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

"[Gorbachev] 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 was his 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 organized 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 "Mikhail Gorbachev, with his prodigious intellect, vast experience, and powers of perception, gives us his views spanning from his time in office to the present day. As he says, 'Life teaches you more than any teacher,' and we all can learn by reading this account of his extraordinary life." George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury of the United States "Gorbachev was on the right side of history. One day the Russian people will recognize that they have as much reason to be grateful to him as do the rest of us. This important book explains why." Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary of the United Kingdom "Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev recounts his reaction to events over the past quarter century, from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation, to the revival of Cold-War-like confrontation with the West and the return of authoritarian governance in Russia itself. Gorbachev deplores the fact that Russia has deviated from the path to democracy that was the aim of his perestroika, but also points out that U.S. and Western policies have contributed to the current Cold War atmosphere. Gorbachev's The New Russia is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand why the 'Europe Whole and Free' that Gorbachev and his Western partners tried to create still eludes us. His suggestions for a return to East-West cooperation and for a resumption of democratic reform in Russia itself are timely and much needed." Jack F. Matlock, former United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia"Compelling... An important book for understanding the shape of the world today."Choice"Now, a quarter of a century after the Soviet Union’s collapse, with the global order once more in flux, may be the perfect moment for a book by a world leader who challenges the orthodoxies both of his own country and those of the West."Los Angeles Review of Books"Mikhail Gorbachev's latest book provides an illuminating commentary on Russia's internal devlopments during the quarter of a century since Gorbachev left office when the Soviet state ceased to exist."Political Science Quarterly

• 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 Party from 1985 to 1991. Since then, he has maintained an active role in world affairs through the Gorbachev Foundation, a nonprofit think tank which promotes democracy and humanitarian initiatives globally.

"[Gorbachev] 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 was his 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 organized 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 "Mikhail Gorbachev, with his prodigious intellect, vast experience, and powers of perception, gives us his views spanning from his time in office to the present day. As he says, 'Life teaches you more than any teacher,' and we all can learn by reading this account of his extraordinary life." George P. Shultz, former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury of the United States "Gorbachev was on the right side of history. One day the Russian people will recognize that they have as much reason to be grateful to him as do the rest of us. This important book explains why." Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary of the United Kingdom "Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev recounts his reaction to events over the past quarter century, from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation, to the revival of Cold-War-like confrontation with the West and the return of authoritarian governance in Russia itself. Gorbachev deplores the fact that Russia has deviated from the path to democracy that was the aim of his perestroika, but also points out that U.S. and Western policies have contributed to the current Cold War atmosphere. Gorbachev's The New Russia is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand why the 'Europe Whole and Free' that Gorbachev and his Western partners tried to create still eludes us. His suggestions for a return to East-West cooperation and for a resumption of democratic reform in Russia itself are timely and much needed." Jack F. Matlock, former United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia"Compelling... An important book for understanding the shape of the world today."Choice"Now, a quarter of a century after the Soviet Union’s collapse, with the global order once more in flux, may be the perfect moment for a book by a world leader who challenges the orthodoxies both of his own country and those of the West."Los Angeles Review of Books"Mikhail Gorbachev's latest book provides an illuminating commentary on Russia's internal devlopments during the quarter of a century since Gorbachev left office when the Soviet state ceased to exist."Political Science Quarterly

• 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