Retreating from the cold war : Germany, Russia, and the withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces

This book is about the withdrawal of the former Soviet troops from what was East Germany. In a much larger sense, it is also about the end of the Cold War, as well as of the Soviet Union. All of these events were ultimately the result of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms of Soviet society. They were not, however, entirely the intended consequences of his reforms. Appropriately enough, the book did not turn out as originally intended either. What started out as separate analyses of different aspects of the withdrawal quickly became much more of a chronological narrative. While this may seem to make it more of a history and less political science, I hope it gives the book greater coherence and readability. Retreating from the Cold War looks at the Soviet, and later Russian, military withdrawal from what was East Germany. It focuses on the central role of these Soviet troops in the historic events that marked the end of the Cold War, including the East German revolution in 1989, German unification in 1990, and the final withdrawal of the troops themselves in 1994, events that were put in motion by Mikhail Gorbachev's reform effort in the USSR. This text looks at the Soviet, and then Russian, military withdrawal from what was East Germany. It focuses on the central role of these Soviet troops in the historic events that marked the end of the Cold War, including the East German revolution in 1989, German unification in 1990, and the final withdrawal of the troops themselves in 1994, events that were put in motion by Mikhail Gorbachev's reform effort in the USSR