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fredcthulhu's review against another edition
5.0
The Last Empire examines the internal reasons why the Soviet Union fell apart instead of the oft believed myth that the USA had won the Cold War. Several factors are explored on why the USSR dissolved such as the turn to a democratic electorate via Perestroika and Glasnost, Ukraine's drive for independence and Boris Yeltsin's complicated feud with Michail Gorbachev. Plokhy also explores how the US tried to keep the USSR from disintegrating because the US wanted to keep the USSR in charge of its nuclear arsenal and wanted to use the USSR as its junior partner in foreign policy.
vesb12's review against another edition
5.0
A well-written account of the final days (or months) of the Soviet Union, accounting for its collapse by the culmination of nationalist movements and power struggles, especially after the August Coup.
Plokhy uses the recently declassified documents/ records of conversations between key players in the US, Soviet Union, and republic leaders. There is a superb level of detail and contextualisation of the documents.
Because this is not written chronologically (Plokhy returns to conversations or earlier dates), the reader has to be constantly aware of what happened when, since many conversations and decisive events happen within the course of days/ weeks/ months. For this, it might have been useful to include a timeline of events.
Plokhy uses the recently declassified documents/ records of conversations between key players in the US, Soviet Union, and republic leaders. There is a superb level of detail and contextualisation of the documents.
Because this is not written chronologically (Plokhy returns to conversations or earlier dates), the reader has to be constantly aware of what happened when, since many conversations and decisive events happen within the course of days/ weeks/ months. For this, it might have been useful to include a timeline of events.
mattd97's review
5.0
The Last Empire, by Serhii Plokhy, is a comprehensive and detailed account of the last few months of the Soviet Union. It starts with the August Coup and ends with Gorbachev's resignation in December. The book focuses on the Bush, Kravchuk, Gorbachev, and Yeltsin perspectives.
This is a must read for those studying Soviet/Russian history and is an excellent start to studying both the fall of the USSR and Gorbachev's reign.
This is a must read for those studying Soviet/Russian history and is an excellent start to studying both the fall of the USSR and Gorbachev's reign.
bub_9's review against another edition
3.0
More Plokhy, same virtues/weaknesses.
The narrative is told in riveting detail, with an energetic and incisive counterpoint to the dominant narrative that America won the Cold War and basked in the unipolar moment after the USSR's collapse. Also interesting in examining the differing motivations of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in agreeing to break up the Union. I wouldn't have minded more talk of Crimea, though, especially in light of the present day.
Also ... it really is mainly narrative.
The narrative is told in riveting detail, with an energetic and incisive counterpoint to the dominant narrative that America won the Cold War and basked in the unipolar moment after the USSR's collapse. Also interesting in examining the differing motivations of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in agreeing to break up the Union. I wouldn't have minded more talk of Crimea, though, especially in light of the present day.
Also ... it really is mainly narrative.
nathanschumer's review
medium-paced
4.0
I really like this book--it's a close history of august-december 1991 and the final collapse of the soviet union. I didnt realize the impact of the hardliner coup on Gorbachev or how Yeltsin used the coup and its response to push the Soviet Union's collapse along or how the different ssrs conspired for independence and the sort of general failures of central government over time. It's fascinating to track how the USSR went from inevitability to collapsing over 3 months, and to get these in depth looks at the players, and how the Bush administration ultimately just cut Gorbachev off.
tarmstrong112's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly interesting, if a bit dry. Basically the political situation in the former Soviet Union during it's last six months in existence with a lot of attention given to the final week. I found the first half of the book more interesting than the second half, but altogether it was an interesting view on the fall of the country. The author clearly did his research and it shows. The book is also well written and really clipped along.
samanthawade92's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Very well written and informative but very dense. Definitely a slow read but I walked away feeling like I’d gained a lot of insider knowledge.