The Soviet Union under Brezhnev (Seminar Studies In History)

by William J. Tompson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $9.36

  The Soviet Union Under Brezhnev provides an accessible post-Soviet perspective on the history of the USSR from the mid-1960's to the mid-1980's. It challenges both the `evil empire' image of the USSR that was widespread in the early 1980's and the `stagnation' label attached to the period by Soviet reformers under Gorbachev.

  The book makes use of a range of memoirs, interviews, archival documents and other sources not available before 1990 to place Brezhnev and his epoch in a broader historical context. The author:

  examines high politics, foreign policy and policy making
  explores broader social, cultural and demographic trends
  presents a picture of Soviet society in the crucial decades prior to the upheavals and crises of the late 1980's

  While stopping well short of a full-scale rehabilitation of Brezhnev, Tompson rejects the prevailing image of the Soviet leader as a colourless non-entity, drawing attention to Brezhnev's real political skills, as well as his faults, and to the systemic roots of many of the problems he faced.

• New

  Paperback
  2003

  $49.35

  The Soviet Union Under Brezhnev provides an accessible post-Soviet perspective on the history of the USSR from the mid-1960's to the mid-1980's. It challenges both the `evil empire' image of the USSR that was widespread in the early 1980's and the `stagnation' label attached to the period by Soviet reformers under Gorbachev.

  The book makes use of a range of memoirs, interviews, archival documents and other sources not available before 1990 to place Brezhnev and his epoch in a broader historical context. The author:

  examines high politics, foreign policy and policy making
  explores broader social, cultural and demographic trends
  presents a picture of Soviet society in the crucial decades prior to the upheavals and crises of the late 1980's

  While stopping well short of a full-scale rehabilitation of Brezhnev, Tompson rejects the prevailing image of the Soviet leader as a colourless non-entity, drawing attention to Brezhnev's real political skills, as well as his faults, and to the systemic roots of many of the problems he faced.