Boris Yeltsin: From Bolshevik to Democrat

by John Morrison

"A man must live like a great bright flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is better than a mean little flame." – Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin's triumph in the first direct election ever held in Russia was a political resurrection unique in Soviet history — and his courageous stance during the coup attempt of August 1991 has catapulted him into the world spotlight. But who is this earthy yet enigmatic man, -- a democrat or a demagogue, a Westernizer or a Russian nationalist?
In the first book to examine Yeltsin's extraordinary political career, former Reuters Moscow bureau chief John Morrison gets beyond the heroics to reveal the truth about this controversial maverick. The story of Boris Yeltsin is in many ways the story of Russia itself. His rise from an impoverished background in the remote Ural mountains, his success as both a "hands-on" engineer and communits leader there, his appointment to run the city of Moscow, and his growing disillusionment and break with the party all mirror the vast changes and complex internal conflicts that have shaped and scarred the Soviet Union in the past decades.
Equally fascinating is the author's brilliant juxtaposition of the trajectory of Yeltsin's career with that of the man who was first his sponsor, then his opponent, and ultimately his uneasy ally — Mikhail Gorbachev. The relationship between these two men — and the shifting balance of power between them since the breathtaking challenge of the failed coup — forms one of the most intriguing historical dramas of our time.
As Morrison examines the issues essential to understanding Yeltsin, he provides a trenchant analysis of recent Soviet history and politics, and of the choices faced by the leaders of a union now on the brink of dissolution. For the conflict between Yeltsin and Gorbachev has never been a battle merely between two political rivals but between two radically different visions of Russia's future — as either empire or nation. Timely and superbly researched, -- is an indispensable chronicle of the volatile career of Russia's new apostle of democracy.

[from the cover/jacket text]

Genres: Biography, Russia

303 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

After a long career as a foreign correspondent in Russia, Europe and Africa, John Morrison spent two years reporting at Westminster for Reuters and travelled to China, Japan and the United States. He is now an independent author, playwright and publisher.

Reviews

[(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun & flirty briefing on the Yeltsin glory years. It's interesting mostly for the window it provides into a time 'before' - before the real catastrophes of his reign, before we knew how it would all end, before the idea of democracy in Russia became entirely silly. The final two or three chapters are especially good for providing this raw agony of posterity ("Boris Nikolayevich, it's as if fate delivered you to us" reads a cardboard sign during his presidential campaign), and Christ, that quote on the back cover! If you're captivated by the tragic dimension of the Yeltsin saga then this is maybe worth reading just for that.

Also useful because of its zoomed-in scope. Colton's Yeltsin biography is only between 100-200 pages longer and covers his entire presidency, so it's stretched much thinner; but because of its smaller scope and early time of publication, this work is full of closer detail that 10 years down the line might not have been considered worth the space. (Obviously this is for better and for worse. Personally after hearing the same story several times I like the new-ish angle.) With this in mind, it's still a short book, so certain events while preserved sharply enough don't quite get the lavish treatment they deserve. I'm thinking particularly of the chapter on the 1987 plenums, to which only Leon Aron's touch for melodrama has done justice. Morrison is also really not that concerned with the economic side of things. For a primer-style book this is not a problem - you're better off picking up some textbooks about Soviet collapse, and Yeltsin was always a purely political creature anyway. I enjoyed especially the utilisation of his autobiographies as a point of discussion and comparison.

These are the pros and they make it worthwhile enough for a Yeltsin girl to read. I would not say the level of analysis is super detailed or novel. But the Colton and Aron biographies aren't exactly excellent either (although Aron's is certaintly more exciting). Even today we are still missing a Taubman-level biography on Yeltsin, but I reckon we'll be kept waiting for a while yet. Yeltsin is a tremendously challenging subject, in no small part because the issues which dominated his era continue to torment ours; the kind of biographical treatment he deserves can only be achieved when history provides us with enough distance from his legacy-slash-successor Putin, too. So hey ho, might as well give this a read for the time-portal. Although one (personally distressing) downside: no photographs! The people demand to see their poor sexy sad prezydent 💔💔💔

[kloppy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun, very digestible compendium on the political career of Boris Yeltsin from 1985-91 with lots of anecdotes, like the time Boris became terribly drunk in Moscow and was shamed in parliament, or the time Boris became terribly drunk in the United States and was shamed in the White House. After this book was published, Boris went on to be one of the most reviled leaders in Russia's extensive history of horrible despots and reversed his country's life expectancy to pre-industrial levels while blatantly rigging his re-election and ushering in decades of dictatorship. Oh Boris!

[Finn Buijs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, short book to understand the fall of the soviet-union in brief. If you want a better understanding it is important to read other books alongside it since this book only covers certain, crucial events only briefly

[Steve Kettmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this biography not long after it came out, maybe 1993, and I remember it as being somewhat plodding and workmanlike, but I applaud the author for having a fresh take on Yeltsin that was at odds with the Gorbachev-as-saint mythology that was thick in the air in those years like cheap cologne. I continue to think that Yeltsin was the more intriguing - and arguably more important - figure. I can't seem to find my paperback copy of this one, but hope it will turn up somewhere and I can read it again.

[Miles Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to be bored out of my mind by an outdated book written before the Soviet Union actually collapsed. However, I became absorbed in the story of the political battles that propelled Yeltsin to the top and eventually wrested Russia away from the "center."

[Roger James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent