Russia’s Dead End: An Insider’s Testimony from Gorbachev to Putin

Description

Elite-level Soviet politics, privileged access to state secrets, knowledge about machinations inside the Kremlin—such is the environment in which Andrei A. Kovalev lived and worked. In this memoir of his time as a successful diplomat serving in various key capacities and as a member of Mikhail Gorbachev’s staff, Kovalev reveals hard truths about his country as only a perceptive witness can do. In Russia’s Dead End Kovalev shares his intimate knowledge of political activities behind the scenes at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kremlin before and after the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991, including the Russia of Vladimir Putin. Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 6 Copyright Page......Page 7 Contents......Page 10 Foreword......Page 12 Preface......Page 26 Acknowledgments......Page 42 Introduction......Page 46 1. Diplomacy and Democratic Reforms......Page 62 2. The August 1991 Coup: The Breaking Point......Page 112 3. Anatomy of a Lost Decade, 1992– 2000......Page 142 4. How the System Really Works......Page 186 5. Inside the Secret Police State......Page 218 6. Strangling Democracy......Page 262 7. The New Russian Imperialism......Page 300 Conclusion......Page 336 Cast of Characters......Page 360 Chronology......Page 366 Notes......Page 372 Index......Page 382