The Last Empire

The Final Days of the Soviet Union

By: Serhii Plokhy

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

On Christmas Day, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to declare an American victory in the Cold War: Earlier that day Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as the first and last Soviet president. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse immediately after Bush's speech and has persisted for decades.

As Serhii Plokhy reveals in The Last Empire, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the United States. On the contrary, American leaders dreaded the possibility that the Soviet Union might suddenly crumble, throwing all of Eurasia into chaos. Bush was firmly committed to supporting his ally Gorbachev and remained wary of radical leaders such as recently elected Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Fearing what might happen to the large Soviet nuclear arsenal in the event of the union's collapse, Bush stood by Gorbachev as he resisted the growing independence movements in Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus. Plokhy shows that it was only after the movement for independence of the republics had gained undeniable momentum on the eve of the Ukrainian vote for independence that Bush finally abandoned Gorbachev to his fate.

©2014 Serhii Plokhy (P)2021 Tantor

a Detailed Must Read to Understand the Fall of Soviet Union.

Today's war between Ukraine and Russia needs context, part of which includes the dramatic history of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many important facts have been drawn from documents and diaries that had not been available at the time. This history also shows that the key players did not know how their actions and plans would work. This is fascinating material.

detailed engaging history

A complicated story well told. Context, motivation and consequences are all laid out to engage and explain.

Solid history.

This was an amazing book. Learned a lot. Knowing that USSR fell, but not ever heard the reason. This book talked about all the power dynamics.

Full of Holes; Horrid Narrator

Very surprised 75 ratings so far have this lead-footed book at 4.8 stars. I rated the story a 3 because it does give us the "what-happened" in great, often repetitious detail, and while leaving many unanswered questions. As to the "why", this book has very little to say beyond what most readers/listeners already know going in. The narrator is the worst narrator by far I have in my Audible library of 89 books. I can live with a mediocre narrator. But this fellow actually made it excruciating to listen. So, the material is rather poor stuff and the delivery intolerable. Buyer beware.