Publisher's Synopsis
This book examines Yeltsin's past, measuring his own autobiographical recollections against the record. It illuminates his rise as a political maverick who provokes contradictory feelings among Russians and foreigners alike. It also describes why the ongoing conflict between Gorbachev and Yeltsin goes to the heart of the issues that will shape the future of the Soviet Union and the balance of world power. While Gorbachev clings to the remnants of an imperial state, Yeltsin, contends Morrison, is working toward a radically restructured grouping of sovereign republics.