A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev
Western interpretations of the Cold War--both realist and neoconservative--have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness, argues Vladislav Zubok. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century.

Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok explores the origins of the superpowers' confrontation under Stalin, Khrushchev's contradictory and counterproductive attempts to ease tensions, the surprising story of Brezhnev's passion for detente, and Gorbachev's destruction of the Soviet superpower as the by-product of his hasty steps to end the Cold War and to reform the Soviet Union. The first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side, A Failed Empire provides a history different from those written by the Western victors.

In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. A Failed Empire provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.
1118398750
A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev
Western interpretations of the Cold War--both realist and neoconservative--have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness, argues Vladislav Zubok. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century.

Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok explores the origins of the superpowers' confrontation under Stalin, Khrushchev's contradictory and counterproductive attempts to ease tensions, the surprising story of Brezhnev's passion for detente, and Gorbachev's destruction of the Soviet superpower as the by-product of his hasty steps to end the Cold War and to reform the Soviet Union. The first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side, A Failed Empire provides a history different from those written by the Western victors.

In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. A Failed Empire provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.
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A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev

A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev

by Vladislav M. Zubok
A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev

A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev

by Vladislav M. Zubok

eBookPaperback Edition, with a new preface by the author (Paperback Edition, with a new preface by the author)

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Overview

Western interpretations of the Cold War--both realist and neoconservative--have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness, argues Vladislav Zubok. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century.

Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok explores the origins of the superpowers' confrontation under Stalin, Khrushchev's contradictory and counterproductive attempts to ease tensions, the surprising story of Brezhnev's passion for detente, and Gorbachev's destruction of the Soviet superpower as the by-product of his hasty steps to end the Cold War and to reform the Soviet Union. The first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side, A Failed Empire provides a history different from those written by the Western victors.

In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. A Failed Empire provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780807899052
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date: 02/01/2009
Series: New Cold War History
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 504
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Vladislav M. Zubok is professor of international history at London School of Economics. He is author of Zhivago’s Children: The Last Russian Intelligentsia and coauthor of Anti-Americanism in Russia: From Stalin to Putin and Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev.
Vladislav M. Zubok is associate professor of history at Temple University. He is coauthor of Anti-Americanism in Russia: From Stalin to Putin and Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition: Russia's Revenge ix

Preface xxiii

Abbreviations xxix

1 The Soviet People and Stalin between War and Peace, 1945 1

2 Stalin's Road to the Cold War, 1945-1948 29

3 Stalemate in Germany, 1945-1953 62

4 Kremlin Politics and "Peaceful Coexistence," 1953-1957 94

5 The Nuclear Education of Khrushchev, 1953-1963 123

6 The Soviet Home Front: First Cracks, 1953-1968 163

7 Brezhnev and the Road to Detente, 1965-1972 192

8 Detente's Decline and Soviet Overreach, 1973-1979 227

9 The Old Guard's Exit, 1980-1987 265

10 Gorbachev and the End of Soviet Power, 1988-1991 303

Epilogue 336

Notes 345

Bibliography 417

Index 455

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This book is the best history we have of the Soviet side of the Cold War. Far more than a survey, Zubok's analysis is based on cutting-edge historical scholarship. He makes use of the most recently available sources and brings to their interpretation an unusually sharp mind."—William Taubman, Amherst College

An excellent overview of Soviet foreign policy and a forceful explanation of why Communism collapsed, centering on Gorbachev's mistakes and misjudgments."—O. A. Westad, author of The Global Cold War

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