The Last Empire by Serhii Plokhy
The Final Days of the Soviet Union
A concise narrative of the Soviet Union’s final years that traces how Gorbachev’s reforms—perestroika and glasnost—opened political space, unleashed suppressed nationalisms, and accelerated economic and political decline. It follows the late-1980s unraveling through the 1991 coup attempt and the wave of republic declarations of independence, highlighting the roles of political leaders, popular movements, and pivotal choices by republics such as Ukraine in dismantling the imperial system. Combining diplomatic, political, and social analysis, the book argues the USSR’s collapse resulted from both intentional reforms and their unintended consequences, which fragmented the empire into independent states.
- Published
- 2014
- Nationality
- American
- Length
- Unknown
- Pages
- Unknown
- Original Language
- English
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- Alternate Titles
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