The Gorbachev Factor

By Archie Brown

Book Overview

General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and political reformer, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the force behind perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev was arguably the most important statesman of the twentieth century. When he assumed power in March 1985, it was unimaginable that the Soviet Union would, in the space of seven years, be transformed out of existence. Enormous obstacles confronted any leader intent on changing the Soviet system radically-- centuries of authoritarian government in Russia had been followed by almost seventy years of Soviet rule. Today, however, the changes in what used to be the Soviet Union have been so great--and peaceful-- that it is easy to forget what the unreformed Soviet system was like when Mikhail Gorbachev succeeded Konstantin Chernenko.
Providing a balanced account of the complexities of politics in the U.S.S.R. during a period of remarkable change, The Gorbachev Factor tells the gripping story of Gorbachev's rise and fall, a story full of intrigue, secret meetings, and power struggles. Author Archie Brown, one of the world's leading authorities on Gorbachev and the first Western writer to predict his importance, sets out to comprehend the evolution of Gorbachev's thinking and to identify and evaluate his personal contribution to change in Soviet politics. He analyses the thrust of Gorbachev's domestic and foreign policy, looks at the sources of his new ideas, and assesses his contribution to the radical changes that took place in the Soviet Union. Brown shows how Gorbachev moved beyond reform of the Soviet system to the demolition of a number of its pillars. As he came to power in 1985, Gorbachev said, "I thought that we had a system that could be improved. Instead, I learned that we had a system that needed to be replaced." And, in a matter of years, the Soviet system quietly folded under his leadership. In the process of describing Gorbachev, Brown also provides portraits of Soviet leaders through the years--Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, and even Lenin and Stalin--and charts the influence of such Russian luminaries as Eduard Shevardnadze and Boris Yeltsin.
Perceptive and controversial, The Gorbachev Factor paints a vivid picture of a man and seven years that have changed the course of the twentieth century, offering fascinating insights into the beliefs, political style, and powers of Mikhail Gorbachev. It provides both a timely and balanced account of the recent complexities of Soviet politics and a searching analysis of the crucial role played by a politician quite unlike any other to have headed the Soviet party and state.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198273444
• ISBN13: 9780198273448
• Release Date: July 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 426 Pages
• Weight: 1.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

One Man Had a Plan!

Archie Brown has written a thought provoking and sympathetic analysis of the political leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev spanning his rein as Secretary General of the Central Committee (president) of the Soviet Union from 1985 to its collapse in 1991. Brown argues it was the "Gorbachev Factor," the Secretary General's role as a reformer, an initiator of change that totally transformed the Soviet Union's political system to that of a pluralist structure based on a democratic socialist model. Although the author admits this is not a biography of Gorbachev and points out the importance of placing the man within the context of political, economic and social events of the time, Gorbachev remains the central focus of this work. Brown counters several of the myths, both emanating from the West as well as within the Soviet political structure regarding the pros and cons of Gorbachev's tenure. Brown states Gorbachev had an agenda of four transformational reforms when he took office in 1985. Individual chapters in the book cover these goals in detail. First was the plan for economic reform (Chapter 5). Second, Gorbachev envisioned the liberalization of the present political system (Chapter 6). Third, involved revising Soviet foreign policy including replacing the Soviet hegemony in Eastern Bloc countries with a cooperative alternative; drastically reduce the Soviet military presence in those countries; pull out of Afghanistan; and ending the Cold War between East and West (Chapter 7). A forth consideration involved the nationalist question concerning sovereignty and statehood within the borders of the Soviet Union, and the challenge of preserving that union (Chapter 8). What Gorbachev did not envision, nor had he anticipated, emphasizes Brown, was the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. Brown believes Gorbachev's greatest contribution lies in the political arena. Brown claims Gorbachev acted more like a western politician than any of his predecessors. Gorbachev it seems was able to pull off impossible political feats while working within the constraints of the Soviet system. By 1989-1990, argues, Brown, Gorbachev surely made the Soviet political system "different" than the one he had inherited. By "different," the author means the government became a pluralist system with the introduction of contested elections and the establishment of autonomous political organizations. As the author notes, this became a double-edged sword as a result of losing the eastern countries, "the fruit of the Soviet Union's victory in the Second World War," a conservative element, headed by the real culprit in Brown's view: Boris Yeltsin, began to exert pressure. Brown counters those who claim Gorbachev initially paid lip service to Marxist-Leninist ideology and bent to pressure from the far right. Brown simply illustrates that Gorbachev required the use of subtle vocabulary instead of attacking the Soviet system head on. Gorbachev did not want to become another Khrushchev and b

Well done!

In the first sentence of "The Gorbachev Factor," Archie Brown tells his readers that his work "is neither a history of the Gorbachev era, nor a biography of Mikhail Gorbachev." On reading that, this "country boy" had to ask..."well what is it?" Well, by the end I knew: Brown's work is an outstanding analysis of Mikhail Gorbachev's influence on Soviet history in the 1980's. It is a well written, well researched and well documented account not just of Gorbachev's role during this time, the the myiad factors that influenced Gorbachev. Now, there "ain't" no doubt that Brown likes Gorbachev. While Brown points our more than ove of Gorbachev's faults, the lion's share of Brown's work tend to vindicate his actions and elevate his intent. But this is no simple apology for the leader of a regime that fell. Rather, it is an in-depth look at the incredable challenges and paradoxical results of Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership of the Soviet Union.