowledge to work through grass roots Communist Party politics to earn his place in Moscow. Colton portrayed Yeltsin as one of challenged established norms, and emphasized his combativeness inside the world of communist party politics in Moscow. It was an attitude he kept after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the reestablishment of Russia as a nation-state.
Colton's research showed a communist party in transition with both Yeltsin and Gorbachev as bitter rivals shooting at the same goal; a more open Soviet Union with more personal freedoms and more open to Western thinking. Yet while Gorbachev and this allies in the Poliburo, Colton portrayed Yeltsin as the outsider who bucked the party politics and challenged Gorbachev's "peristroika" interpretation to change the country for the average citizen. The confrontations between the two are well documented by Colton and provide readers with an excellent source regarding their confrontations.
For those with a keen interest in Russian/Soviet politics, this is an excellent book with wonderful citations -- an excellent source for students in political science and Russian history. You just need to have a lot of time for a casual read.
Colton's portrayal of Russia's president was extremely detailed, contained almost everything a historian would ever want to know about Yeltsin's roller coaster life as a youth, as a student, and his confrontations inside the Soviet bureaucracy. The book includes a mini-history of his epic battles with Gorbachev, and how Yeltsin became the Russian people's true leader during the fall of the USSR.
In writing this book (over 600 pages with end notes), Colton captured Yeltsin difficult family life and showed readers what Yeltsin had to endure to escape poverty to attend university, become an engineer and use his knowledge to work through grass roots Communist Party politics to earn his place in Moscow. Colton portrayed Yeltsin as one of challenged established norms, and emphasized his combativeness inside the world of communist party politics in Moscow. It was an attitude he kept after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the reestablishment of Russia as a nation-state.
Colton's research showed a communist party in transition with both Yeltsin and Gorbachev as bitter rivals shooting at the same goal; a more open Soviet Union with more personal freedoms and more open to Western thinking. Yet while Gorbachev and this allies in the Poliburo, Colton portrayed Yeltsin as the outsider who bucked the party politics and challenged Gorbachev's "peristroika" interpretation to change the country for the average citizen. The confrontations between the two are well documented by Colton and provide readers with an excellent source regarding their confrontations.
For those with a keen interest in Russian/Soviet politics, this is an excellent book with wonderful citations -- an excellent source for students in political science and Russian history. You just need to have a lot of time for a casual read.
December 15, 2020
It took me longer than usual to read this one, and that was partly a combination of style and material. In modern Russian history, Boris Yeltsin is an important figure and one I admit I have very limited knowledge of. Hence my reading of Professor Colton's book.
The book, is at times, a difficult read structurally and in tone, and I believe is aimed at a more academic level than I was wanting. No great problem really, but it did force me to take it slower than usual and both helped (as it was digested in smaller chunks) and hindered (as I tended to lose the train of thought) my understanding.
And then there's the subject matter. Details seem to be sparse, and perhaps that's a function of Yeltsin himself and the fact that there are at least three (I think) autobiographies by Yeltsin out there that Prof Colton did not want to re-hash. I came away with (what I feel) is a limited understanding of Boris Yeltsin, rounded and covering the major themes no doubt, but lacking nuance. Whether it's my ability, the need to approach Prof Colton's book differently, or that it is all that can be gleaned I'm unsure.
It's worth the read, worth the effort, and perhaps those interested in Russian history will get more from it, or those who understand the (apparent) arguments about Boris Yeltsin's life and legacy.
The book, is at times, a difficult read structurally and in tone, and I believe is aimed at a more academic level than I was wanting. No great problem really, but it did force me to take it slower than usual and both helped (as it was digested in smaller chunks) and hindered (as I tended to lose the train of thought) my understanding.
And then there's the subject matter. Details seem to be sparse, and perhaps that's a function of Yeltsin himself and the fact that there are at least three (I think) autobiographies by Yeltsin out there that Prof Colton did not want to re-hash. I came away with (what I feel) is a limited understanding of Boris Yeltsin, rounded and covering the major themes no doubt, but lacking nuance. Whether it's my ability, the need to approach Prof Colton's book differently, or that it is all that can be gleaned I'm unsure.
It's worth the read, worth the effort, and perhaps those interested in Russian history will get more from it, or those who understand the (apparent) arguments about Boris Yeltsin's life and legacy.
September 8, 2020
Narrative was a bit hard to follow. Really enjoyed the story and the anecdotes but don't feel like this could stand in as the definitive history of a critical historical figure.
August 23, 2025
A compelling, thoughtful and balanced portrait of a figure who so often seems to evade adequate judgement. Comparing it to another Western biography of Yeltsin, Aron's A Revolutionary Life, Colton is far less enamoured of his subject and more sparing with his words. The former is a great strength, and one for which I'd recommend this biography over Aron's, if you're just seeking understanding of a difficult political figure. The latter is more of a mixed bag. Characteristic indulgences like the thirty pages dedicated to Yeltsin's week in the USA aren't missed! Yeltsin: A Life isolates the important details and conveys them neatly. But A Revolutionary Life had a real spellbinding quality to it, a sense of a grand narrative unfolding before your eyes, often tremendously tense and exciting. Colton's brevity forestalls much of that emotional experience. Though the book is more neutral as a result - and still far from dull; I found the last pages particularly moving in light of Russia's current state of affairs (not me crying at these stupid books AGAIN girl please!!!) - you'll have less fun with this than with Aron if you're the kind of fucking nutjob who has, for some reason, chosen (post-)Soviet nonfiction as their holiday entertainment. Anyway TLDR: despite Colton's best efforts to inculcate some sense into me, I'm still plagued by thoughts of Boris Yeltsin: The Musical
April 14, 2014
That's the best piece of political science there is on Yeltsin. What could I say? 150 pages of footnotes. Amazing and highly objective work.
December 1, 2012
3 and a half stars. Well researched, but definitely lets its bias cloud the interpertation by a lot.
May 23, 2014
Objective view. Liked it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews