The New Russia

Reviews / Votes

"[Gorbachev] has produced a reflection full of an earnest desire that former enemies understand each other and find common ground in a febrile world. This is a reminder of how vast was his achievement in allowing in the light of freedom. Where his contemporary, Nelson Mandela, was great beyond the whites' deserts in building a post-apartheid nation, Mr Gorbachev was great beyond the deserts of the Soviet Union (and perhaps even of the west, which could barely understand or trust him) in proposing a way for the despotic world to aspire to democratic governance, freely organized civil society and rule of law. That he failed, he keenly knows. Our best hope is that his ideas, in time, succeed."
Financial Times

"There are not many good books on new Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev's The New Russia is probably the best book in many years. It is packed with knowledge, analysis, and new perspective on Russia."
Washington Book Review

"Mikhail Gorbachev, with his prodigious intellect, vast experience, and powers of perception, gives us his views spanning from his time in office to the present day. As he says, 'Life teaches you more than any teacher,' and we all can learn by reading this account of his extraordinary life."
George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury of the United States

"Gorbachev was on the right side of history. One day the Russian people will recognize that they have as much reason to be grateful to him as do the rest of us. This important book explains why."
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary of the United Kingdom

"Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev recounts his reaction to events over the past quarter century, from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation, to the revival of Cold-War-like confrontation with the West and the return of authoritarian governance in Russia itself. Gorbachev deplores the fact that Russia has deviated from the path to democracy that was the aim of his perestroika, but also points out that U.S. and Western policies have contributed to the current Cold War atmosphere. Gorbachev's The New Russia is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand why the 'Europe Whole and Free' that Gorbachev and his Western partners tried to create still eludes us. His suggestions for a return to East-West cooperation and for a resumption of democratic reform in Russia itself are timely and much needed."
Jack F. Matlock, former United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia

"Compelling... An important book for understanding the shape of the world today."
Choice

"Now, a quarter of a century after the Soviet Union's collapse, with the global order once more in flux, may be the perfect moment for a book by a world leader who challenges the orthodoxies both of his own country and those of the West."
Los Angeles Review of Books

"Mikhail Gorbachev's latest book provides an illuminating commentary on Russia's internal devlopments during the quarter of a century since Gorbachev left office when the Soviet state ceased to exist."
Political Science Quarterly