Gorbachev And His Enemies

The approach here is unusual in concentrating on the various individuals and groups that have opposed Gorbachev. The list of "enemies" includes Yeltsin, Ligachev, Chebrikov, ideological conservatives, stick-in-the-mud bureaucrats, and elements of the armed forces and the KGB. A formidable array, but they do not act together and they have no viable alternative. Hazan, a veteran Sovietologist, does not have to read the tea leaves this time; he has plenty of published material on which to rely, thanks to glasnost, and he makes good use of it.