After the visit to Moscow (and Minsk) in 2007, I was fascinated by this country, its people, its history, how could it be different if you stay at the hotel Sovietsky beautiful old town? But a lot of understanding modern Russia? No, this biography may help those who want to learn more. There is also a look at the change in the nature ...
After a brief introduction of the index and the main structure of the book consists in a sequential manner. It begins with a logical question from where it wasborn?
1. Country and destiny.
The land in the title of this chapter is a symbol of change in many ways is like reading the biography.
The biography begins with a few rhetorical question: "Why Stavropol decide the fate of David beating Goliath totalitarian Why the man who fitted so well in the Soviet system the most dangerous internal enemy of the regime, more dangerous than any external enemy and how to convert was that hisIntention to change and improve, or even destroy the savings is over?
These questions will be answered in this first chapter. Some answers appear only in the epilogue at the end of the book.
In the country and the destiny written on the humble background of Gorbachev, and especially its (the family) the collective experience of the agricultural sector, the state farms. Mikhail was perhaps the average, the common man, a hard worker who knew the system like no other.
He went to study law in the cityMoscow, where he and his wife, one of the most beautiful girl on the right.
Because of their long-developed sense of the world outside the province of the world. And this country than city size remains a subject of understanding the biography.
E 'at the time of Brezhnev (Khrushchev procedure before the newly rising star Andropov, who still head of the KGB) and a man named Kulakov a young member of the Political Bureau in charge of agriculture,Mikhail found his "pupils". The missing link in this is the meaning of the Stavropol region, which is favored by many. Much about his personality, not at this stage by others, who have impressed many sympathetic Release Gorbachev showed.
2. The last round
"Patience and faith" is what Gorbachev learned from Andropov. They are other keys to understanding the biography of 'the Soviet Union and what happened. Patience is changing. "Not before the events,Mikhail, "is a section of this chapter. It 'just before General Secretary Mikhail. After the death of Chernenko and after the sudden death of the previous Kulakov. Politburo by Gorbachev was chosen to express his loyalty ... and at the end. .. because "there were no other candidates," which had the consent of the people. (interesting that, although a totalitarian state that such approval was important). In his speech, which opens "Momentum" was hit, heShow rituals of the time, but a request for change of words such as acceleration of economic progress.
3. A simple soldering iron?
"We want change." But what and how? It was the time of Reagan, who as the great communicator, so it was clear that he has found a real competition in this sector saw in Gorbachev.
Gorbachev had to change raised some initial expectations, but it was clear (from the biography is, in fact) that there is no real plan. Other thanthe "500 days plan" so-called shows that there is something done, but the question was. What?
There is little economy in the biography, but the main problem was the inefficiency of the agricultural sector and their main organization of state and collective farms. "Prices for energy and food provisioning was compromised.
It 's also the time of dry-law, a mistake in setting priorities and managing Gorbachev.
Meanwhile, Gorbachev opened his andthe Russian image of the outside world.
4. Reconstruction ... what?
"We're in a hurry." variation of the XXVII Congress of the CPSU was the order of the day and the word perestroika was born, "to improve search response to the framework of socialism, not without." The basic principle of perestroika was that more socialism, more democracy.
Andrei Grachov writes. "Only with proper attention you can grasp the first ideology and dissonancy 'so the dissidence"Developed" "" Discount socialism in the Soviet Union to "develop Gensec, which will improve and become more authentic (Even today, a modern concept).
Lenin to Gorbachev was a hero and role model for change. But the question most raised in the Politburo. Which type of socialism, social pluralism, social law, market socialism, etc. .. Gorbachev had the power to half, but had not figured out how they mapped to control.
Reform orRevolution? According to the wisdom of Solzhenitsyn, is a process of reform and revolution fm above comes from "how".
At that time, Francois Mitterrand was impressed by the ideas, but rhetorically asked whether such a reform could be implemented in practice. But Gorbachev has not been supported by the wisdom of Lenin's "fear chaos." Gorbachev would have designed his own "October Revolution" change the direction of its predecessor, focusing on the improvement of Bolshevism. But he has increasinglyResistance Yeltsin (who called Gorbachev a wet firecracker) and the like, the more dogmatic ideology and that it would support any change temporising.