Yale University Press
Russia's Cold War: From the October Revolution to the Fall of the Wall
Key Metrics
- Jonathan Haslam
- Yale University Press
- Paperback
- 9780300188196
- 9.2 X 6.1 X 1.2 inches
- 1.65 pounds
- Political Science > International Relations - Arms Control
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
The first history of the Cold War focusing on the Soviet dimension, based on previously inaccessible archives
The phrase Cold War was coined by George Orwell in 1945 to describe the impact of the atomic bomb on world politics: We may be heading not for a general breakdown but for an epoch as horribly stable as the slave empires of antiquity. The Soviet Union, he wrote, was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of 'cold war' with its neighbors. But as a leading historian of Soviet foreign policy, Jonathan Haslam, makes clear in this groundbreaking book, the epoch was anything but stable, with constant wars, near-wars, and political upheavals on both sides.
Whereas the Western perspective on the Cold War has been well documented by journalists and historians, the Soviet side has remained for the most part shrouded in secrecy--until now. Drawing on a vast range of recently released archives in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Eastern Europe, Russia's Cold War offers a thorough and fascinating analysis of East-West relations from 1917 to 1989.
Far more than merely a straightforward history of the Cold War, this book presents the first account of politics and decision making at the highest levels of Soviet power: how Soviet leaders saw political and military events, what they were trying to accomplish, their miscalculations, and the ways they took advantage of Western ignorance. Russia's Cold War fills a significant gap in our understanding of the most important geopolitical rivalry of the twentieth century.
Author Bio
Jonathan Haslam is a leading scholar on the history of thought in international relations and the history of the Soviet Union whose work builds a bridge between historical studies and the understanding of contemporary phenomena through critical examinations of the role of ideology.
His studies of Soviet foreign policy are expansive in their quality and range, demonstrating his keen originality of thought, supported by insightful and comprehensive archival research.
Haslam is the author of many books, as well as a blog, www.throughrussianeyes.com, which highlights aspects of Russia’s foreign and defense policies that do not see the light of day in mainstream media.
Honors
Appointments: Historical-Diplomatic Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, International Advisory Committee 1992–96; House of Lords European Union Committee, Sub-Committee for Common Security and Foreign Policy, Specialist Adviser 2001–02
Editorships: Annals of Communism, Editorial Board 1999–; Cold War History, Editorial Advisory Board 2000–
Journal of Contemporary History, Editorial Board 2011–
Fellowships: British Academy; Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; Johns Hopkins University, Society of Scholars; Royal Historical Society
Source: Institute for Advanced Study
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