Description
by Fitzpatrick, Sheila | Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)
Published 07/03/2023 by Old Street Publishing in the United Kingdom
**PAPERBACK EDITION**
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Staff Pick, Bogdan: “Short, easy to read, but comprehensive and well-explained history of the USSR, from the revolution to it’s downfall.”
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The U.S.S.R. A nation that arrived in the world accidentally, and departed unexpectedly. Over a century after the Russian Revolution, the tumultuous history of the Soviet Union continues to fascinate us and influence global politics.
From revolution and Lenin to Stalin’s Terror, from World War II to glasnost, this is an authoritative distillation of 75 years of communist rule, and the disintegration of an empire.
Fitzpatrick charts the fate of countries often left out of Soviet histories, gives vivid portraits of key figures, and traces the aftermath of the regime’s sudden collapse. She explores the rise of the oligarchs, the rebirth of the Church and the enigmatic figure of Vladimir Putin: a Soviet creation but no Soviet nostalgic. Lastly, she considers the future of Communism. Who still worships Marx and Lenin? What lessons has today’s superpower, China, learned from yesterday’s Soviet failure?
