The Fall of the Soviet Union. A Discussion with Vladislav M. Zubok and Gulnaz Sharafutdinova

Описание: Thirty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the waves that originated in the process still shake the world that we live in today. The collective traumas, wounded egos, misdistribution of resources, contested identities and struggles for reform have resulted in conflicts and even wars. One of the worst is taking place right now in Ukraine.

Join Professor Vladislav M. Zubok, author of "Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union", shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2022, for a masterly analysis of the implosion of the Soviet Union and its effect on the world 30 years later. Zubok will be in conversation with Professor Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, who is currently researching the reaction of Russian society to the invasion of Ukraine.

Myths and flawed explanations shroud the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Zubok’s compelling research offers a major reinterpretation of the final years of the USSR. How could a nuclear superpower that controlled half of Europe fall apart in a matter of months? What appeared to many as a sudden and inconceivable event was the unique combination of misguided reforms, nationalism, political folly and economic meltdown. The precipitous systemic downfall was triggered by a leader who just could not accept the impossibility of ‘socialism with a “human face”’, and the Soviet state was guided to a quiet grave by another man who decided to recreate a ‘Great Russia’. Disillusioned citizens inspired by glasnost soon grew tired of failed promises. And the Western governments, amazed by the change, mostly tried to avoid cataclysmic consequences for themselves.

Zubok’s research comes at a crucial moment, when what was considered ‘history’ has turned round to strike us back. The book helps us to understand the origins of the Russian-Ukrainian clash, and dispels myths that continue to feed nation-building and conflicts in the post-Soviet space.