Download or read book The Kremlin s Confidant written by David S Tonge and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2024-07-30 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Martin Packard is an extraordinary man who has led an extraordinary life. An idealist and a man of liberal instincts, his enthusiasms resulted in him having an inside track in several major events of recent decades, including the coup and bloody dictatorship in Greece and the unravelling of the Soviet Union. Easy going, warm and generous with his friendship, his life story is a ripping read. – Peter Murtagh, journalist and author of The Rape of Greece (Simon & Schuster, London, 1994) His story needed telling. – Peter Preston, editor of The Guardian 1975-1995 This gripping biography is a classic tale of fact being stranger than fiction. Martin Packard was an incurable romantic who thought he could do ethical business in the chaos of Gorbachev's perestroika Russia, but was constantly thwarted by more ruthless rivals or incompetent partners. He was a Don Quixote of the Cold War. His story is a fascinating, alternative and very personal view on the confrontations of his times, from the cynical US and UK policies towards Greece and Cyprus, to the chaotic collapse of the USSR. His tale suggests that cock-up, not conspiracy, is usually the most plausible explanation of history. - Quentin Peel, former Moscow Correspondent and Foreign Editor of the Financial Times. Wonderful. They don’t make men like that anymore. - Helena Smith, Correspondent of The Guardian for Greece and Cyprus. This biography describes how a British naval officer became a Kremlin favorite and CIA target as Gorbachev’s Kremlin decided to open the Soviet economy to the west. In 1985, Moscow reached out to Martin Packard, a retired British naval commander. He was promised unrivalled access to the hidden riches of the Soviet Empire with a cornucopia spread before him as he traveled this long closed land from the Baltic to the Bering Sea. A harbinger of the technology and foreign exchange needed to halt the Soviet decline, to some Russians he was the most important foreign businessman in the Soviet Union. But, as the Communist Party imploded, this previously-undescribed offer turned into a Faustian bargain, and his life became a captivating saga of rags-to-riches-to-rags. This book describes his rise, the details of his freelancing for Gorbachev – and his fall. A former intelligence analyst at the British Mediterranean command in Malta, Packard’s role as Scarlet Pimpernel of the Greek Colonels saw him forced out of the Royal Navy. He then became one of the largest jeans manufacturers in Europe. In this capacity, the insiders of Gorbachev’s perestroika identified him to help them lift the life of the Soviet peoples, an unlikely partnership of the Kremlin and a quintessential Briton, a scion of Empire, Church and Navy, but a non-conformist in every sense. It is a political tale, where Packard clashes with the British Foreign Office and the CIA in Cyprus and the Colonels’ Greece. Forced out of the Navy, he heads the English Cell of the Greek resistance, shipping printing presses, passports and petards across Europe to Athens. He then becomes an intimate of the wayward but brilliant Dom Mintoff and survives a mysterious poison attempt by ‘Erica’ at a Moscow airport. It is also a deeply human tale, of a charismatic figure who rose so high, mingled with the mighty of East and West, and then lost it all.

Download or read book The Kremlin s Confidant written by David Tonge and published by . This book was released on 2024-05-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Vovochka written by Alexander J Motyl and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-01-07 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to Vladimir Putin's phantasmagoric world, where a heady mixture of Orthodoxy, socialism, imperialism, racism, homophobia, and Mother Russia worship defines and distorts reality. Vovochka is the story of "Vovochka" Putin and his intimate friend-a KGB agent with the same nickname. The two Vovochkas recruit informers in Berlin's gay bars, spy on East German dissidents, survive the trauma of the Soviet Union's collapse, fight American, Ukrainian, Jewish, and Estonian "fascists," and plot to restore Russia's power and glory. As their mindset assumes increasingly bizarre forms, Vovochka Putin experiences bouts of self-doubt that culminate in a weeklong cure in North Korea. A savage satire, Vovochka is also a terrifyingly plausible account of Vladimir Putin's evolution from a minor KGB agent in East Germany to the self-styled Savior and warmongering leader of a paranoid state."Buy the Book: Russia's Macho Leader Exposed: True Confessions from Vovochka, Putin's Best Friend and Confidant" (Alexander J. Motyl) by Michael Johnson, 11.16.15: "This book is long overdue-a sendup of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the macho horseman and judo master so often photographed with rippling pecs. The reality, says this comic novel, is quite the opposite... Motyl's story succeeds on two levels: it overlays actual events with a slightly skewed fictional story, and it exploits the bombast of Russian officialdom by pretending to take it seriously. The result is a parody in the great tradition of free expression." -The American Spectator"The farcical depiction suggests Putin engaged in same-sex relations as part of his espionage activities during the Cold War... Motyl's satiric romp makes use of Russian literature, geopolitics, Greek mythology and current trends in Moscow's embrace of the notion of 'traditional values' to craft a humorous (though at times disturbing) critique of Putin, one which, while laughable, evinces embedded Anglophone stereotypes about Russia and its leaders." -Robert A. Saunders, "12. Geopolitical enemy #1? VVP, anglophone 'popaganda' and the politics of representation""Vovochka drips with veracity, with the truth of today's Russia, of not the Soviet mindset but the mindset of Holy Russia. The reader is left with the impression that, even though the events and dialogue might not have occurred exactly as portrayed, there is enough authenticity to the thoughts and behavior of the two Vovochkas to make it all very plausible... and very chilling. Nothing funny here./ Mr. Putin's Russia has changed little. Holy Russia is back in vogue. The tsar has returned from the grave. Only a miracle can prevent Russia and its people from sliding back to its deep-rooted ways./ One more thing, dear reader. The orange and blue cover of Vovochka was rendered by the author of the "infamous" "Ukraine's Orange Blues" column. Isn't that just too cool?" -Myron Kuropas, The Ukrainian WeeklyAlexander J. Motyl is a writer, painter, and professor. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2008 and 2013, he is the author of seven novels, Whiskey Priest, Who Killed Andrei Warhol, Flippancy, The Jew Who Was Ukrainian, My Orchidia, Sweet Snow, and Fall River, and a collection of poems, Vanishing Points. Motyl's artwork has been displayed in solo and group shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto and is part of the permanent collection of the Ukrainian Museum in New York and the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre in Winnipeg. He teaches at Rutgers University-Newark and is the author of six academic books, many articles, and a weekly blog on "Ukraine's Orange Blues."

Download or read book Kremlins Complete Trilogy Boxed Set written by K.L. Conger and published by Liesel Hill. This book was released on 2020-01-03 with total page 1491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a time of madness, is love worth the risk? As a maid in the Kremlin Palace, Inga is mostly invisible. Courtiers are likely to use and discard her if she lets them. A lesson she learns when her best friend is brutally attacked. Inga steers clear of romance, intrigue, and men in general afterwards. It makes for a lonely life but invisibility is the key to safety. As a boy in the Kremlin, Taras lost his mother to mysterious circumstances. He returns as a man to discover what really happened. Closed-mouthed courtiers make his task difficult. Dangers mount as Tsar Ivan IV, called Terrible, slides toward insanity. The opulence of Ivan’s court hides deadly secrets, and Taras must turn to the muddy streets of Moscow to learn the truth. When a brutal courtier sets his eyes on Inga, she turns to Taras for help. He pretends to take her as his mistress to save her from Sergei’s dangerous bed. It’s a compromising situation, but before long, true sparks ignite between them. Inga must decide if happiness with Taras is worth forfeiting her invisibility and breaking down the walls built up so carefully around her heart. If Inga and Taras don’t successfully traverse the dangers of the imperial court of Russia, they may be swept up in the blood bath of Ivan Grozny. Two more forgotten victims in a time of love and madness… A sweeping historical epic full of wars, intrigues, death, and love. "Definitely ranks among the best of epic sagas!” –S. Wright

Download or read book Big Business and Economic Development written by Barbara Hogenboom and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-12-21 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together an international and multidisciplinary group of experts, this is the first comprehensive volume to analyze conglomerates and economic groups in developing countries and transition economies. Using sixteen in-depth case studies it provides a comparative framework for the study of contemporary process of privatization, economic and financial liberalization and neoliberal globalization. Exploring the various causes and economic, social and political effects of the rise of ‘big business’ in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe, the main issues that are examined include: the nature of contemporary economic concentration the relations between ‘local’ and ‘external’ investors the impact on development, and on economic and political control over its direction the new role of the state towards conglomerates and economics groups the effects of economic and political changes on the legitimacy of the state and large companies. This volume is perfect as either a textbook or supplementary reading for students at all levels, as well as researchers and governmental and non-governmental professionals working and studying in the fields of international business and economic development.

Download or read book The Last Englishman written by Roland Chambers and published by David R. Godine Publisher. This book was released on 2012 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arthur Ransome, best known for the Swallows and Amazons series, led a double, and often tortured, life. Before his fame as an author, he was notorious for very different reasons: between 1917 and 1924, he was the Russian correspondent for the Daily News and the Manchester Guardian, and his sympathy for the Bolshevik regime gave him access to its leaders, politics, and plots. He was friends with Karl Radek, the Bolshevik's Chief of Propaganda, and Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the secret police. In this biography, Chambers explores the tensions Ransome felt between his allegiance to England's decencies and the egalitarian Bolshevik vision, between the Lake Country he loved and always considered home and the lure of the Russian steppes to which he repeatedly returned. What emerges is not only history, but also the story of an immensely troubled man not entirely at home in either culture or country.

Download or read book Military Review written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 646 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Review of Current Military Literature written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Authoritarian Modernization in Russia written by Vladimir Gel'man and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Post-Communist Russia is an instance of the phenomenon of authoritarian modernization project, which is perceived as a set of policies intended to achieve a high level of economic development, while political freedoms remain beyond the current modernization agenda or are postponed to a distant future. Why did Russia (unlike many countries of post-Communist Europe) pursue authoritarian modernization after the Soviet collapse? What is the ideational agenda behind this project and why does it dominate Russia’s post-Communist political landscape? What are the mechanisms of political governance, which maintain this project and how have they adopted and absorbed various democratic institutions and practices? Why has this project brought such diverse results in various policy arenas, and why have the consequences of certain policies become so controversial? Why, despite so many controversies, shortcomings and flaws, has this project remained attractive in the eyes of a large proportion of the Russian elite and ordinary citizens? This volume intended to place some of these questions on the research agenda and propose several answers, encouraging further discussions about the logic and mechanisms of the authoritarian modernization project in post-Communist Russia and its effects on Russia’s politics, economy, and society.

Download or read book Russian Political Economic and Security Issues written by Harold J. Kowen and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: East-West relations have noticeably deteriorated during the Bush administration, and Russia's behaviour has become commensurately more self-assertive. Key arms control achievements are in jeopardy, and Russia claims to be facing an array of growing threats, most prominently from America. In fact, Russia demands more respect from and equality with Washington and a free hand in world politics. In key respects, Moscow's new foreign policy grows out of the logic of its ever more autocratic and neo-imperial political structure. As analysed in the book, this structure reinforces the long-standing Russian tendency to view other states as being inherently adversarial, i.e., it has a disposition to see world politics in terms of a presupposition of a priori enemies. Thus it views arms control issues from the standpoint of deterring enemies not working with strategic partners. The danger of a foreign policy that relies on truculent rhetoric, inflated and aggressive threat assessments, and an autocratic and neo-imperial political structure based on the ideology of Russia's desire for a free hand in world politics and ingrained belief that others are inherently the same is that it will stimulate precisely the adversarial behaviour in Washington that it claims to see. There are already growing signs that certain sectors of the policymaking community are increasingly inclined to view Russia as a question mark, if not a rival of American policy.

Download or read book Weak Strongman written by Timothy Frye and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-09-27 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Media and public discussion tends to understand Russian politics as a direct reflection of Vladimir Putin's seeming omnipotence or Russia's unique history and culture. Yet Russia is remarkably similar to other autocracies -- and recognizing this illuminates the inherent limits to Putin's power. Weak Strongman challenges the conventional wisdom about Putin's Russia, highlighting the difficult trade-offs that confront the Kremlin on issues ranging from election fraud and repression to propaganda and foreign policy. Drawing on three decades of his own on-the-ground experience and research as well as insights from a new generation of social scientists that have received little attention outside academia, Timothy Frye reveals how much we overlook about today's Russia when we focus solely on Putin or Russian exceptionalism. Frye brings a new understanding to a host of crucial questions: How popular is Putin? Is Russian propaganda effective? Why are relations with the West so fraught? Can Russian cyber warriors really swing foreign elections? In answering these and other questions, Frye offers a highly accessible reassessment of Russian politics that highlights the challenges of governing Russia and the nature of modern autocracy. Rich in personal anecdotes and cutting-edge social science, Weak Strongman offers the best evidence available about how Russia actually works"--

Download or read book The Kremlin s Trojan Horses written by Alina Polyakova and published by . This book was released on 2016-11-16 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Trials of Harry S Truman written by Jeffrey Frank and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-03-14 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jeffrey Frank, author of the bestselling Ike and Dick, returns with the “beguiling” (The New York Times) first full account of the Truman presidency in nearly thirty years, recounting how a seemingly ordinary man met the extraordinary challenge of leading America through the pivotal years of the mid-20th century. The nearly eight years of Harry Truman’s presidency—among the most turbulent in American history—were marked by victory in the wars against Germany and Japan; the first use of an atomic bomb and the development of far deadlier weapons; the start of the Cold War and the creation of the NATO alliance; the Marshall Plan to rebuild the wreckage of postwar Europe; the Red Scare; and the fateful decision to commit troops to fight a costly “limited war” in Korea. Historians have tended to portray Truman as stolid and decisive, with a homespun manner, but the man who emerges in The Trials of Harry S. Truman is complex and surprising. He believed that the point of public service was to improve the lives of one’s fellow citizens and fought for a national health insurance plan. While he was disturbed by the brutal treatment of African Americans and came to support stronger civil rights laws, he never relinquished the deep-rooted outlook of someone with Confederate ancestry reared in rural Missouri. He was often carried along by the rush of events and guided by men who succeeded in refining his fixed and facile view of the postwar world. And while he prided himself on his Midwestern rationality, he could act out of instinct and combativeness, as when he asserted a president’s untested power to seize the nation’s steel mills. The Truman who emerges in these pages is a man with generous impulses, loyal to friends and family, and blessed with keen political instincts, but insecure, quick to anger, and prone to hasty decisions. Archival discoveries, and research that led from Missouri to Washington, Berlin and Korea, have contributed to an indelible and “intimate” (The Washington Post) portrait of a man, born in the 19th century, who set the nation on a course that reverberates in the 21st century, a leader who never lost a schoolboy’s love for his country and its Constitution.

Download or read book Short History of Russia s First Civil War written by Chester S. L. Dunning and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first major post-Marxist reassessment of the Time of Troubles.

Download or read book Down with Big Brother written by Michael Dobbs and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-03-23 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of the great stories of our time . . . a wonderful anecdotal history of a great drama." --San Francisco Chronicle Book Review As Washington Post correspondent in Moscow, Warsaw, and Yugoslavia in the final decade of the Soviet empire, Michael Dobbs had a ringside seat to the extraordinary events that led to the unraveling of the Bolshevik Revolution. From Tito's funeral to the birth of Solidarity in the Gda´nsk shipyard, from the tragedy of Tiananmen Square to Boris Yeltsin standing on a tank in the center of Moscow, Dobbs saw it all. The fall of communism was one of the great human dramas of our century, as great a drama as the original Bolshevik revolution. Dobbs met almost all of the principal actors, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, Václav Havel, and Andrei Sakharov. With a sweeping command of the subject and the passion and verve of an eyewitness, he paints an unforgettable portrait of the decade in which the familiar and seemingly petrified Cold War world--the world of Checkpoint Charlie and Dr. Strangelove--vanished forever. "Down with Big Brother ranks very high among the plethora of books about the fall of the Soviet Union and the death throes of Communism. It is possibly the most vividly written of the lot." -- Adam B. Ulam, Washington Post Book World

Download or read book Misinterpreting Modern Russia written by Bruno S. Sergi and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When President Vladimir Putin ascended to the Kremlin at the end of the 1990s, he had to struggle with the after-effects of Boris Yeltsin's political agenda: outrageous corruption, endless social injustice, and deeply entrenched interests dating back to Gorbachev and beyond. From the outset, Putin saw his task as leveling out the political scenery. Discontent had been building up among ordinary Russians on these consequences of the dramatically unstable 1990s. Stabilization of the political system and cleaning up the widespread corruption were Putin's aims, and the Russian people supported him wholeheartedly. Many observers in the West were quick to condemn Putin and depict him as an authoritarian, dishonest leader who was still linked to the KGB. When asked why Russians were supporting the new Kremlin, many experts explained that it was a paradox that combined the country's supposed history of tyranny and its people's inclination towards it. These explanations shaped the West's understanding of modern Russia and they appear to be unshakeable in cultural circles today. Bruno Sergi argues, in this new study, that the way to know the complete story behind how Putin's presidency has been viewed in Russia, is to examine closely the hard realities that conditioned Putin's policies and responses. Misinterpreting Modern Russia: Western Views of Putin and his Presidency looks beyond the stereotypes to the hard logic of the 1990s, and asks a range of provocative questions about the disintegration of the old Soviet empire and the extraordinary riches that have caused so much opportunity and turmoil in recent years.

Download or read book The Nation written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 930 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: