Aug 27, 2024 9:19 PM
Incredibly entertaining and depressing look at the, well, collapse of the USSR and how it was nothing like many in the West thought it was. Watch in horror at Gorby's supreme arrogance destroying the Soviet economy, prancing around doing a Lenin LARP thinking he's the master of history instead of a useless dinghy bobbing along with the tide. Snicker at Yeltsin's consummate cattiness as he snakes his way into power right under Gorbachev's nose. Marvel at just how skeptical Poppy Bush was of the benefits of Soviet collapse and his weirdly heartwarming bromance with ol' Mikhail. The extent to which these guys shittalked and backstabbed one another like high school mean girls was so funny
2 Comments
1 year ago
I loved this book and your review title + content. History from afar looks very structuralist and abstracted, history up close is always the social dynamics between and across small tribes of humans.
1 year ago
Exactly! It's so messy in the moment. The crises never really stop, you get little breathers in between larger crises which are usually created by said breathers. And thanks for complimenting my title lol. "Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast, Mikhail?"