Synopses & Reviews
The conventional story of the end of the cold war focuses on the geopolitical power struggle between the United States and the USSR: Ronald Reagan waged an aggressive campaign against communism, outspent the USSR, and forced Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall.”
In There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, a daring revisionist account of that seminal year, the Russian-born historian Constantine Pleshakov proposes a very different interpretation. The revolutions that took place during this momentous year were infinitely more complex than the archetypal image of the good” masses overthrowing the bad” puppet regimes of the Soviet empire. Politicking, tensions between Moscow and local communist governments, compromise between the revolutionary leaders and the communist old-timers, and the will and anger of the peopleall had a profound influence in shaping the revolutions as multifaceted movements that brought about one of the greatest transformations in history.
In a dramatic narrative culminating in a close examination of the whirlwind year, Pleshakov challenges the received wisdom and argues that 1989 was as much about national civil wars and internal struggles for power as it was about the Eastern Europeans throwing off the yoke of Moscow.
Constantine Pleshakov is the author of several works of history, including Stalins Folly, The Tsars Last Armada, The Flight of the Romanovs, and Inside the Kremlins Cold War. He teaches at Mount Holyoke College and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.
The conventional story of the end of the cold war focuses on the geopolitical power struggle between the United States and the USSR: Ronald Reagan waged an aggressive campaign against communism, outspent the USSR, and forced Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall.”
In There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, a revisionist account of that seminal year, the Russian-born historian Constantine Pleshakov proposes a very different interpretation. The revolutions that took place during this momentous year were infinitely more complex than the archetypal image of the good” masses overthrowing the bad” puppet regimes of the Soviet empire. Politicking, tensions between Moscow and local communist governments, compromise between the revolutionary leaders and the communist old-timers, and the will and anger of the peopleall had a profound influence in shaping the revolutions as multifaceted movements that brought about one of the greatest transformations in history.
In a dramatic narrative culminating in a close examination of the whirlwind year, Pleshakov challenges the received wisdom and argues that 1989 was as much about national civil wars and internal struggles for power as it was about the Eastern Europeans throwing off the yoke of Moscow.
Clear and beautifully lyrical . . . Of all the books that mark this anniversary, [There Is No Freedom Without Bread] is one that must be read. Pleshakov writes history with a human face.”Gerard DeGroot, The Washington Post
"[There Is No Freedom Without Bread!: 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism] traces Eastern European history in such detail that even David Hume might be convinced that mists of causal determinism hovered over the Danube, Vistula and other key rivers in the late 1980s . . . There Is No Freedom Without Bread! is a book for those who care about the internal tale of Eastern Europe in the decades before 1989a tale in which the causal aspects are mainly local, not geopolitical. Like the others, Pleshakov begins by deep-sixing the central myth . . . His study, which is the richest in local detail, lives up to his description of it as an 'exploration of how 1989 looks when it's seen more as a domestic matter, in the light of civil conflict, rather than in the grand geopolitical terms that have come to define the conventional account.'"Carlin Romano, Los Angeles Times
"History, unlike photography, does not work well in black and white. The past is an abstract jungle of color that spills over neat lines of political thought. Brave is the scholar who embraces that jungle. Constantine Pleshakov, a history professor at Mount Holyoke College, not only has the guts to enter but also the instincts to find his way. His explanation of the 1989 collapse respects the complexity of Eastern Europe, yet his account is both clear and beautifully lyrical. His greatest strength lies in not being burdened by doctrine; he finds worth in communists and in Reagan. Of all the books that mark this anniversary, his is one that must be read. Pleshakov writes history with a human face. His thesis is neatly summed up in his title: There Is No Freedom Without Bread! That's a clever play on the slogan of Poland's Solidarity movement: 'There is no bread without freedom.' The original slogan is abstract, yet ordinary people, Pleshakov realizes, abhor abstractions. In Eastern Europe, the people wanted communism's fairness but also capitalism's riches. The incongruity of those desires eventually eroded communist regimes but has since produced ironies worthy of Tolstoy. Freedom did not bring justice. Pleshakov recognizes the need to temper celebration with cold reality. When light was restored, East Europeans emerged not as heroes but as flawed human beings. They are indeed just like everyone else. As Poland's Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski once warned, one gang of robbers replaced another. 'Free elections,' Pleshakov concludes, 'do not necessarily lead to more freedom. . . . The free market can impoverish a nation as effectively as central planning.' How true. Today, the Czech Republic is a leading producer of pornography, while Sofia and Gdansk market themselves as destinations for stag weekends. Half a million Poles live in Britain, causing the British jokingly (and not so jokingly) to complain that they should take their work ethic and go home. That's not quite the simple beauty that starry-eyed romantics in the West envisioned in 1989, but Eastern Europe wasn't simple then, and it isn't now."Gerard DeGroot, The Washington Post
"Constantine Pleshakov, a historian at Mount Holyoke College, does not shy away from evoking the positive achievements of communist power in order to explain its durability, but most of the story he tells in There Is No Freedom Without Bread! is ultimately about the cascade of events, from Poland to Afghanistan, that overwhelmed the creaky 'socialist' system and its creaky operators . . . In There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, Pleshakov introduces the metaphor of civil war to revise conventional accounts of 1989 in Eastern Europe. He argues that if socialism was as fundamentally flawed, and its fall as preordained, as the fatalists say, it would not have lasted as long as it did. The regimes not only survived for forty years but were relatively stable and even enjoyed a degree of popular support, in large part because of what Pleshakov calls 'social contracts between the rulers and the ruled' . . . Highlighting the failures at the top is key to understanding the collapse of communism, but that emphasis must be supplemented by attention to what went on below. Both organized popular resistance in Poland and more spontaneous mass mobilization in most of the other socialist states, as Pleshakov . . . extensively and persuasively demonstrate[s], contributed to the crises that made the communist regimes unsustainable."Ronald Grigor Suny, The Nation
Pleshakov embeds original perspectives into a lively narrative . . . The human factor comes out in this readable rendition of the end of communism.”Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
A savvier, richer take than the usual hymns to national liberation.”Publishers Weekly
Pleshakov recounts the slow dismantling of Communism in Eastern Europe, a process that took years but that accelerated markedly in 1989. Much of the narrative is set in Poland, where shipyard strikes had been commonplace since the 1970s, and where the Solidarity movement, abetted by Pope John Paul II, took root as a true workers' response to a communist regime led, curiously enough, by a former nobleman. Communism took time and effort to uproot, notes Pleshakov, not just because it was expansive and had lots of secret-police agents at its disposal. It also had a social contract, such that 'people accepted the state not just because of terror and intimidation, but also because of free health care, free housing, and free education.' Moreover, he adds, while there was undoubtedly a Soviet empire, each satellite state was markedly its own. 'Contrary to popular belief,' writes the author, 'in Eastern Europe Stalin did not clone regime after regime after regime . . . [he] realized that the cookie cutter approach to communism did not work.' Consequently, in Poland only ten percent of the land was collectivized after World War II, very unlike the situation in the Soviet Union. Unlike so many revisionist historians, Pleshakov lays only the smallest credit for the collapse of communism at Ronald Reagan's door, instead carefully noting the many internal forces that were moving against red regimes-including resurgent religiosity. The author also gives due nods to Mikhail Gorbachev, who was perceived differently in different places-for Poles he was the personification of the Evil Empire,while 'for East Germans, Gorbachev was the wise man of the east, an inspiration, a model of sorts' . . . [U]seful in recapitulating events that, though recent, are largely forgotten.”Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Masterful and readable.” —
The Nation“Pleshakov has not only the guts to enter but also the instincts to find his way. His explanation of the 1989 collapse respects the complexity of Eastern Europe, yet his account is both clear and beautifully lyrical. His greatest strength lies in not being burdened by doctrine. . . .Of all the books that mark this anniversary, [There Is No Freedom Without Bread] is one that must be read. Pleshakov writes history with a human face.” —Gerard DeGroot, The Washington Post
“Enlightening . . . rich historical detail.” —Mother Jones
“A breath of fresh air . . . chock-full of revelatory details.” —Russian Life
“A savvier, richer take than the usual hymns to national liberation.” —Publishers Weekly
“Pleshakov embeds original perspectives into a lively narrative . . . The human factor comes out in this readable rendition of the end of communism.” —Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
Review
Praise for There Is No Freedom Without Bread
“Clear and beautifully lyrical . . . Of all the books that mark this anniversary, [There Is No Freedom Without Bread] is one that must be read. Pleshakov writes history with a human face.” —Gerard DeGroot, The Washington Post
“A savvier, richer take than the usual hymns to national liberation.” —Publishers Weekly
“Pleshakov embeds original perspectives into a lively narrative . . . The human factor comes out in this readable rendition of the end of communism.” —Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
Synopsis
The conventional story of the end of the Cold War is simple: Ronald Reagan waged an aggressive campaign against communism, outspent his opponent, and forced Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
In There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, Russian-born historian Constantine Pleshakov proposes a different interpretation. The revolutions that took place in 1989 were the result of politicking, tensions between Moscow and local governments, compromise between revolutionary leaders and communist old-timers, and the will and anger of the people. In a dramatic narrative culminating in that whirlwind year, Pleshakov challenges the received wisdom and argues that 1989 was as much about national civil wars and internal struggles for power as it was about the Eastern Europeans throwing off the yoke of Moscow.
Synopsis
The conventional story of the end of the Cold War is simple: Ronald Reagan waged an aggressive campaign against communism, outspent his opponent, and forced Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
In There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, Russian-born historian Constantine Pleshakov proposes a different interpretation. The revolutions that took place in 1989 were the result of politicking, tensions between Moscow and local governments, compromise between revolutionary leaders and communist old-timers, and the will and anger of the people. In a dramatic narrative culminating in that whirlwind year, Pleshakov challenges the received wisdom and argues that 1989 was as much about national civil wars and internal struggles for power as it was about the Eastern Europeans throwing off the yoke of Moscow.
About the Author
Constantine Pleshakov is the author of several works of history, including Stalins Folly, The Tsars Last Armada, The Flight of the Romanovs, and Inside the Kremlins Cold War. He teaches at Mount Holyoke College and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.