Featuringextensiverevisionstothetextaswellasanewintroductionandepilogue--bringingthebookcompletelyuptodateonthetumultuouspoliticsofthepreviousdecadeandthelong-termimplicationsoftheSovietcollapse--thiscompact,original,andengagingbookoffersthedefinitiveaccountofoneofthegreathistoricaleventsofthelastfiftyyears.Combininghistoricalandgeopoliticalanalysiswithanabsorbingnarrative,Kotkindrawsuponextensiveresearch,includingmemoirsbydozensofinsidersandseniorfigures,toilluminatethefactorsthatledtothedemiseofCommunismandtheUSSR.Theneweditionputsthecollapseinthecontextoftheglobaleconomicandpoliticalchangesfromthe1970stothepresentday.KotkincreatesacompellingprofileofpostSovietRussiaandheremindsus,withchillingimmediacy,ofwhatcouldnothavebeenpredicted--thattheworld’slargestpolicestate,withseveralmilliontroops,adoomsdayarsenal,andanappallingrecordofviolence,wouldliquidateitselfwithbarelyawhimper.Throughoutthebook,Kotkinalsopaintsvividportraitsofkeypersonalities.Usingrecentlyreleasedarchivematerials,forexample,heoffersafascinatingpictureofGorbachev,describingthisvirtuosotacticianandresolutelycommittedreformeras“flabbergastedbythefactthathissocialistrenewalwasleadingtothesystem’sliquidation“--andmoreorlessgoingalongwithit.Atonceauthoritativeandprovocative,ArmageddonAvertedilluminatesthecollapseoftheSovietUnion,revealinghow“principledrestraintandschemingself-interestbroughtadeadlysystemtomeekdissolution.“AcclaimfortheFirstEdition:“Theclearestpicturewehavetodateofthepost-Sovietlandscape.“--TheNewYorker“Atriumphoftheartofcontemporaryhistory.Infewerthan200pagesKotkinelucidatestheimplosionoftheSovietempire--themostimportantandstartlingseriesofinternationaleventsofthepastfiftyyears--andclearlyspellsoutwhy,thanksalmostentirelytothe’principalrestraint’oftheSovietleadership,thatcollapsedidn’tresultinacataclysmicwar,asallexpertshadlongforecasted.“-TheAtlanticMonthly“ConciseandpersuasiveThemystery,forKotkin,isnotsomuchwhytheSovietUnioncollapsedaswhyitdidsowithsolittlecollateraldamage.“--TheNewYorkReviewofBooks
