Subjects:  1. 1985-1991    2. Economic Conditions    3. Ethnic relations    4. History & Theory - General    5. Nationalism    6. Political Ideologies - Nationalism    7. Political Science    8. Political aspects    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics and government    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Post-Communism    13. Soviet Union    14. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    15. Political Science / General    16. Political economy    17. Revolutions & coups    18. Sociology, Social Studies    19. Soviet Union--Politics and government--1985-1991   

Reviews (2)

Students of Russia need this book
Going to Russia? Buy it. Interested in reading about contemporary Russia beyond what the newspapers tell you? Buy it. Taking a class on Russian culture? Buy it. I really can't recommend this book enough for specialists and novices alike. There's something to please everybody here.

A fascinating view on post-Soviet Russia
This book has the rare quality of being a classroom text as well as a report. Today's Russia. Pyramid schemes, religion, rave parties,rock music, detective stories, cinema, pets, porn, graffiti, tattooing... the carnivalof crazy New Russia to be read overnight. A shock. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Civilization    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Popular Culture - General    5. Popular culture    6. Russia (Federation)    7. Sex    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Anthropology    11. Cultural studies    12. Other prose: classical, early & medieval    13. Russia   

Reviews (15)

Yet another opinion
I acquired volumes one and two in order to learn something of the aerial conflict on the eastern front in WWII, particularly from the Soviet point of view, and was not disappointed.The only other book I have studied on this subject was the 'official' Soviet history of the Red Air Force during the Great Patriotic War which had it's uses as a general reference.These books gave me a much more operational view of the conflict.
Could have been a great book...
At first I thought this book is great... It's filled with exciting material, stories and photos. The authors tried to shed the objective light on the events and give a balanced perspective from the both sides.Vivid first-hand accounts and great photos make this especially interesting reading.
Very Good...But Needs to Examine Larger Scale
First of all, this is probably the best book on a greatly neglected topic. The air battles along the eastern front were every bit as critical to the war as those in the west. As this book demonstrates, Luftwaffe losses during the summer/autumn of 1941 were as great as the much publicized Battle of Britain. Soviet losses in men and machines were astronomical, another factor ignored by most western historians who emphasize mainly U.S. and British contributions. This book discusses these issues in great detail.Read more

Subjects:  1. Aerial operations, German    2. Aerial operations, Soviet    3. Campaigns    4. Eastern Front    5. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    6. History    7. History - Military / War    8. History: World    9. Military - Aviation    10. Military - Other    11. Military - World War II    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. European history: Second World War    14. Germany    15. Russia    16. Second World War, 1939-1945    17. World history: Second World War   

Editorial Review

With this new volume, John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr build upon their groundbreaking work inRead more

Reviews (16)

A valuable and important contribution to the history of Soviet Cold War espionage
Spying is the everyday word for the fancier word espionage.The main thing is that we know every side does it.Everyone is trying to get an edge on knowing what the other is doing.So, why does it matter what the now defunct Soviet Union was doing in its spying efforts during World War II?Simply, it is because it still plays a part in our current political debate.Our super secret efforts in developing the atom bomb were compromised; this is certain.There is still debate how much of our diplomacy was compromised at the end of World War II, particularly at Yalta, by agents who were sympathetic to the USSR while having sworn loyalty to America and its Constitution.
A High Standard of Scholarship
In his book, A People's History of the United States, historian Howard Zinn described the Communist Party of the United States of America as a Party "known to pay special attention to the problem of race equality."Zinn said very little about communist espionage in the United States, and instead emphasized the roles of communist activists in the labor movement and the civil rights movement.Zinn is characteristic of leftist American historians who are quick to describe the Red Scare as an assault on civil liberties and ignore the very real threat posed by radical groups in the United States.Unfortunately for scholarship, their paradigm is regarded as mainstream.
Spies and Lies
A well-researched book on an interesting subject.The findings of the Venona project shed new light on communism in America.It was fascinating to learn that communists in this country during the first half of the 20th century were doing more than just freely practicing their political and sociological beliefs - they were making serious and deliberate attempts to undermine our government, our defenses, and our technology.The detailed descriptions of espionage by communists in America, supported by factual evidence found in the Venona transcripts changed my perspective on this era of our country's history. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. History - Military / War    3. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    4. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    5. Political History    6. Political Ideologies - Communism & Socialism    7. Political Science    8. Politics/International Relations    9. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    10. Espionage & secret services    11. History / General    12. Military intelligence    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Asia - General    3. Genres & Styles - International    4. History & Criticism - General    5. History and criticism    6. Music    7. Music/Songbooks    8. Soviet Union    9. Interdisciplinary Studies    10. Social Science / Ethnic Studies   

Reviews (2)

Thoroughly researched but ultimately unsatisfying
That Making Sense of War has been extensively researched is clear.For anyone interested in the Ukrainian borderlands, the book should be considered an invaluable resource.For anyone else, its value is, to put it generously, questionable.
An important uneven work.
More than one in eight Soviets died during the second world war. That this was an incredibly traumatic event has been apparent to all for decades. But what did this experience mean to the post-war Soviet Union in terms of its ideology, its guiding principles and its ultimate fate? In this book Amir Weiner argues that most historians have paid little attention to this question. Concentrating on the Vinnytsia region in the Ukraine, Weiner argues that the war was key to a new burst of Communist fanaticism, that it appeared as a vindicating Armageddon. It reinforced the Soviet's excisionary policies, its totalitarian quest for purity, its increasing belief that its enemies were irredeemable. In the first part he looks at how the Soviets emphasized military service in the post-war party and purged it of the passive and the non-combatant. In the second party Weiner emphasizes the Soviet obsession with purity by looking at first the campaign against Ukrainian nationalists, then the Jews. In the final part he discusses the failure of the Ukrainian Nationalists to convince their compatriots to follow them, and how in the postwar period the idea of a "Soviet Ukraine" got general acceptance. Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. European History    6. European history: from c 1900 -    7. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    8. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    9. Second World War, 1939-1945    10. World history: Second World War   

Subjects:  1. Africa - East - Ethiopia    2. Dictionaries    3. Ethiopia    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. African history    9. History / Africa    10. Reference works   

Reviews (16)

1985
In the opening pages of "Inside the Aquarium" the narrator, ex-Soviet agent Viktor Suvorov, describes his first memory as a member of Soviet Military Intelligence: watching a film of an execution of a would-be defector. The officer in question was strapped into a coffin with an open lid, elevated slightly so he could see what was coming, and then traversed slowly down a conveyor belt into a blast furnace, screaming all the way.
A Classic that deserves to be studied.
Suvorov takes a deep look at human nature, the Soviet intelligence arena and military intelligence in general. I believe it is a text to be studied and returned to. The following passage is the readers favorite:
Frightening, incredible, and probably largely true.
Suvarov, or whatever his name is, is quite a person. This book details his transition from ambitious soviet tank commander to soviet intelligence agent, and supposedly it is all true. Suvorov is so amazingly smart and thorough that if it were not true, we would never know. But thats not the point. this book is a page turner, reads like a novel, and discloses just how hard core and thorough the soviet intelligence services were, and probably are in whatever their current guise is. They were competitive, ambitious, driven, scared, talented and well organized. It would be hard to imagine building a more frightening group then the GRU. In fact, it makes you wonder how in the world anyone on the capitalist/NATO/etc side could even compete with these guys. From the fact of not even giving them guns (if you need a gun you are already done for), recruiting only agents who did not look suspicious, to keeping them frightened of the "conveyor", I doubt you will be the same after reading this book. I mean, this guy jumps naked into ant hills to get bitten by ants so he wont get sick. Entertaining and highly recommended.If you like reading something like "smileys people" --this is the flip side, soviet, and true. scary. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Glavnoe razvedyvatelnoe uprav    4. History - Military / War    5. Intelligence Operations    6. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    7. Soviet Union    8. Spies    9. Suvorov, Viktor   

Reviews (4)

Interesting for what it is...
The premise of this book is fascinating, and for what it is it's an interesting read.I found the book a little long winded and dramatic in its descriptions, and a little quick to jump to far-reaching conclusions.I don't think anyone will be surprised to learn that the well-trained "intourist" guides spout the party line (but - shockingly! - probably have opinions of their own), and that the average Soviet citizen wasn't thrilled with their government (is anyone?).
Detailed account of travels through a vast land
As an interested reader of the Soviet Union and Russian culture, I picked this book up two years after I read In Siberia. I was amazed at the amount of detail the author poured into his journeys across the Soviet Union. He was able to visit the Russian citizens, homesteads of famous icons of years back (Tolstoy among them) and see cathedrals we can only see in pictures. His writing style and demeanor may strike readers as distant and unattached but he went over there to observe and he did not observe this place through rose-colored lenses-he showed us what Russia was really like in 1980. If you strictly want to read about Russia, you may be disappointed when you read the material towards the end which is about Georgia and Armenia, but my ignorance of those former republics were replaced with notions that they might be more beautiful and more interesting than all of Western Russia. The whole way through you will be captivated, appalled and intrigued with his journey. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Russian culture.

A trip through the Soviet Union
Written by someone who somehow managed to drive a clunker with UK plates through the Iron Curtain between West and East Germany and all the way to Moscow.Thubron then motors all the way to present day Azerbaijan and St.Petersburg.It is a snapshot not of present day Russia but of 1980 Soviet Union.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1939-    2. Description and travel    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Former Soviet republics    5. General    6. Russia    7. Thubron, Colin,    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Journeys    11. Thubron, Colin    12. Travel / General   

Reviews (1)

Charlotte Hobson reviews `Home-Made' in The Telegraph 01.07.06
A television aerial made out of forks and a lamp made of aeroplane parts; a plastic colander mended in four different places; one shovel that recycles a `men at work' sign and another, the handle of a crutch; DIY sink-plungers, DIY torches, mudflaps, waffle-irons, telephones... These are a few of the `thingamyjigs' to be found in Vladimir Arkhipov's delightful `Home-Made', a sort of Blue Peter extravaganza of the Brezhnev era.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Contemporary Art    5. Design - Decorative    6. Folk & Outsider Art    7. Folk Arts    8. Decorative arts & crafts    9. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    10. Russia   

Reviews (5)

An interesting glance into pre-revolutionary Russia
Like another reviewer I had visited the Youssoupoff palace and was amazed by the richness and beauty these people possessed.Unlike some others who might have sided with the revolutionaries for whatever reason Felix of course doesn't, as far as I could tell.I also think he misses the point of why exactly the revolution occurred although presents his side of events which I found fascinating when it came to Rasputin, the nobility, and even the royal family whom he was pretty intimate with.
"The trials you are going through will teach you that life is not just a pastime."
"I'll have you appointed minister, if you like," Rasputin tells Felix Yusupov as they began to get chummy with one another.But Yusupov, our author herein, had a far different motive for getting close to this "mystic."After all, he was the last remaining son of one of the wealthiest families in Russia (his family's palatial estates, pictured in this book, were downright royal).To boot, he was newly married to Tsar Nicholas II's niece Irina.The tsar was godfather to his first child as well.He didn't want for anything and certainly could have had a position in government had he been interested in one.But what he was interested in was getting close to the ever guarded Rasputin; ever watched over by the secret police, thanks to the tsarina. Rasputin, in Yusupov's words was "an uncultured, cynical, avid and unscrupulous peasant who had reached the pinnacle of power owing to a chain of circumstances."The sole son of the tsar had hemophilia & Rasputin was soon judged (by the Tsarina Alexandra) to be some comfort in alleviating the effects of the tsarevich's condition.Soon, however, Rasputin began to play on his influence with the tsarina (& through Alexandra's infuence with her husband) to engineer the likes of just what he had offered Yusupov---ie., effecting the political appointments of government personel.Then in 1914 war broke out with Germany.About a year after which Rasputin seems to have had an effect, as well, on persuading Alexandra to badger the tsar to take direct control over the war effort.Thus when the tsar did take command of the army (at field headquarters, which was far removed from the capital of St. Petersburg) Rasputin's hand in affairs of the state---including the army, through Alexandra, began to become quite pronounced."Not a single important measure was taken at the front without his being consulted," Yusupov writes.But this wasn't just his impression.Russian society was awfully suspicious of German-born Alexandra's apparent closeness with an unwashed degenerate who had a reputation for engaging in orgies.It was an open scandal, costing the tsar much in the respect felt for the royal family; respect badly needed during wartime as the fighting continued to drag on, under conditions of societal hardship relating to food rationing and the like.Grand Duchess Elizabeth (whose husband had been assassinated),in particular, begged her sister Alexandra to acknowledge what damage her "blind confidence" in Rasputin was costing the country, but to no avail.The above is addressed through the first 229 (large type) pages in this autobiography as Yusupov paints a vanishing era of aristocratic splendor.Then he elaborately describes how he (supported by 4 other dignitaries) killed Rasputin in Yusupov's St. Petersburg mansion.The tsar's 1905 war with Japan, in Yusupov's words, was "one of the most terrible blunders made during the reign of Nicholas II."Another one was doing nothing in the wake of Rasputin's removal from the scene."Rasputin's death made a new policy possible."Russians applauded Rasputin's removal, hoping that the tsar would now be emboldened to heed the cacophony of concerned advice & take needed measures before it was too late.But Nicholas seemed to be a "confirmed fatalist" who wasn't going to do much until he was forced to.A little more than 2 months later he was forced to abdicte. Perennial inaction by Nicholas, one of the most ineffective Romanov tsars, had finally cost him his crown. (PS: Yusupov-owned paintings can be seen in Russian museums now; his family's wealth/palaces having been confiscated by Lenin & Co not long after the Bolsheviks murdered Nicholas, Alexandra, their children, and as many relatives they could; after having usurped power from the Provisional Russian Government.Yusupov, in the company of Tsar Alexander III's widow---the Dowager Empress/mother of Nicholas---sailed out of the Crimea on a Royal (British) Navy ship 4-13-1919.Thanks for reading my review. Cheers!

An Amazing Tale
This summer we visited the Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg and were able to see for ourselves the incredible opulence that the Russian nobility enjoyed in Tsarist Russia.During the visit I remembered that I had seen his memoirs in a bookstore back in Canada, and upon my return, acquired the book.Felix's memoirs are fascinating - the wealth that Felix enjoyed would, I think, parallel that of the dot.com millionaires of our times (that is, before the collapse).Felix's memoirs are interesting in that in reading about his lifestyle we see reasons behind the Revolution, i.e., how wealth was very much concentrated in the hands of the few.While Felix enjoyed incredible wealth, we also begin to understand his passion for his homeland.His claim to fame is the assassination of Rasputin.Felix does cast the tsarina as having undue loyalty to the Germans (which the reading of many recent books shows as not being the case), but the motivation for his great act is still is love of his native country.This book is a must for fans of Russian history.I'm glad that it was available (it is a new edition of a book originally issued in the 1940's or 1950's). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Artists, Architects, Photographers    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    6. Historical - General    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Biography: historical    9. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    10. Russia    11. BIOGRAPHY/Artists, Architects, Photographers   

Reviews (18)

No cigar
The book is a description of the first ten days of the German invasion of Russia in 1941. The interest of the book is the suggestion that Stalin had decided on a pre-emptive assault on Germany and this was foiled. The notion of Stalin's folly being organising his troops in such a way that they were vulnerable to a German attack. The notion of a Soviet pre-emptive attack is mostly popular with right wing or pro Nazi historians who try to justify Hitler by the suggestion of Bolshevik expansionism. The writer of this book is far from being a Nazi sympathiser and although anti-communist is more of a Russian nationalist.
Great Reading, Informative and Passionate
Pleshakov is a young historian that deserves to be considered as a nascent star by any history buff and so taken into acount seriouslyin any endeavour he can or could undertake. This book about the first 10 days of war in the Eastern front is not only full of information, much of it new, but well written and with passion. Perhaps this last feature could seem a defect by some that believes science -if ever history is a science at all- requires a diet-kind of style, dry and deprived of life, but in fact, on the contrary, just to begin to grasp the sense of so colossal events as those told by Plashakov, passion is a neccesary element or you simple lose the scent of those awful days and the kind of society and polity that made them possible.

a must read, but be careful
First, why it is a must read. This is the first book that (in my opinion) provides a non-conflicting with known facts version of the war preparations made by USSR, as opposed to both the official Soviet version and the revisionist version spelled out by V.Suvorov.
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Subjects:  1. 1879-1953    2. Campaigns    3. Conservatism    4. Eastern Front    5. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    6. History    7. History - Military / War    8. Military    9. Military - World War II    10. Stalin, Joseph,    11. World War II - Europe    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (1)

Great History Book
I bought this book for school..I have not read it yet but it arrived in perfect condition..Very fast shipping. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. International Relations - Diplomacy    4. Military    5. Military - Nuclear Warfare    6. Military - World War II    7. United States - 20th Century/WWII    8. American history: Second World War    9. Asian / Middle Eastern history: Second World War    10. Battles & campaigns    11. History / Military / World War II    12. Japan    13. Nuclear weapons    14. USA    15. World War II; Enola Gay; Hiroshima; Nagasaki; U.S.-Soviet relations; atomic age; Harry S Truman; atomic bomb   

Reviews (28)

long live the memory of comrade Stalin!!!
The whole plenary hall arises. There are applause, prolonged applause. Shouts are heard. Long live comrade Stalin! Long live the great Stalin! Long live the esteemed and beloved Stalin! Long live Generalissimus Stalin!
Incentives matter
This book shows just how bad things can get when the realities of economics are ignored.When people have no incentive to produce, they will not produce.This is a message that I wish were better understood by those who persist in thinking that we can solve poverty by giving out handouts.

Informative, but a bit too academic
A very thorough account of the collectivization of farms in Ukraine and the resulting starvation of the families who grew the food that got shipped elsewhere by order of the communist authorities. It's a more heady and academic read than I would like, but certainly worthwhile as a history of that time and place. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture - General    2. Christianity - Theology - General    3. Collectivization of agricultur    4. Collectivization of agriculture    5. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    6. Famines    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: American    10. Religion    11. Soviet Union    12. Ukraine    13. European history: from c 1900 -    14. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    15. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    16. History, World | Russia & Former Soviet Union   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Don Cossacks    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Russia - History    9. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)   

Reviews (7)

Great read, an emotional tale, not really for history buffs.
This was an excellent book for those wishing to learn the basics of survival in Stalin's Gulag system. It is an account of the life of Ms. Werner and her relationships with her friends, family and fellow camp members, guards, etc. What it is not is a history of Ford's work in the USSR. Those hoping to learn the details of the Gorky plant and Ford's involvement with it, as I was, will find virtually no detail of this in the book. The writting is basic and reads like a well written high school essay. There is a clear born-again tone the the post by the author, but it does not detract from the overall experience, even for an athiest. All said it is an excellent addition to the library of those studying the era.
Should Be a Best Seller
Shocking little-known story about Detroit's General Motors making a deal with Soviet Union's paranoid dictator Stalin (1879-1953) to ship over American auto experts after WW2 to help Stalin establish one of his failed ideas: a Russian automobile plant. Signing up for what they deem an adventure, is an idealistic man from Detroit and his wife & teenage daughter.
Excellent Story!
I found the previous review quite interesting as Dancing Under the Red Star was never called a memoir.To quote the cover, it is "The extraordinary STORY of Margaret Werner, the only American woman to survive Stalin's Gulag."The author's choice to write in first person made his mother's story very real to the reader.
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Subjects:  1. 20th Century World History    2. Americans    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    9. General    10. Inspirational    11. Inspirational - General    12. Modern - 20th Century    13. Political prisoners    14. Religious    15. Soviet Union    16. Women    17. Women prisoners    18. History / General   

Reviews (6)

The Oligarchs
I'm about a quarter into the book.I am very impressed.It is riveting.I went on a tour of Russia in June and wanted to know more about what is going on.I have talked my husband and sister into reading it.I think Americans get some insight into a country we know little about.

A good thumbnail sketch of the oligarchic interregnum
Daniel Hoffman of the Washington Post has written a good introduction to the interregnum between the reign of the Commununist Party of the USSR and the Presidency of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.When Communism and the Russian legal system collapsed, the boldest and brashest quickly amassed fortunes in rather unusual circumstances.
Provides Great Insight into Russia
This book provides a great background to understand Russia and the current situation today.If you want to know about business and the history of Russia from the 80's forward, written in a way that reads like a novel, read this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Contemporary Economic Situations And Conditions    2. Economic Conditions    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Post-Communism    8. Capitalist or free market economies    9. Entrepreneurship    10. Russia   

Reviews (2)

A Chilling Indictment
Fifty eight years after the end of WWII, the holocaust remains under constant public scrutiny while most other of the almost innumerable atrocities of that great conflict continue to be either ignored or pooh-poohed by those who continue to rationalize them for personal political reasons. Because of the incessant yowling about the holocaust, people tend to forget that many people suffered on all sides during the war. Jews were neither the only victims, nor were they even the war's chief victims.