Brezhnev and the Decline of the Soviet Union

NOTE EDITORE

Leonid Brezhnev was leader of the Soviet Union from 1964-1982, a longer period than any other Soviet leader apart from Stalin. During Brezhnev’s time Soviet power seemed at its height and increasing. Living standards were rising, the Soviet Union was a nuclear power and successful in its space missions, and the Soviet Union's influence reached into all part of the world. Yet, as this book, which provides a comprehensive overview and reassessment of Brezhnev’s life, early political career and career as leader, shows, the seeds of decline were sown in Brezhnev's time. There was a huge over-commitment of resources to the Soviet industrial-military complex and to massively expensive foreign policy overstretch. At the same time there was a failure to deliver on citizens' rising expectations, and an overconfident ignoring of dissidents and their demands. The book will be of great interest to Russian specialists, and also to scholars of international relations and world history.

SOMMARIO

Foreword by former Foreign Secretary Rt. Hon. Lord David Owen Preface Part 1: Introduction1. The Ukrainian Crucible2. Brezhnev and World War II3. The Death of Stalin and Rise of Khrushchev Part 2: Brezhnev’s Domestic Politics4. Brezhnev’s Life at the Top5. Confronting the Military Industrial Complex 6. Dissidence and Human RightsPart3: International Politics: Peacemaker under pressure7. The Soviet Bloc, the Brezhnev Doctrine and Ostpolitik8. US Presidents and the Nuclear Arms Race 9. The Mixed Blessings Brought by Brezhnev’s New German Friendship: The Helsinki conference and its aftermath10. Brezhnev’s Blind Spot: Africa and Middle East11. South and Central Asia: Challenges that Brezhnev could not ignore 12. Brezhnev’s Confrontation with China Part 4:Brezhnev and the Fall of the Soviet State13. Downhill all the Way

AUTORE

Thomas Crump was a lecturer in anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and is the author of twelve books.

ALTRE INFORMAZIONI

• Condizione: Nuovo
• ISBN: 9780415690737
• Collana: Routledge Studies in the History of Russia and Eastern Europe
• Dimensioni: 9.25 x 6.25 in Ø 1.20 lb
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Illustration Notes: 1 b/w image and 1 line drawing
• Pagine Arabe: 256