A democracy of despots / Donald Murray.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Murray, Don, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich, 1931-2022.

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich.

Yeltsin, Boris Nikolayevich, 1931-2007.

Yeltsin, Boris Nikolayevich.

Russia (Federation)--History.

Russia (Federation).

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1985-1991.

Soviet Union.

Russia (Federation)--Politics and government--1991-.

Physical Description:

xiii, 250 p.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, c1995.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A Democracy of Despots is a history of Soviet and Russian experiments with democratic institutions from 1988 to 1995. Based on eye-witness accounts and in-depth interviews with most of the political leaders in this drama, it tells the story of the men and women who began an experiment in euphoria only to find themselves at war with one another five years later. Arguing that Gorbachev and Yeltsin used the democratic institutions they created to crush political opponents and increase their own personal power, Murray concludes that the rise of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the war in Chechnya are not aberrations on Russia's road to democracy but the logical extension and consequence of Gorbachev's and Yeltsin's despotism.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Introduction

An Oasis of Liberty

Searching for the New World

The First Campaign

The Day of Discussion

The Swamp

An Unofficial funeral

Miniature, Everyday Coups

Another Country ... Another Man

The Final Coup

The Rebel

Raskol

A Higher Value

Russia Returns to Its Roots

Confrontation Still Lives in Our Souls

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85365-1

9786612853654

0-7735-6568-X

OCLC:

923230812