An account of Russia during the Gorbachev years which presents events from the viewpoint of both the politicians and the people. This book describes the revolutionary changes in the Baltic republics, anti-Kremlin feeling in the Caucasus, and the growing rebellion against Communism in Russia itself.
Chronicles the Soviet Union's nine-year struggle to extricate itself from Afghanistan in the 1980s and compares it to the challenges the United States may face in withdrawing from the region.
A major study of the collapse of the Soviet Union—showing how Gorbachev’s misguided reforms led to its demise “A deeply informed account of how the Soviet Union fell apart.”—Rodric Braithwaite, Financial Times “[A] masterly analysis.”—Joshua Rubenstein, Wall Street Journal In 1945 the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four million strong with five thousand nuclear-tipped missiles and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the twentieth century. Thirty years on, Vladislav Zubok offers a major reinterpretation of the final years of the USSR, refuting the notion that the breakup of the Soviet order was inevitable. Instead, Zubok reveals how Gorbachev’s misguided reforms, intended to modernize and democratize the Soviet Union, deprived the government of resources and empowered separatism. Collapse sheds new light on Russian democratic populism, the Baltic struggle for independence, the crisis of Soviet finances—and the fragility of authoritarian state power.
The classic account of the abandonment of American POWs in Vietnam by the US government. For many Americans, the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan bring back painful memories of one issue in particular: American policy on the rescue of and negotiation for American prisoners. One current American POW of the Taliban, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, stands as their symbol. Thousands of Vietnam veteran POW activists worry that Bergdahl will suffer the fate of so many of their POW/MIA comrades—abandonment once the US leaves that theater of war. Kiss the Boys Goodbye convincingly shows that a legacy of shame remains from America’s ill-fated involvement in Vietnam. Until US government policy on POW/MIAs changes, it remains one of the most crucial issues for any American soldier who fights for home and country, particularly when we are engaged with an enemy that doesn’t adhere to the international standards for the treatment of prisoners—or any American hostage—as the graphic video of Daniel Pearl’s decapitation on various Jihad websites bears out. In this explosive book, Monika Jensen-Stevenson and William Stevenson provide startling evidence that American troops were left in captivity in Indochina, victims of their government’s abuse of secrecy and power. The book not only delves into the world of official obstruction, missing files, censored testimony, and the pressures brought to bear on witnesses ready to tell the truth, but also reveals the trauma on patriotic families torn apart by a policy that, at first, seemed unbelievable to them. First published in 1990, Kiss the Boys Goodbye has become a classic on the subject. This new edition features an afterword, which fills in the news on the latest verifiable scandal produced by the Senate Select Committee on POWs. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
The collapse of communism marked the close of an era of world history. This work brings together scholars of Soviet history, who show why the experiment (on modes of organization to social life) failed and how it has destroyed the laboratory of socialist utopias.
Vladimir Vetrov, joined the KGB to work as a spy. Following a couple of murky incidents, he is removed from the field and placed at a desk as an analyst. Soon, burdened by a troubled marriage and frustrated at a failing career, Vetrov turns to alcohol. Desparate and in need of redemption, in 1980 he offers his services to the DST, the French counterintelligence service. Thus Agent Farewell is born. Soon he is sneaking files and photographing sensitive dcouments, keeping the West informed of the USSR's plans--right in the heart of KGB headquarters, hastening the end of the Cold War.
"Focusing on the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, this book places the Soviet development of Central Asia, and the Soviet hope for communism's bringing prosperity to a supposedly backward area, in global context"--
This book chronicles the final two decades in the history of the Soviet Union and presents a story that is often lost in the standard interpretations of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR. Although there were numerous reasons for the collapse of communism, it did not happen—as it may have seemed to some—overnight. Indeed, says Roman Szporluk, the root causes go back even earlier than 1917. To understand why the USSR broke up the way it did, it is necessary to understand the relationship between the two most important nations of the USSR—Russia and Ukraine—during the Soviet period and before, as well as the parallel but interrelated processes of nation formation in both states. Szporluk details a number of often-overlooked factors leading to the USSR's fall: how the processes of Russian identity formation were not completed by the time of the communist takeover in 1917, the unification of Ukraine in 1939–1945, and the Soviet period failing to find a resolution of the question of Russian-Ukrainian relations. The present-day conflict in the Caucasus, he asserts, is a sign that the problems of Russian identity remain.
The only certainty in life is death. Even the most powerful leaders throughout history were unable to cheat the Grim Reaper. World leaders, whether revered or reviled, are rarely allowed to exit gracefully from life but instead receive a state funeral, a major international event incorporating splendid symbols and messages, religious faith, and tradition. The body of Tsar Alexander III was carried across half of Russia before finally being buried in St. Petersburg. People paid obscene amounts of money for a room that gave a glimpse of Queen Victoria’s fascinating State funeral. The cortège for China’s Empress-Dowager Cixi was not to be photographed – nevertheless photos showed up a century later. For political reasons Generalissimo Franco’s body was exhumed decades after his death. The world became acquainted with a rather unusual ancient Roman Catholic ritual, when Pope John Paul I died. The body of India’s Indira Gandhi was confined to sacred flames. The last journey of Marshal Tito turned into an event of “Funeral Diplomacy”, whilst Khomeini’s funeral ended in frenzy and tumult. In 2021 the massive restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic meant a rigid downsizing of Prince Philip’s funeral, hardly any guests were allowed to attend. This revealing and entertaining book provides an insight into unique obsequies from across the world, seen as both a celebration of life and the honouring of death.