Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union

by Vladislav M. Zubok

The Soviet leader still convened regular Politburo meetings. But instead of setting policies there for the Party apparatus, he would waste time in endless discussions. The conservative reformers concealed their skepticism of his leadership. Ligachev thought the abdication of power by the Party was a huge political mistake. Vorotnikov demanded Gorbachev’s resignation. Ryzhkov, responsible for the failing economic reforms, circled the wagons and bristled at any criticism. On the liberal side, Shevardnadze and Yakovlev also felt alienated and on their own. Gorbachev’s self-isolation progressed. He kept asking naïve questions: Why do people forgive Yeltsin for everything? Why do the problems in Moscow and Leningrad get worse? What have we done wrong? He did not expect any answers. His colleagues merely wondered what kind of an isolationist bubble the General Secretary lived