Collapse of an Empire
Lessons for Modern Russia
Brookings Institution Press, 2007
Category:
Economics & Politics
(9)
(8)In this summary you will learn
- How the Soviet Union collapsed
- Why the downfall of territorially integrated empires is perilous
- What threats nostalgia for the lost empire poses now
Why you should read Collapse of an Empire
This remarkably accessible, lucid survey of recent Russian history is a must-read for anyone interested in global affairs. Yegor Gaidar, an acting prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, provides a concise yet comprehensive summary of the course of empires during the 20th century, and draws some pointed lessons. His goal is to counter current nostalgia for the glory days of the Soviet Union. getAbstract admires how effectively he executes his objective, with a step-by-step recapitulation of the economic blunders that led inevitably to the Soviet Union’s dissolution. However, he also shows why those who expected democracy to grow must face the fact that it is on the retreat – and he leaves no doubt about the dangerous crossroads at which Russia stands.
About the Author
Yegor Gaidar, Boris Yeltsin’s acting prime minister in 1992, was the architect of “shock therapy” reforms during Russia’s transition to capitalism in the 1990s. He is director of the Institute for the Economy in Transition, a Moscow-based research organization.
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