Curiouserandcuriouser

Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire

by David Remnick

“This book, an account of the collapse of the Soviet Union published in 1993, humbled me in many ways. First and foremost, it's hard to come to terms with how uniformed I was during the time of perestroika. I had no idea of how Gorbachev lost his way during the transition, or Boris Yeltsin's leading role in it. From watching them on the U.S. news I thought Yeltsin was kind of a drunk and a boob, and Gorbachev, a noble man. Regardless of his behavior while Russia's elected leader, Yeltson was a brave and impressive activist for change.
And the author David Remnick's power of reportage and writing talent is equally humbling. I had no prior interest in the subject material. I picked up this book in my mother's bedroom and opened it without intending to read. Anyone who can get an initially unmotivated reader to be wondering "what happens next" in a 500+ page book on contemporary Russian history is a masterful story teller. For me, with the exception of some impatience I felt toward the end, this was a page turner. No wonder Reminick's head at the New Yorker.
I don''t know whether Remnick has followed up on the aftermath but it'd be intriguing to learn his take on modern moscow. When I visited a journalist friend there in 2008, the impression that lingered with me is that capitalism is a razor-sharp double-edged sword.”