Alexander Yakovlev : the man whose ideas delivered Russia from communism. / Richard Pipes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pipes, Richard, author.

Contributor:

Project Muse, Content Provider.

Series:

NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

I︠A︡kovlev, A. N. (Aleksandr Nikolaevich), 1923-2005.

I︠A︡kovlev, A. N.

Statesmen--Soviet Union--Biography.

Statesmen.

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

Soviet Union.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

DeKalb, Illinois : Northern Illinois University Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A significant political figure in twentieth-century Russia, Alexander Yakovlev was the intellectual force behind the processes of perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness) that liberated the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe from Communist rule between 1989 and 1991. Yet, until now, not a single full-scale biography has been devoted to him.In his study of the unsung hero, Richard Pipes seeks to rectify this lacuna and give Yakovlev his historical due. Yakovlev's life provides a unique instance of a leading figure in the Soviet government who evolved from a dedicated Communist and Stalinist into an equally ardent foe of everything the Leninist-Stalinist regime stood for. He quit government service in 1991 and lived until 2005, becoming toward the end of his life a classical western liberal who shared none of the traditional Russian values. Pipes's illuminating study consists of two parts: a biography of Yakovlev and Pipes's translation of two important articles by Yakovlev. It will appeal to specialists and students of Soviet and post-Soviet studies, government officials involved with foreign policy, and general readers interested in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union.

Contents:

Youth

War

Khrushchev's speech

Columbia University

Trouble

Canada

Back home

The December 1985 Memorandum

Relations with Gorbachev

Glasnost'

Need of a fundamental break

Role in foreign policy

The 1939 Secret Protocol

Attitude toward the United States

Advocating presidency

Accusations of treason

Bolshevik crimes

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Private life

The August 1991 Coup

Yakovlev's final thoughts about Russia and Russians

Death.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781501756719

1501756710

9781609091859

160909185X

OCLC:

930756758