The New Russians: Updated to Include the Failed Coup

by Hedrick Smith

Release Date: November, 1991

Edition: Paperback

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The Book for Which the Word "Gorbasm" was Invented

I recently re-read both Smith's original "The Russians" and "The New Russians." The first book was a landmark, a riveting inside look at the USSR during the Brezhnev years, though Smith's conclusion (that the Soviet system would endure indefinitely) was dead wrong. (No shame in that. Predictions by NYT writers about the future of Russia are generally wrong.)

The second book, though written by the same man, using the same reporting techniques, is completely different. It is less about Russia (or the rest of the former USSR) than it is about Mikhail Gorbachev and the wonders he had performed and would surpass in the future. Gorbachev comes from Lincolnesque beginnings. Gorbachev does no wrong. Gorbachev has no antidemocratic side -- unless circumstances force him to act in such a way. Gorbachev is the driving force and visionary architect of the restructuring and opening of Russian society. It's as if one of Stalin's old apologists had been resurrected and put back to work -- with "Stalin" inked out and "Gorbachev" inked in.

"The New Russians" came ten years after "The Russians," and the Russian world had changed utterly in that decade. Ten years after "The New Russians" was published, the outlook for and course of the New Russia has altered radically from what Smith foresaw in 1991, and -- sadly -- not for the better.

An adolescent mash note to the last Soviet dictator when it was published, "The New Russians" is now a period piece. Read it for Smith's anecdotes and style, but look elsewhere for insight on the real New Russia.

A very detailed account of Russia's govt

I read this book for a college history class. I liked it and I learned a great deal from it. It was long which made it tedious for me at times. But my professor told me that in light of all that has gone on in Russia, this was short. He said for an accurate account, it couldn't be much shorter. So I plowed through it and now I know so much about Russia. It's a very informative book if you have the time and will to read it. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand Russia today!