From Library Journal
As the former Moscow bureau chief for Newsweek , Cullen has witnessed many of the changes in Eastern Europe. In this book, he reports on the events that occurred in the Baltic states (Latvia and Lithuania), the Caucasus region, and Romania during the period August 1989 to December 1990. His chronological arrangement means that one country's story cannot be told in one chapter; some are divided awkwardly. Cullen emphasizes the human interest elements, describing the effects of the revolutions on individuals in the old and new governments and on average citizens, some caught in the "wrong" region ethnically. Two chapters written from Moscow show how those at the center little understand the changes taking place on the periphery of an empire already in its normal declining stage. This is not an essential purchase for academic libraries, but nice for popular collections.
- Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Newsweek's former Moscow bureau chief charts the disintegration of the Soviet Empire--through solid reporting conducted in Moscow, the Baltic states, Romania, and Transcaucasia in 1989 and 1990. Arrested and deported by Romanian dictator Ceausescu's Securitate for interviewing a dissident, able to speak to a top conservative Soviet official (Ligachev) usually unavailable to the press, and adept at finding sources on all sides of any given conflict, Cullen, fluent in Russian, provides impartial firsthand accounts. He witnesses the religious and ethnic clash between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Transcaucasia, questioning ordinary people on both sides as well as soldiers, and is present during the rise of independence in the Baltic states--where, he notes, in the absence of an established opposition philosophy professors try to play politician to lead the rebellion. Examining the obstacles to the release of the republics from the USSR, Cullen describes the interlocking economies and the large contingent of Russians who have settled in many of the republics. Rather than report on all the countries in the Soviet bloc, the author focuses on only a few locales, then visits them repeatedly as events unfold over 1989 and 1990. Visiting Romania before the revolution and twice afterward, for example, he explores concerns that the new regime, having awarded itself the old leadership's power and perquisites, will continue to forbid any real change. Strong portrait of life under radical change, examining both the passions of the citizenry and the more abstract movements of political events. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
