Breaking with Moscow

by Arkady N. Shevchenko

Book Overview

The highest-ranking Soviet official ever to defect tells an extraordinary story of the inner workings of the Kremlin, of his own conflicted life as a diplomat, and of the frightening world of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394520556
• ISBN13: 9780394520551
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 378 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Has anyone thought that this stuff could really come back to haunt us?

My wife bought this book for me at a library book sale a few months ago. She figured that I would be intrigued by the politics and history. She has no idea what I got from this book. I would agree with the rest of the previous reviews. However, there was something else I thought about when I read through and came away with as I progressed from cover to cover: it is possible that this leviathan in which he lived in and worked at has not died, but is in hibernation until another "day". I remember hearing about this book and its author back in the '80's on 60 Minutes, but it wasn't until I read it that a certain retrospective perspective made me realize that such tyranny and domination can (and will) come back to put the world in fear -- no matter what country it is. Had I read this in my teenage years, when it first came out, I would have become much more conservative then instead of being a center-left kid who grew out of that and acquired Winston Churchill's version of a brain. I would have come to understand just how much of an Achille's heal the UN is to the United States. It was absolutely astonishing (and nauseating) just how much money the US poured (and still pours) in to the United Nations with absolutely no "return on investment", only to watch other countries -- and the UN -- bite our hand which feeds them. Books like this only add to my conservative stance. It's unfortunate that Mr Shevchenko is no longer around. I would have loved to hear his take on world affairs today.

Great book

Fascinating. I can't put it down. I agree with everything the other reviewers have said, but in addition I'd like to know what Mr. Shevcehnko thinks of what has happened in Russia since then.

A view from the inner circle

This book gives a fascinating look into the ideas and the functioning of the ruling class (Nomenklatura, KGB) and into Soviet daily life during the Brezhnev era in the USSR. Foreign policy of the Nomenklatura was based on a long view: the idea of expanding Soviet power to the point of world domination. The author doesn't agree with the German politician Helmut Schmidt who considered that the goals of the Soviet leaders were a mere continuation of historical Russian imperialist designs. On the contrary, they were deeply ideological. The rulers believed in the inevitable victory of Soviet-style socialism. The author gives also an excellent analysis of the evolution of the Sino-Russian relations as well as an in depth portrait of the diplomat Andrei Gromyko. Concerning home policy, the author agrees with B. Souvarine that the fall of Khrushchev was provoked by his plan to reshuffle the senior party apparatus, in other words 'the sanctum of the ruling class'. He didn't have the power to liquidate them like Stalin and was himself liquidated. In Soviet daily life 'watergates' were permanent features from top to bottom. 'Bugging, taping, intimidation, bribery, lying, cover-ups were all standard measures taken by the KGB with the leadership's blessing.' At the top, medical assassinations could not be excluded (Maxim Gorky, Zhdanov and others). This book contains also excellent information on some important historical events like the murder of the Egyptian president Sadat or of UN secretary Dag Hammarskjold. It is not a secret anymore that foreign leaders who wanted to meet Brezhnev had to formulate their questions in advance. During the meeting, Brezhnev read his answers from a paper prepared by his administration. A popular joke about him is mentioned in this book: 'A Soviet citizen shouted 'Brezhnev is an idiot'. He was promptly sentenced to 15 days in jail for insulting Brezhnev, and to 15 years at hard labor for divulging a state secret.' Shevchenko's book gives a magisterial look into the workings of a totalitarian state dominated by a small ruling class. A must for historians and all people interested in 20th century history.

One of the Best of the Type

This is a good book that has some very interesting points that just keep coming back to haunt the American Presidents. Substitute the USSR with Islamic Fundamentalists. There are a good deal of tradecraft details in the book and a number of reviews of operations run against the US. This book reads well, and if you are a fan of cold war personalities then you should find a copy of this book. It is one of the better books to come from the group of defectors that all seem to get a book deal roughly 25 minutes after they enter the states.

The Most Important, Highest-Ranking Soviet Defector Ever

Arkady N. Shevchenko was the highest-ranking Soviet defector ever: he was Under Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time. Moreover, his book was a sensational number one best seller, highly acclaimed throughout the media, and even serialized in Time Magazine.Sadly, the same liberals who were praising Shevchenko didn't seem to be reading what he'd written.Shevchenko wrote a real-life spy thriller, as good as any fiction available; but he also delivered an extremely timely warning. The Soviet Union was dangerous, he said, bent on world conquest, sooner rather than later. It was fully willing to fight a nuclear war, or a conventional war, or any kind of war that would advance its "inevitable" victory. It was corrupt, its economy was failing, its leaders were desperate. A West which was not both resolute and strong would be annihilated, sooner or later, probably sooner.In 1984 and 1985, conservatives believed those things already, while liberals believed that even the mention of such was at best mindless palaver, at worst reckless war-mongering. Five years later, as glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union opened the "evil empire's" archives, it became clear that everything Shevchenko (and Reagan) had said was true (or even less severe in some cases than might have been warranted). Yet though the Left refused to hear the message, they could not ignore the stature of the messenger, and Shevchenko had his day in the sun, as well as his reward for his service to the cause of freedom: freedom not merely for our people, but for his own.While this book may be hard to find, it is well worth the hunt. Shevchenko's testimony is vital to a solid understanding of the latter years of the Cold War, and his story-telling is riveting. Don't miss either.