AFTER THE COLLAPSE: Russia Seeks Its Place As A Great Power

Needs editing: Dimitri Simes' "After the Collapse" is a brief survey of recent Russian history that covers roughly the last decade of the Soviet Union and the first of post-Soviet Russia. Written in 1998-1999, it begins its tale with Brezhnev's last years, then surveys Gorbachev and Perestroika,

Show More

the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the rule of Yeltsin in the new Russian Federation. There's a lot of good information in this volume; Dimitri Simes obviously has extensive knowledge Russia's past and its present situation. His access to major figures in both Russia and the United States is also impressive and allows him to mention large numbers of famous names and imposing titles. His prose is punchy and keeps the narrative moving.

Two problems, however, have led me to take off two stars from my rating. First of all, large sections of the book are far too autobiographical for my taste. Much of the early chapters consists of Simes running through all the meetings he attended (often in the company of Richard Nixon) concerning Yeltsin, Gorbachev and Perestroika. In these sections, "After the Collapse" reads more like Simes' memoirs than an account of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. (In its worst moments, it reads more like Nixon's memoirs than anything else.) It's nice that Simes talked with Ronald Reagan once and once sat next to Barbara Bush at a state dinner, but reading about this adds nothing to my knowledge of Russia and its transition from Communism.

The second major problem is that the book is just not well organized. Most chapters have trouble developing an overarching theme and the narrative often jumps around in a disjointed fashion, without giving adequate treatment to many of the topics mentioned. Simes' writing is a little too punchy; people and policies are mentioned and then abandoned after a couple of sentences, only to be treated several more times later in the book. No wonder other reviewers complain of difficulty keeping things straight! From reading this, Simes strikes me as an excellent article writer, but one who has trouble organizing things for more than a few dozen pages.

These problems are generally worse in the early chapters of the book than in the later ones that take place after Nixon's death. Although for a few pages Simes' writing degenerates into pathetic statements like "I am sure that he [Nixon] would have agreed... I believe Nixon would also have been nonplussed..." (104), he quickly pulls himself together and begins writing in a more serious fashion - less autobiographical, with more notes and slightly better organization. Simes' obvious dislike of "Tsar Boris I" and the Clinton administration does not particularly bother me. After all, I happen to believe that much of his criticism is deserved.

So, in conclusion, this book has a lot of good information, but it's not that great. Besides the problems I've mentioned, a lot has happened in the five years since it was written. The Asian financial crisis is old news and Yeltsin has actually released the reigns of government. I am not aware of any better books on the collapse of the Soviet Union and the first decade of post-Soviet Russia, but I'm sure there are some out there. My suggestion is to pass this book by and keep looking for something better. If you do feel compelled to read this volume, at least get it from the library.

Show Less