Synopses & Reviews
On Christmas Day, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to declare an American victory in the Cold War: earlier that day Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as the first and last Soviet president. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse immediately after Bushs speech and has persisted for decadeswith disastrous consequences for American standing in the world.
As prize-winning historian Serhii Plokhy reveals in The Last Empire, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the United States. On the contrary, American leaders dreaded the possibility that the Soviet Unionweakened by infighting and economic turmoilmight suddenly crumble, throwing all of Eurasia into chaos. Bush was firmly committed to supporting his ally and personal friend Gorbachev, and remained wary of nationalist or radical leaders such as recently elected Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Fearing what might happen to the large Soviet nuclear arsenal in the event of the unions collapse, Bush stood by Gorbachev as he resisted the growing independence movements in Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus. Plokhys detailed, authoritative account shows that it was only after the movement for independence of the republics had gained undeniable momentum on the eve of the Ukrainian vote for independence that fall that Bush finally abandoned Gorbachev to his fate.
Drawing on recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, Plokhy presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Unions final months and argues that the key to the Soviet collapse was the inability of the two largest Soviet republics, Russia and Ukraine, to agree on the continuing existence of a unified state. By attributing the Soviet collapse to the impact of American actions, US policy makers overrated their own capacities in toppling and rebuilding foreign regimes. Not only was the key American role in the demise of the Soviet Union a myth, but this misplaced belief has guidedand hauntedAmerican foreign policy ever since.
Review
Winner of the 2015 Pushkin House Russian Book PrizeWall Street Journal
A stirring account of an extraordinary moment
what elevates The Last Empire from solid history to the must-read shelf is its relevance to the current crisis.”
Financial Times
A fine-grained, closely reported, highly readable account of the upheavals of 1991.”
Slate
Serhii Plokhys extraordinarily well-timed new book
makes a convincing case that contrary to the triumphalist American narrative of Cold War victory, or the more recent paranoid Russian narrative of Cold War defeat, the U.S. never anticipated the breakup of the Soviet Unionin fact, the U.S. tried to use what little influence it had over the situation to prevent it.... Plokhy makes a convincing case that the misplaced triumphalism of the senior Bushs administration led to the disastrous hubris of his sons.”
Telegraph, UK
A fascinating and readable deep dive into the final half-year of the Soviet Union.”
Spectator, UK
[A] superb work of scholarship, vividly written, that challenges tired old assumptions with fresh material from East and West, as well as revealing interviews with many major players.”
Sunday Times, UK
[An] incisive account of the five months leading up to the Unions dissolution.... His vibrant, fast-paced narrative style captures the story superbly.”
Mail on Sunday, UK
Our memories of the upheavals of 1989-91 blur into one picture, with the Soviet collapse indistinguishable from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the death of communism and the end of the Cold War. Now along comes Serhii Plohky
to bring part of that historical blur into focus in a day-by-day account of the Soviet empires final five months.... Plohkys account of the coup is a riveting thriller
”
Literary Review, UK
Almost a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the actions and reactions of the main figures.... Very relevant to today's Ukrainian crisis
The dramatic events of the second half of 1991 are very well recounted.”
Times of London, UK
Serhii Plokhys great achievement in this wonderfully well-written account is to show that much of the triumphalist transatlantic view of the Soviet collapse is historiographical manure.”
Pittsburg Tribune-Review
Especially provocative given current affairs, this book doesn't dismiss U.S. Cold War policy's contributions but contends the USSR fell mainly because of its imperial nature, ethnic mix and political structure, with the inability of Russia and Ukraine, the biggest Soviet republics, to agree on continuing unity as the straw that broke the Soviet camel's back.”
Ukrainian Weekly
A meticulously documented chronicle of the evil empire's demise.... [Plokhy]is the voice Ukrainians have been yearning for."
Library Journal, Starred Review
Plokhys cleanly written narrative presents a clear view of the complex events and numerous parties involved in the Soviet Unions demise as well as the reasons that the Soviet government could not ultimately rein in Ukrainian and Russian national movements. VERDICT: Plokhys fine scholarship should be set alongside such great works as David Remnicks Lenins Tomb and Vladislav M. Zuboks A Failed Empire. An excellent text for historians, students of current events, and anyone fascinated with political intrigue.”
Publishers Weekly
One of a rare breed: a well-balanced, unbiased book written on the fall of Soviet Union that emphasizes expert research and analysis.”
Kirkus
[Plokhy] provides fascinating details (especially concerning Ukraine) about this fraught, historic time.”
William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era
"Serhii Plokhys fine book combines a colorful, fast-paced narrative with trenchant analysis of key players in the Soviet collapse: Gorbachev and Yeltsin battling each other to the bitter end; President George H. W. Bush encouraging the former evil empire to stay together, while unintentionally facilitating its demise; Ukrainians all-out push for independence turning out to be the coup de grace. By far our best account yet of the death spiral of the USSR."
Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History
"At last, a definitive account of the breakup of the USSR: for the first time, Serhii Plokhy tells the story not just from the point of view of Moscow, and not from Washington, but also from Kiev and the other republics where many of the most important decisions were actually made. If you don't understand what really happened in 1991, and if you don't remember the roles played by the former Soviet republics, then you'll find it impossible to understand the politics of the region today. This book usefully eviscerates some of the remaining mythology about the end of the Cold War, and is an indispensable guide to the tensions and rivalries of the present."
Rachel Polonsky, author of Molotovs Magic Lantern: Travels in Russian History
Serhii Plokhys dramatic account of the high politics behind the collapse of the Soviet Union could not be more timely. Serhii Plokhy examines the choices, fears, personal conflicts and geopolitical delusions of the principal actors in the drama in the US and across the republics of the disintegrating USSR. While the world was spared a nuclear apocalypse, the seeds of new tragedies were sown. As Serhii Plokhy sees it, the mistaken belief that the US had won the Cold War led directly to the hubris of the Iraq invasion of 2003. Now, in the context of what many see as a new Cold War between Russia and the West, it is crucial that we understand what really happened in 1991. The Last Empire is a brilliant work of political narrative: vivid, original, urgent and, above all, wise.”
Vladislav Zubok, Professor at the London School of Economics
Serhii Plokhys masterful book provocatively places Ukrainian independence as the central factor in the Soviet Unions collapse. Gripping reading, full of surprises and revelations for everyone, especially on the American role in this revolutionary event.”
Synopsis
"A stirring account of an extraordinary moment." --Wall Street Journal
On Christmas Day, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to celebrate what he described as a historic American victory: Mikhail Gorbachev's resignation as Soviet prime minister and the subsequent fall of the Soviet Union. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse and has persisted for decades--with disastrous consequences for American standing in the world. As prize-winning historian Serhii Plokhy reveals in The Last Empire, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the United States. Bush, in fact, was firmly committed to supporting Gorbachev as he attempted to hold together the USSR in the face of growing independence movements in its republics. Drawing on recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, Plokhy presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union's final months, providing invaluable insight into the origins of the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the outset of the most dangerous crisis in East-West relations since the end of the Cold War.
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling author of The Gates of Europe offers "a stirring account of an extraordinary moment" in Russian history (Wall Street Journal) On Christmas Day, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to declare an American victory in the Cold War: earlier that day Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as the first and last Soviet president. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse immediately after Bush's speech and has persisted for decades -- with disastrous consequences for American standing in the world.
As prize-winning historian Serhii Plokhy reveals in The Last Empire, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the United States. Bush, in fact, was firmly committed to supporting Gorbachev as he attempted to hold together the USSR in the face of growing independence movements in its republics. Drawing on recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, Plokhy presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union's final months, providing invaluable insight into the origins of the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the outset of the most dangerous crisis in East-West relations since the end of the Cold War.
Winner of the Lionel Gelber Prize
Winner of the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize
Choice Outstanding Academic Title
BBC History Magazine Best History Book of the Year
About the Author
Serhii Plokhy is Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University. A recipient of Harvard Universitys Walter Channing Cabot award and author of
Yalta: The Price of Peace, Plokhy lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Table of Contents
Empire Strikes Back:”
A Foreword to the Paperback EditionMaps
Introduction
I. The Last Summit
1. Meeting in Moscow
2. The Party Crasher
3. Chicken Kiev
II. The Tanks of August
4. The Prisoner of the Crimea
5. The Russian Rebel
6. Freedoms Victory
III. A Countercoup
7. The Resurgence of Russia
8. Independent Ukraine
9. Saving the Empire
IV. Soviet Disunion
10. Washingtons Dilemma
11. The Russian Ark
12. The Survivor
V. Vox Populi
13. Anticipation
14. The Ukrainian Referendum
15. The Slavic Trinity
VI. Farewell to the Empire
16. Out of the Woods
17. The Birth of Eurasia
18. Christmas in Moscow
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index