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Who Lost Russia?
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Who Lost Russia?
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Who Lost Russia?
Ebook593 pages11 hours

Who Lost Russia?

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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When the Soviet Union collapsed on 26 December 1991, it looked like the start of a remarkable new era of peace and co-operation. Some even dared to declare the end of history, assuming all countries would converge on enlightenment values and liberal democracy.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Russia emerged from the 1990s battered and humiliated; the parallels with Weimar Germany are striking. Goaded on by a triumphalist West, a new Russia has emerged, with a large arsenal of upgraded weapons, conventional and nuclear, determined to reassert its national interests in the ‘near abroad’ – Chechnya, Georgia and Ukraine – as well as fighting a proxy war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, NATO is executing large-scale manoeuvres and stockpiling weaponry close to Russia’s border.

In this provocative new work, Peter Conradi argues that we have consistently failed to understand Russia and its motives, and in doing so, have made a powerful enemy.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 16, 2017
ISBN9781786070425
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Who Lost Russia?

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Required reading to understand the context of what is happening in global politics and international relations in the "post-truth" era. This masterpiece of contemporary history explains how rapidly the promising moments of post-9/11 superpower relationship have been squandered. The hard line Russia has drawn in the sands around Ukraine, Georgia and the Baltic States contain the seeds of the next global war. I think a generation of Americans genuinely believed that they had indeed "won" the Cold War, fueled by Reagan's economic policies, defense spending and Star Wars. This book reassesses the emergence of a strong, new Russia waging a different type of economic and electronic war to undermine American and West European democracies. I found this book incisive, challenging and thought provoking on so many levels. Its a thorough analysis of the geopolitical shifts since the collapse of the Soviet Empire; but, as a bonus, it's part history of contemporary Russia; part biography of Vladimir Putin; part insight into the impact on the US of being unequaled in world power. It provides detail and context both to Putin's surge to power. The chaotic transitions from Clinton to Bush to Obama and even, now, to Trump are captured as a savage indictment of the US's inability to offer any sort of continuity in US-Russia relations. "The world's problems cannot be solved without Russia". How very true. This is a must-read for the many of us who should be asking ourselves: what's happening to the world we know? A fantastic book. Disclaimer: I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an impartial review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very good well paced political history of what happened in Russo-Western relations since the end of the Cold War. The role of Putin & putinism features the most in this most interesting and wel, researched of journeys. Worth looking at to consider both Russia's role in the world, it's likely next action and why it behaves the way it does.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I can do little except add my voice to the loud and much deserved chorus of praise this book is receiving. It is highly readable, well-informed, and full of what is common sense for those who know history. Who lost Russia? Well, it was unlikely ever to become a "Western"-style democracy, and certainly not without a lot more help than the Russians received after the fall of communism. Reasons for the decay of the relationship between Russia and the West include the expansion of NATO, especially into the Baltic republics which were formerly a part of the Soviet Union (and Czarist Russia, for that matter), our bombing of Serbia in the Balkans, support for westernizers in the Ukraine and our efforts to unseat Putin's ally Assad in Syria. When the Russian economy was growing due to high oil prices, Putin had a base for trying to rebuild the prestige Russia had lost with the implosion of the Soviet Union. When oil prices are low, Putin needs to appear strong in order to hold on to power within Russia. Conradi covers Russian-Western (usually American) relations from the decay of the Warsaw Pact in 1989 through the election of Donald Trump. A wonderfully informative book, and a triumph for its author!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Plan on a comfortable chair. While still trying to get through two serious illnesses, I finally took on reading the uncorrected proof of what will become a major book release. First, this is a journalistic achievement of the highest order. The author, Peter Conradi, who also co-wrote "The King's Speech" which was made into an Oscar winning film starring Colin Firth in a subtle performance. Mr. Conradi is the foreign editor of the British "The Sunday Times." If you spend much time on social media or cable "news" after reading this, you will wonder why. This book is actual journalism. You as a reader are respected to follow the story and form your own thoughts. I started the book last evening and at 2:00 am, I was still at it regretting that I had the biological need to sleep. Up early this morning, I was back at it until the end of the 343 pages of the manuscript. The first third of the book looks deeply at the relationship of the West, with a focus on the United States, with Russia starting in the 1990s and covering the breakup of the Soviet Union. Should the West have bailed out Russia in a sort of Marshall Plan? (Of course, Mr. Conradi, like most Western Europeans is generous with American tax money.) With the rampant levels of corruption in Russia, would that have had any effect? The second third looks at the 2000 decade and the third examines very closely the most current relationship including the election of Donald Trump as President. Some detail is provided about the cyber-war aimed at the United States and the legions of paid Russians "commenting" and posting alternative news.With each American administration, there is a different style and substance. It is striking how much the person influences our history. Reading a long detailed and lively piece of journalism brings into focus the daily bits of information into a coherent and important story. Mr. Conradi gently suggests some interpretation but lets the sometimes alarming facts inform your own views and opinions.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In this book by Mr. Conradi which he based on interviews with people on both sides of the new and widning political divide, Peter Conradi clearly shows one the failure of understanding on both sides over the past twenty-five years and outlines how we can get relations back on track before it's too late.When the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991 it appeared to usher in a new period of possible peace and co-operation with the West. This, we were told by the Western democracies politicians was the end of cold war history and now the entire world would totally engage with a profound sense of enlightenment and values of liberal democracy.Reality proved very different. Russia came out from the 1990s battered, humiliated, its military rusting in port and depots, its protests for help ignored as NATO expanded eastwards to take in Moscow's former satellites. Vladimir Putin offered a new start when he took the place of the erratic and often enibriated Boris Yeltsin in the Kremlin.Putin ever the KGB agent was determined to restore his country's bruised pride and he has wrongly directed the West with his incursions into Georgia, Ukraine and Syria. As NATO and the West now yet again come to terms with a Russia which believes it has been at war with the West since 2014, the risks of catastrophic mistakes and the potential for a huge catastrophe have not been higher since the end of the Cold War. Who Lost Russia? by Peter Conradi sshows the reader with a clear view and with a dedicated precision. Understanding a situation is always needed to develop a proper strategy. This book provides that level of understanding and should be a mandatory reading especially for our current political leadership in Washington, and the world policy makers who support them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Peter Conradi's "Who Lost Russia?" asks a question many have pondered for the past decade (at least). In the wake of the end of the Cold War and the end of the Soviet Union it appeared that the United States had "won" the Cold War and Russia looked with hope toward the West for understanding where their future might be found. Unfortunately, much of the goodwill, from both sides, was squandered during the 1990s and led to the eventual ascension of Vladimir Putin to power at the turn of the century. The terrorist attack against NYC on 9/11 offered another chance to a working partnership between the US and Russia but that was hardly the direction Bush, Cheney, and Co. wanted to take the country. Thus, Putin as President of Russia, decided on an "alternative" approach by becoming more belligerent with "near abroad" territories and thanks to the surplus created as a result of previously rising oil prices much of the country was happy to follow someone they believed had altered their living conditions for the better while US actions in Eastern Europe and the rest of the world continually portrayed an America that many Russians no longer view with the same respect and appreciation they once did.Conradi gets a lot right. I was very surprised by how much ground he was able to cover in some 340 pages of text. For those familiar with Russian/Soviet history, there won't be too much that's new or original within these pages, but for those new to the subject this is definitely a great starting point for beginning to understand the differences in how the US and Russia viewed events that took place throughout the 1990s up through the recent presidential election. Where Conradi falls short is his reliance on a few select sources to tell his story. He creates a compelling narrative but his own voice is often lost and not enough analysis is offered to better explain and fully contextualize all the issues he discusses, including how they influenced future developments. That's the biggest drawback to a text that lacks primary source research (which in the author's defense is mostly impossible due to the recent nature of many of the events being portrayed). However, more could have also have been done with other "players" who've been caught between the US and Russia. That is, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, the Baltic states, and other Central/Eastern European nations have played a role in how Russia views the United States and vice versa. There were a few instances when Conradi brought them into the equation and made sure to emphasize that their interests should not be ignored and do have an impact on how these larger regional and world powers behave but he did not offer enough analysis to drive home that fact often enough. By the end of the text I appears Conradi could not come up with a clear-cut answer to the question in the title of his book. He placed blame on both sides (which is often quite deserved) but in that respect I think he partly ignores one of his own points in that Russian thinking simply does not match that of the West that has lived under "democratic" and "capitalistic" conditions far longer than Russians. If one believes the above, then the author's conclusions rely on "Western thinking" and omit much of what he discussed from the Russian point of view thus skewing his conclusion(s). Western attitudes toward Russia in the 1990s reinforced Russian beliefs of those who were wary of Western "experts" who came over to help in that they were more interested in Russian resources than helping Russia convert into a democratic power while building an economic system that relied on capitalist ideas. Future Russian oligarchs worked with the system at their disposal to the detriment of both their country and the Russian people in general while politicians like Yeltsin tried to steer the country into a democratic direction as NATO, an organization that existed to thwart Soviet aggression, decided it was time not to reorganize and include Russia but more so placate their previous adversary while allowing former Eastern bloc members to join. These actions might seem unimportant to many in the West, but a Russian narrative has been created based on this type of thinking and has been reinforced by many other actions that has degraded the reputation of the United States throughout the world. Suffice it to say that this is hardly the endpoint in the question Conradi raises, it is just the start.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As of mid 2017 as timely a history of our new Cold War as I've found. Carter Page, Paul Manafort, Fancy Bear, Hillary Clinton, tRump's 'electoral victory', Russian xenophobia, Western arrogance, and yes, even the 'little green men' all make their appearances Any book that closes with quotes from George Kennan's 'long telegram' is one that shows how history repeats itself. I only hope this time it ends soon.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Who Lost Russia is a highly readable one-volume history of post-Soviet Russia. Over the past 25 years, Russia has gone through any changes – the most significant the rise of Vladimir Putin. Putin, a former KGB officer was hand-picked by former President Boris Yeltsin to assume the presidency upon his resignation. We initially provided aid and technical assistance to transfer to a market-based economy – but during the transition Russia lost its place on the stage of world powers. Then, the US supported moves by former Communist-bloc countries to join NATO and the European Union – actions unacceptable to Russia. Unable to stop such efforts, there was a desire by many for the need to restore Russia’s lost pride. While Putin acted like a committed democrat, he has remained in power (either as president or prime minister) since 1999. He has now waged a new Cold War against the West, made Russia an economic power (although tied to the price of oil), and has sent troops to Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, and appears to have interfered in several elections in the West – upsetting the status quo. It is difficult to know if the result would have been different had we not supported NATO expansion. Conradi thinks we can get relations back on track; after reading this I’m not so optimistic about that possibility. I highly recommend this volume for anyone interested in US-Russian history. It explains a lot.