Inside the Soviet alternative universe : the Cold War's end and the Soviet Union's fall reappraised

'Reappraises the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union based on the author's 35-year career as a specialist in Soviet and post-Soviet affairs. Explores the psychological universe of Soviet rulers to clarify the nature of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms'--Provided by publisher. Much ink has been spilled by scholars, journalists, and former government officials from both the United States and the Soviet Union in efforts to explain how the Cold War came to an end and the Soviet system collapsed. Yet little consensus has emerged regarding these historic events. In this unique contribution to the debate, Dick Combs brings his many years of experience as an academic researcher, policy analyst, and government insider to bear on these questions and finds the answer primarily in the destabilizing impact of Mikhail Gorbachevs effort to modernize the Kremlins Stalinist mind-set. Part I of the book sets the stage by affording the reader an existential feel for the reality, including the psychological atmosphere, of Soviet communism in everyday life as the author himself experienced it while serving as a young diplomat in the U.S. legation in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the late 1960s and later during eight years of diplomatic service at the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Part II then builds on this direct exposure to the Soviet mind-set to develop an analytical perspective on the causes for the Cold Wars end and the USSRs disintegration as arising essentially from Gorbachevs attempt to reform the regimes official conception of governance once the Stalinist fixation on international class struggle had proven no longer viable as a basic rationale for policy-making. Part III, finally, deploys this perspective to explain the unfolding of events that led to the ending of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet system, to reveal the relationship between the two, to point out the relevance of this explanation to current U.S. foreign policy, and to show how it can help us better understand what is happening in todays Russia. Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Foreword: Myths That Mislead......Page 10 Author's Preface......Page 14 Part One. Reminiscence: Ten Years Inside the Empire......Page 20 Introduction to Part One......Page 22 1. Initial Encounters with the Other Side......Page 26 2. Working Levels of the Soviet Regime......Page 47 3. Stagnation and Disaffection......Page 74 4. Beginning of the End......Page 103 Part Two. Reflection: A Neglected Psychological Perspective......Page 134 Introduction to Part Two......Page 136 5. Comprehending Another Political World......Page 140 6. Formation of the Soviet Conception of Governance......Page 158 7. The Conception's Evolution Under Khrushchev and Brezhnev......Page 176 8. Gorbachev and the Conception's Terminal Phase......Page 192 Part Three. Relevance: Psychological Milieu and Current Foreign Policy Issues......Page 218 Introduction to Part Three......Page 220 9. Reappraising the Cold War's End and the Empire's Fall I: Key Pieces of the Puzzle......Page 221 10. Reappraising the Cold War's End and the Empire's Fall II: Fitting the Pieces Together......Page 238 11. Empire and Democracy in Post-Soviet Russia......Page 266 12. An Analytical Blind Spot and Its Consequences......Page 292 Notes......Page 322 Bibliography......Page 340 Index......Page 362 Back Cover......Page 382 Foreword : myths that mislead / Jack F. Matlock Jr. Author's preface Reminiscence : ten years inside the empire Initial encounters with the other side Working levels of the soviet regime Stagnation and disaffection The beginning of the end Reflection : a neglected psychological perspective Comprehending another political world Formation of the Soviet conception of governance The conception's evolution under Khrushchev and Brezhnev Gorbachev and the conception's terminal phase Relevance : psychological milieu and current foreign policy issues Reappraising the Cold War's end and the empire's fall I : key pieces of the puzzle Reappraising the cold war's end and the empire's fall II : fitting the pieces together Empire and democracy in post-Soviet Russia An analytical blind spot and its consequences.

Much has been written by scholars, journalists, and former government officials from both the United States and the Soviet Union in efforts to explain how the Cold War came to an end and the Soviet system collapsed. Yet little consensus has emerged regarding these historic events. In this unique contribution to the debate, Dick Combs brings his many years of experience as academic researcher, policy analyst, and government insider to bear on these questions and finds the answer primarily in the destabilizing impact of Mikhail Gorbachev's effort to modernize the Kremlin's Stalinist mind-set.