Gorbachevs Revolution 1985 1991

Download or read book Gorbachev’s Revolution, 1985–1991 written by Anthony D'Agostino and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This detailed and scholarly history, based on contemporary and original sources, explains the fall of Soviet Communism by bringing into focus the process of revolution from above. It finds as its cause Gorbachev's relentless political struggle to raise himself above the collective leadership which brought him to power. Gorbachev's Revolution, 1985-91 examines: · the impact of the SDI and other US arms programmes of the early 1980s which provided a stimulus for both Gorbachev's domestic reforms and his arms control initiatives · Perestroika, originally intended to show the world that a new Soviet foreign policy was based on real changes in Soviet society, however, Gorbachev launched its most radical measures in order to get an edge on his Politburo critics · Glasnost, originally meant to be a strictly controlled process furnishing an argument for piecemeal economic reforms This multi-faceted volume provides a wide-ranging and revisionist analysis of this fascinating and influential period in Soviet and international history.