Moscow, December 25th, 1991 By Conor OClery
Chapters in the book:
CHAPTER 1 - DECEMBER 25: BEFORE THE DAWN
CHAPTER 2 - DECEMBER 25: SUNRISE
CHAPTER 3 - HIRING THE BULLDOZER
CHAPTER 4 - DECEMBER 25: MORNING
CHAPTER 5 - THE STORMING OF MOSCOW
CHAPTER 6 - DECEMBER 25: MIDMORNING
CHAPTER 7 - A BUCKETFUL OF FILTH
CHAPTER 8 - DECEMBER 25: LATE MORNING
CHAPTER 9 - BACK FROM THE DEAD
CHAPTER 10 - DECEMBER 25: MIDDAY
CHAPTER 11 - KNEE DEEP IN KEROSENE
CHAPTER 12 - DECEMBER 25: EARLY AFTERNOON
CHAPTER 13 - DICTATORSHIP ON THE OFFENSIVE
CHAPTER 14 - DECEMBER 25: MIDAFTERNOON
CHAPTER 15 - HIJACKING BARBARA BUSH
CHAPTER 16 - DECEMBER 25: LATE AFTERNOON
CHAPTER 17 - PERFIDIOUSNESS, LAWLESSNESS, INFAMY
CHAPTER 18 - DECEMBER 25: DUSK
CHAPTER 19 - THINGS FALL APART
CHAPTER 20 - DECEMBER 25: EARLY EVENING
CHAPTER 21 - THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD
CHAPTER 22 - DECEMBER 25: EVENING
CHAPTER 23 - THE DEAL IN THE WALNUT ROOM
CHAPTER 24 - DECEMBER 25: LATE EVENING
CHAPTER 25 - DECEMBER 25: NIGHT
CHAPTER 26 - DECEMBER 25: LATE NIGHT
CHAPTER 27 - DECEMBER 26: THE DAY AFTER
CHAPTER 28 - DECEMBER 27: TRIUMPH OF THE PLUNDERERS
CHAPTER 29 - THE INTEGRITY OF THE QUARREL
Review of the book:
I usually review books chapter by chapter. But I've noticed that in books with over 15 chapters this is a terrible idea. They are so short that I need to review them right away as otherwise I forget what chapter said what. It's also such a mess that no one would read it. Of course I can't know what works or doesn't for sure.
The book is pretty much what it promises to be. It's about Yeltsin and Gorbachev. It starts with Gorbachev as the leader of USSR. Yeltsin is a Soviet leader sent out to wipe out corruption and kickstart building processes that are largely corrupt in USSR. Gorbachev has democratized USSR. So there is now some semi-free media and info on USSR history is released. but Yeltsin and other newcomers want even more democracy. So he attacks Gorbachev and even tries to quit several times. Gorbachev uses media against Yeltsin and starts to hate him. Then the main story element takes place. Because of glasnost and perestroika the old communists feel that maybe the regime is in danger. So they stage a coup. Yeltsin shows up on a tank in Moscow telling people to rebel. As Western media is now in USSR the coup military cannot control the information flow and the coup falls apart. If they had controlled information maybe the outcome would be different. Gorbachev is held campured in his datcha in Crimea initially, but later doesn't much care to show up in Moscow as he has personal matters to attend to. His wife loves living a lavish lifestyle and demands all his attention. He also bring her along on political visits making him disliked among many voters.
Yeltsin is seen as a strong leader now. He becomes the president of Russia. Not sure what it implies during USSR. Yeltsin then goes to Kazakhstan and dissolves USSR with other nations. He is president of Russia and wants full control. Gorbachev can declare it illegal, but USSR cannot afford a civil war being this poor and having atom bombs everywhere. So he agrees on great retirement terms. Since Yeltsin hates him he doesn't keep many promises. Gorbachev is kicked out from his offices and house. Media, now controlled by Yeltsin, are not allowed to write good things about Gorbachev. Meanwhile USA wanted USSR to remain intact to protect the nuclear weapons. The West loves Gorbachev and sees Yeltsin as some weird alcoholic. The book ends with Medvedev as president the author mentions how Russia is fairly free. Of course this is not the case anymore. Since Putin took power again he became a full-blown dictator.
With Western media in Russia the leaders were extremely eager to please the West. So they allowed a lot of democratic events they usually wouldn't allow as it gained them status. But as Gorbachev lost power he pretty much lost all his prestige. Yeltsin hated him. So anyone meeting with Gorbachev would get a cold shoulder in Russia from the state, police, and media. Yeltsin meanwhile became sick and picked Putin as his replacement. Putin then started to claim that the dissolution of USSR was a giant disaster.
I think it's a great intro to the dissolution of USSR viewed from the point of view of 2 leaders. Initially we jump from time to time and it confused me. Later the book becomes more structured. Of course I still don't get all the events. What happened when? I don't understand when the small and large votes took place and what the ideas were behind them. I don't fully understand what the smaller countries did. But with various docs online I think I can get a better overview. This is just 40% of my overview. Hardcover Well-constructed account of the rivalry between Gorbatchov and Jeltsin and the concurrent demise of the USSR. Hardcover O'Clery was an American journalist stationed in Moscow for years; as such, he's adept at identifying popular trends and themes current at the moment of historical change. He reports on the jokes as well has headlines. I wasn't sure about the structure of the book, with chapters alternating: between present tense reportage of day-by-day events leading up to the dissolution of the USSR; and between past tense summaries of the years leading up to 1991. Awkward, but thorough. Hardcover Great book with a very skillful way the author splits time between the date mentioned in the title and the contextual buildup leading to this specific date.
This book gives a great overview to two very complicated men who both were in part responsible for the sunset of the Soviet Union and whose tumultuous relationship bought about the rise of Vladimir Putin.
Already knowing present day events, this book does little to console the reader of a promising future between Russia and the world theater. Hardcover The fall of the Soviet Union marked a special day in history. One of the world’s biggest superpowers suddenly falling. This book describes the events that occurred before, during, and after December 25th in great detail. If you are Russian, definitely recommend reading this book. Hardcover
An excellent journalistic account of the end of the USSR, using the day of Gorbachev's resignation as a frame for examining the last few years of his rule. Fast-paced but never shallow, O'Clery gives a first-hand account of the final day's events, contextualizing them well.
The end of the USSR is one of history's more extraordinary stories, and O'Clery spins it out as a tale of unintended consequences, personality conflicts, and habits of public obeisance and private back-stabbing developed over the course of Soviet history.
The main lesson for the contemporary reader is in how little things ever change: the absurd propaganda lies acted on by people who should have known better, the constant turning on enemies and then on friends, the textbook tactics of attempting to overthrow neighboring countries, the lack of any conception of subjugation of power to law.
Nothing ever changes. Hardcover Conor O’Clery’s Moscow 25 December 1991 follows a notably growing trend for picking a pivot point in history and revolving round it to find a popular audience (witness 1066, 1421, 1434, 1491, 1492 etc. All good books by and large but adopting a very similar tact). The date provides a recognizable focus and then the space is open for provide the background and the aftermath in a popular fashion. O’Clery breaks the mold though in a most engaging fashion with the book. I am always in praise of those who can manage to effectively uses flashbacks within chronologically-driven narratives and the still hold the thread. In Moscow 25 December O’Clery very effectively picks the day that Mikhail Gorbachev signed the legal document dissolving the USSR as his pivot. The day is divided into a series of periods and as time coverless on the act of signing the paper, the author steps back to the genesis of the two protagonists careers. The careers of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin lead up to the day and as time slows as they converge on the act, the intermingling of the story lines converges. The structure and execution of the writing is superb.
This is not to downplay the actual events taking place. The cyclical nature of revolution in Russia (both political and economic) is thoughtfully documented and exposed and the author takes advantage of a privileged position on the sidelines to highlight much information that simply didn’t make it above the fold in the West. In my opinion Gorbachev comes of far worse than Yeltsin in the author’s handling. I am grateful for this as I feel that western media treatment of him may well have been lately shaped by cultural bias and the politics of the time. Neither of which should surprise. However, it is very good to have some corrective applied. Nonetheless, one is struck by how much the pettiness and personal animosities can play a huge role in the destiny of a nation (or in this case of nations).
I hung on to the few events that I felt I had a degree of familiarity with such as the failed 1991 coup and the rise of Vladimir Putin, and O’Clery thankfully fills in some gaping holes. The character treatment of Yeltsin gave much to consider and appreciate how his portrayal by western media as merely and opportunistic drinker misses a huge swath of his character and denies a truer appreciation of his motivations and accomplishments. The contrasting (less than complimentary) portrait of MIkhail Gorbachev surprises me, yet provides me with a corrective that illustrates how much a carefully managed public persona might hide simple human frailties. Both warn the reader that we much be more critical consumers of the media — forgive my rather naive moment here.
This is a gripping read. The pace of the narrative holds you in thrall and the richness of the story envelops. A true pleasure. I was fascinated by much of the detail that I simply would not have come to appreciate at the time of the events taking place and dismayed that I feel that I was starkly out of touch with the momentous things going on. I am grateful for O’Clery’s work in crafting such a fine account and sharing his experiences. Highly recommended! Hardcover I lived through these events and still had no idea of the scope of the problems and infighting that occurred. Having young children at the time will be my excuse, but to my shame I have no recollection of the events of Dec. 25, 1991, the day the Soviet Union dissolved. The material was very well presented in a way that carried you along in real time while fitting in the background facts without being a distraction. Hardcover Documenting the end of the Cold War has become a kind of cottage industry. Most accounts have focused on how it was won by the west but few look behind the iron curtain and into the political morass within the USSR in it's dying months. It is still difficult to believe that a conflict posing the distinct possibility of global extinction hanging over the heads of an entire generation ended with the stroke of a pen. There is much more to it than that and O'Cleary documents the dynamic personalities surrounding Gorbachev and Yeltsin and the conflict which played out. Hardcover The Fall of the Soviet Union is a convoluted, rapid, and even mysterious event worth exploring from many different angles. The country ceases to exist during the last week of December in 1991; some would argue that it had ceased to exist before this. However its the day to day ceremonial aspect that's the most fascinating to explore and its what this book tries to focus on. The Soviet flag is lowered from the Senate building from the last time, people wake up in a different country, a Soviet cruise ship has to change its national emblem mid voyage, Gorbachev resigns. It's the latter event that’s the center piece here, taking place on the eponymous date. The book also however covers the well tread ground of the historical forces leading up to the fall of the Soviet Union. It is fine to go over Perestroika, the Yeltsin Gorbachev rivalry, and the August Coup, but they take up about half of the book, as the narrative alternates between the fateful day of Gorbachev's resignation and summaries of the historical background. I would have preferred more focus on the daily aspect, more curious personal details about one of the most momentous events of the 20th century, which at the ground level was just another day in the life of millions of individuals. Hardcover
Conor O’Clery has written a unique and truly suspenseful thriller of the day the Soviet Union died. The internal power plays, the shifting alliances, the betrayals, the mysterious three colonels carrying the briefcase with the nuclear codes, and the jockeying to exploit the future are worthy of John Le Carré or Alan Furst. The Cold War’s last act was a magnificent dark drama played out in the shadows of the Kremlin.
Moscow, December 25th, 1991