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The Struggle for Russia
In this highly-praised journal of Russia's transition and struggle, with new material added, Yeltsin describes his stormy relationship with Gorbachev, the fateful August coup, and the October uprising. He reveals classified KGB documents concerning an array of topics, from Lee Harvey Oswald to the KGB arming of the IRA, and describes the painful and dangerous transition to a market economy.
- GenresBiographyRussian History
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin
27 books4 followersFrom 1991, economic reform and conflict with the legislature marked administration of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, Russian politician, president of the republic, until his resignation in 1999.
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin first served.
Yeltsin came with a wave of high expectations to power. On 12 June 1991, a popular 57% of the vote first elected him. After a series of crises in the 1990s, Yeltsin never recovered his popularity. Widespread corruption, collapse, and enormous social problems characterized the era of Yeltsin. An approval rating of Yeltsin reached two percent before the time, when he left office.
Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1991, Yeltsin endorsed a program of price liberalization and privatization and vowed to transform socialist command into a free market. A result ably enriched a handful of persons and meanwhile arguably stamped out competitors.
In August 1991, Yeltsin won international plaudits for casting as a democrat and defying the coup attempt of the members of Soviet government opposed to perestroika. He as a widely unpopular, ineffectual, and ailing autocrat left office. He acted as his own prime minister until June 1992 or appointed men of his choice, regardless of parliament. Confrontations of Yeltsin with parliament climaxed in the constitutional crisis of October 1993, when people called up tanks to shell the white house and thus blasted out his opponents. Later in 1993, Yeltsin imposed a new constitution with strong powers, which referendum approved in December.
Yeltsin made a surprise announcement and left the hands of Vladimir Putin, just hours before the first day of 2000.
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin first served.
Yeltsin came with a wave of high expectations to power. On 12 June 1991, a popular 57% of the vote first elected him. After a series of crises in the 1990s, Yeltsin never recovered his popularity. Widespread corruption, collapse, and enormous social problems characterized the era of Yeltsin. An approval rating of Yeltsin reached two percent before the time, when he left office.
Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1991, Yeltsin endorsed a program of price liberalization and privatization and vowed to transform socialist command into a free market. A result ably enriched a handful of persons and meanwhile arguably stamped out competitors.
In August 1991, Yeltsin won international plaudits for casting as a democrat and defying the coup attempt of the members of Soviet government opposed to perestroika. He as a widely unpopular, ineffectual, and ailing autocrat left office. He acted as his own prime minister until June 1992 or appointed men of his choice, regardless of parliament. Confrontations of Yeltsin with parliament climaxed in the constitutional crisis of October 1993, when people called up tanks to shell the white house and thus blasted out his opponents. Later in 1993, Yeltsin imposed a new constitution with strong powers, which referendum approved in December.
Yeltsin made a surprise announcement and left the hands of Vladimir Putin, just hours before the first day of 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 24, 2020
"Not a single reform effort in Russia has ever been completed."
I can't get away from reading books about Soviet/Russian leaders of the second half of the 20th century. Almost half of my life, until 1982, I had lived in the shadow of the Soviet empire. Boris Yeltsin's memoir The Struggle for Russia is the ninth book on the topic that I am reviewing here on Goodreads (the full list is below the rating). The publisher states that the book is a lightly edited text of Mr. Yeltsin's journal from the period between August 1991 and October 1993, one of the most turbulent periods in the Russian (no longer Soviet!) history.
Disregarding chronology, the book begins with Mr. Yeltsin's notes from 1993. Particularly captivating is the journal entry dated October 4, 1993, during the dramatic days of the so-called "constitutional crisis" - a standoff between Yeltsin, Russia's president, and the Russian parliament, freshly dissolved by the President. Yeltsin orders the army to storm the Moscow's "White House," and his opponents try to get the Air Force to bomb Kremlin. There are heavy casualties.
The journal entries are arranged in such a way that the reader can see political, economic, and social developments that led to the crisis of fall 1993; the book concludes with Mr. Yeltsin's return to reminiscing the dark days of Sep and Oct of 1993.
The actually chronological beginning, Chapter 3 of the memoir, portrays the August 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. This is fascinating read, events are described hour-by-hour with high degree of realism, when no one knows anything, and all events seem completely chaotic. We read about Mr. Yeltsin's famous speech atop the turret of the tank. He writes:
Reading about the "awkward months" between August and December 1991, when Mikhail Gorbachev yielded power and Soviet Union, one of the most powerful empires in the history of mankind, ceased to exist, is captivating. For me, perhaps the most interesting layer/motif in the book is the relationship between two men who managed to changed the world so significantly: Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Yeltsin. Although they often were bitter political enemies, Mr. Yeltsin's admiration for Mr. Gorbachev is patently obvious from the pages of the journal.
Readers will likely enjoy Mr. Yeltsin's impressions from his contacts with leaders of other countries, such as Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, and Lech Wałęsa. There is some humor in the text, like the passage about an incident when Mr. Yeltsin's car got stuck in the ditch; he had to walk 10 miles to the nearest village for help, yet every single resident of the village was drunk.
There is a lot of serious stuff in the memoir: about Russia, its people, its history, and its problems. I am unable to rate the book higher because I believe that the book will be fully understood only by people like this reviewer, who know what life under Soviet rule was.
Three stars.
My previous reviews of books on Soviet leaders:
Gorbachev: Heretic in the Kremlin - by Dusko Doder and Louise Branson
The Andropov File - by Martin Ebon
Against the Grain - An Autobiography - by Boris Yeltsin
Lenin to Gorbachev: Three generations of Soviet Communists
Brezhnev, Soviet Politician - by Murphy
Khrushchev - by Roy Medvedev
Gorbachev and His Revolution - by Mark Galeotti
Andropov - by Zhores Medvedev
I can't get away from reading books about Soviet/Russian leaders of the second half of the 20th century. Almost half of my life, until 1982, I had lived in the shadow of the Soviet empire. Boris Yeltsin's memoir The Struggle for Russia is the ninth book on the topic that I am reviewing here on Goodreads (the full list is below the rating). The publisher states that the book is a lightly edited text of Mr. Yeltsin's journal from the period between August 1991 and October 1993, one of the most turbulent periods in the Russian (no longer Soviet!) history.
Disregarding chronology, the book begins with Mr. Yeltsin's notes from 1993. Particularly captivating is the journal entry dated October 4, 1993, during the dramatic days of the so-called "constitutional crisis" - a standoff between Yeltsin, Russia's president, and the Russian parliament, freshly dissolved by the President. Yeltsin orders the army to storm the Moscow's "White House," and his opponents try to get the Air Force to bomb Kremlin. There are heavy casualties.
The journal entries are arranged in such a way that the reader can see political, economic, and social developments that led to the crisis of fall 1993; the book concludes with Mr. Yeltsin's return to reminiscing the dark days of Sep and Oct of 1993.
The actually chronological beginning, Chapter 3 of the memoir, portrays the August 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. This is fascinating read, events are described hour-by-hour with high degree of realism, when no one knows anything, and all events seem completely chaotic. We read about Mr. Yeltsin's famous speech atop the turret of the tank. He writes:
"This improvised rally on the tank was not a propaganda gimmick."I am not quite sure if I believe it. It might have been a well designed turning point in the struggle. Anyway, the coup fails, Mr. Yeltsin signs a decree to suspend the activities of the Communist party in Russia, and in a few months the dissolution of the Soviet empire becomes a fact.
Reading about the "awkward months" between August and December 1991, when Mikhail Gorbachev yielded power and Soviet Union, one of the most powerful empires in the history of mankind, ceased to exist, is captivating. For me, perhaps the most interesting layer/motif in the book is the relationship between two men who managed to changed the world so significantly: Mr. Gorbachev and Mr. Yeltsin. Although they often were bitter political enemies, Mr. Yeltsin's admiration for Mr. Gorbachev is patently obvious from the pages of the journal.
Readers will likely enjoy Mr. Yeltsin's impressions from his contacts with leaders of other countries, such as Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, and Lech Wałęsa. There is some humor in the text, like the passage about an incident when Mr. Yeltsin's car got stuck in the ditch; he had to walk 10 miles to the nearest village for help, yet every single resident of the village was drunk.
There is a lot of serious stuff in the memoir: about Russia, its people, its history, and its problems. I am unable to rate the book higher because I believe that the book will be fully understood only by people like this reviewer, who know what life under Soviet rule was.
Three stars.
My previous reviews of books on Soviet leaders:
Gorbachev: Heretic in the Kremlin - by Dusko Doder and Louise Branson
The Andropov File - by Martin Ebon
Against the Grain - An Autobiography - by Boris Yeltsin
Lenin to Gorbachev: Three generations of Soviet Communists
Brezhnev, Soviet Politician - by Murphy
Khrushchev - by Roy Medvedev
Gorbachev and His Revolution - by Mark Galeotti
Andropov - by Zhores Medvedev
September 19, 2008
Totally biased, of course, but it's very readable, and gives one a good sense of the recent history of Russia.
April 4, 2011
probably never finish this book. I got a bit bored and probably won't pick it back up.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews