Lucid - and, as recent events attest, prescient - examination of
Gorbachev's domestic performance, which Goldman (Gorbachev's
Challenge, 1987, etc.) argues has led to the economic collapse and
political disintegration of the USSR. Goldman performs what he
terms an "autopsy" on Gorbachev's failure to reform his nation.
While praising the Soviet leader's stalwart efforts, the author
contends that Gorbachev made several serious mistakes in repeatedly
reversing his policy course. Starting out with a traditional
emphasis on the machine-tool industry and on the creation of
superministries as the basis of wide-scale reform, Gorbachev
learned in less than two years that such means would yield only
minor adjustments. According to Goldman, Gorbachev then (at the
same time he was promoting human-rights reforms and glasnost) tried
out an inconsistent series of new approaches, swinging toward a
market economy, then away. Economic advisors came and went;
comprehensive plans were proposed, modified, shelved; central
planning weakened, and factory managers first bartered with each
other for supplies, then closed down plants or reduced production.
Goldman points out that, unlike in the West, where economic
depression is generally caused by lack of demand, in the USSR a
depression has arisen from a collapse in supply. The author also
explores the political and economic landscape Gorbachev inherited,
his rise from an obscure farm town to international fame, the
resistance of bard-liners, and the possible future of reform.
Incisive and expert road map to the intricacies of recent Soviet
history. (Kirkus Reviews)
"Once again, Marshall Goldman has put his finger directly on the problems that hamper reform in the Soviet Union. Anyone who wants to understand Gorbachev's failings, the bureaucratic infighting and built-in reluctance to change will gain insights from this taut, readable book." —Hedrik Smith With his vigorous air of leadership, Mikhail Gorbachev captured the attention of the world. He seemed to be the one leader who could bring the Soviet Union out of repression and stagnation—and yet under him the country disintegrated. In a trenchant analysis, Marshall Goldman pinpoints the components of the collapse, from Gorbachev's wrong turns in economic strategy to the fateful timing of ethnic and nationalist uprisings.
In a new chapter for this edition, Mr. Goldman discusses Boris Yeltsin's coming to power and what lies ahead of Russia and the other republics today.
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