Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Part from 1985 to 1991. Since then, he has maintained an active role in world affairs through the Gorbachev Foundation, a non-profit think tank which promotes democracy and humanitarian initiatives globally.

"This is a reminder of how vast was [Gorbachev's] achievement in allowing in the light of freedom. Where his contemporary, Nelson Mandela, was great beyond the whites' deserts in building a post-apartheid nation, Mr Gorbachev was great beyond the deserts of the Soviet Union (and perhaps even of the west, which could barely understand or trust him) in proposing a way for the despotic world to aspire to democratic governance, freely organised civil society and rule of law. That he failed, he keenly knows. Our best hope is that his ideas, in time, succeed."—Financial Times"There are not many good books on new Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev’s The New Russia is probably the best book in many years. It is packed with knowledge, analysis, and new perspective on Russia."—Washington Book Review"Compelling…An important book for understanding the shape of the world today."—Choice"He has produced a reflection full of an earnest desire that former enemies understand each other and find common ground in a febrile world. This is a reminder of how vast his achievement was in allowing in the light of freedom."—Financial Times"Even-handed and measured, the memoir places Gorbachev's concern for the Russian population, the rule of law, and the principles of democracy at the centre, offering a cautionary tale that speaks directly to contemporary issues."– Canadian Journal of History

• Table of contentsTo my readersPreface: Perestroika and the futureTrying to bury meI After PerestroikaThe 1990s: Defending PerestroikaMy last day in the KremlinA new beginning, without presidential immunityShock therapyThe search for a scapegoat, threatsThe Gorbachev Foundation: its first reportsDecember 1991: politics and moralitySalvation in workAttempts to ‘destabilize’ meThe ‘Trial of the CPSU’First results of shock therapyA year after the coupMy stanceThe slide towards social catastropheOn the brink of crisisFateful decisions, fateful daysA state of emergency is not the way to stabilityDefects of the new Constitution1994 gets off to a bad startEconomists advise but the government is not listeningNikita Khrushchev: lessons in courage and lessons from mistakesThe Union could have been savedThe economy: what now?Meetings in the regionsChechnya: a war that could have been avoided1995: 10 years of PerestroikaThe intelligentsiaGovernment and societyThe need for an alternativeBreaking through the conspiracy of silenceLetters relating to the 1996 presidential election campaignDiscrediting electionsThe final years of the millenniumThe Gorbachev Foundation’s ‘First Five-Year Plan’The elections fail to bring stabilityThe storm breaks in 1998How to come out of the crisis?Letters of supportRaisa GorbachevaII Whither Russia?Putin: the beginningThe new president: hopes, problems, fearsWhat is Glasnost?The heavy burden of the presidencyMy social-democratic choiceRussia needs social democracyIssues and more issuesThe zero years of the 2000s?The Yukos affairA party of new bureaucratsA second presidential term: what for?A new direction, or more of the same?Full of contradictions: the first decade of the new millenniumNew electionsDemocracy in distressOperation SuccessorIdeas and peopleSaakashvili’s adventure and the West: my reactionOrdeal by global crisisDefending the credo of PerestroikaDisturbing trendsMy eightieth birthdayRussian politics in a quandaryA new Era of Stagnation?The presidential ‘reshuffle’ and the Duma electionsFor fair elections!Society awakensA decision to tighten the screwsSome letters of support in recent yearsThe need for dialogue between the government and societyIII Today’s uneasy worldThe relevance of New ThinkingChallenges of globalizationThe challenge of securityBan the bomb!Consequences of NATO expansionThe world after 9/11Poverty is a political problemResponding to the environmental challengeThe water crisisThe threat of climate changeWe need a new model of developmentMeetings in America: George Shultz and Ronald ReaganPartners should be equalThe role of the United States in the world‘America needs its own Perestroika’The election of ObamaThe future of EuropeGermanyOn a solid foundationMajor figures in European politicsLooking East: ChinaRussia and JapanA Simmering Region: Egypt and SyriaRussia and UkraineHistory Is Not FatedConclusionReflections of an optimistIndex

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Part from 1985 to 1991. Since then, he has maintained an active role in world affairs through the Gorbachev Foundation, a non-profit think tank which promotes democracy and humanitarian initiatives globally.

"This is a reminder of how vast was [Gorbachev's] achievement in allowing in the light of freedom. Where his contemporary, Nelson Mandela, was great beyond the whites' deserts in building a post-apartheid nation, Mr Gorbachev was great beyond the deserts of the Soviet Union (and perhaps even of the west, which could barely understand or trust him) in proposing a way for the despotic world to aspire to democratic governance, freely organised civil society and rule of law. That he failed, he keenly knows. Our best hope is that his ideas, in time, succeed."—Financial Times"There are not many good books on new Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev’s The New Russia is probably the best book in many years. It is packed with knowledge, analysis, and new perspective on Russia."—Washington Book Review"Compelling…An important book for understanding the shape of the world today."—Choice"He has produced a reflection full of an earnest desire that former enemies understand each other and find common ground in a febrile world. This is a reminder of how vast his achievement was in allowing in the light of freedom."—Financial Times"Even-handed and measured, the memoir places Gorbachev's concern for the Russian population, the rule of law, and the principles of democracy at the centre, offering a cautionary tale that speaks directly to contemporary issues."– Canadian Journal of History

• Table of contentsTo my readersPreface: Perestroika and the futureTrying to bury meI After PerestroikaThe 1990s: Defending PerestroikaMy last day in the KremlinA new beginning, without presidential immunityShock therapyThe search for a scapegoat, threatsThe Gorbachev Foundation: its first reportsDecember 1991: politics and moralitySalvation in workAttempts to ‘destabilize’ meThe ‘Trial of the CPSU’First results of shock therapyA year after the coupMy stanceThe slide towards social catastropheOn the brink of crisisFateful decisions, fateful daysA state of emergency is not the way to stabilityDefects of the new Constitution1994 gets off to a bad startEconomists advise but the government is not listeningNikita Khrushchev: lessons in courage and lessons from mistakesThe Union could have been savedThe economy: what now?Meetings in the regionsChechnya: a war that could have been avoided1995: 10 years of PerestroikaThe intelligentsiaGovernment and societyThe need for an alternativeBreaking through the conspiracy of silenceLetters relating to the 1996 presidential election campaignDiscrediting electionsThe final years of the millenniumThe Gorbachev Foundation’s ‘First Five-Year Plan’The elections fail to bring stabilityThe storm breaks in 1998How to come out of the crisis?Letters of supportRaisa GorbachevaII Whither Russia?Putin: the beginningThe new president: hopes, problems, fearsWhat is Glasnost?The heavy burden of the presidencyMy social-democratic choiceRussia needs social democracyIssues and more issuesThe zero years of the 2000s?The Yukos affairA party of new bureaucratsA second presidential term: what for?A new direction, or more of the same?Full of contradictions: the first decade of the new millenniumNew electionsDemocracy in distressOperation SuccessorIdeas and peopleSaakashvili’s adventure and the West: my reactionOrdeal by global crisisDefending the credo of PerestroikaDisturbing trendsMy eightieth birthdayRussian politics in a quandaryA new Era of Stagnation?The presidential ‘reshuffle’ and the Duma electionsFor fair elections!Society awakensA decision to tighten the screwsSome letters of support in recent yearsThe need for dialogue between the government and societyIII Today’s uneasy worldThe relevance of New ThinkingChallenges of globalizationThe challenge of securityBan the bomb!Consequences of NATO expansionThe world after 9/11Poverty is a political problemResponding to the environmental challengeThe water crisisThe threat of climate changeWe need a new model of developmentMeetings in America: George Shultz and Ronald ReaganPartners should be equalThe role of the United States in the world‘America needs its own Perestroika’The election of ObamaThe future of EuropeGermanyOn a solid foundationMajor figures in European politicsLooking East: ChinaRussia and JapanA Simmering Region: Egypt and SyriaRussia and UkraineHistory Is Not FatedConclusionReflections of an optimistIndex