Overview

For more than 20 years, scholars and pundits have been writing about the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war with one enormous handicap: the missing piece of the puzzle was what was going on in Moscow during a crisis that brought the world to the brink of confrontation and set the stage for the unravelling of detente. Here a Kremlin insider, Soviet diplomat Victor Israelyan, shines light on this crisis of the Cold War.

Full Product Details

Author:   Victor Israelyan ,  Alvin Z. Rubinstein
Publisher:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Imprint:   Pennsylvania State University Press
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.426kg
ISBN:  

9780271017372

ISBN 10:   0271017376
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   15 September 1997
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Reviews

For more than 20 years, scholars and pundits have been writing about the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war with one enormous handicap: the missing piece of the puzzle was what was going on in Moscow during a crisis that brought the world to the brink of confrontation and set the stage for the unraveling of detente. Now a Kremlin insider has written the book that shines light on precisely this hitherto mysterious topic-and what a story it is! Almost all the assumptions about Soviet policy made by leading diplomats and scholars--American, Israeli, and Arab--seem to have been wrong. . . . One wishes other Soviet diplomats of Israelyan's caliber would write honest memoirs of this sort on the other great crises of the Cold War. But for now, his stands alone as a model to be emulated. --Foreign Affairs

For more than 20 years, scholars and pundits have been writing about the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war with one enormous handicap: the missing piece of the puzzle was what was going on in Moscow during a crisis that brought the world to the brink of confrontation and set the stage for the unraveling of d tente. Now a Kremlin insider has written the book that shines light on precisely this hitherto mysterious topic-and what a story it is! Almost all the assumptions about Soviet policy made by leading diplomats and scholars--American, Israeli, and Arab--seem to have been wrong. . . . One wishes other Soviet diplomats of Israelyan's caliber would write honest memoirs of this sort on the other great crises of the Cold War. But for now, his stands alone as a model to be emulated. --Foreign Affairs Not since Leon Trotsky's writings in the 1930s has a witness to the foreign policy-making decision process of the Communist Party's top leadership provided us with so substantive a work. --Alvin Z. Rubinstein, from the Foreword A fascinating eye-witness account . . . . Israelyan captures the atmosphere and mood of the Kremlin particularly well. From the hushed corridors and rooms, where officials lowered their voices to whispers, the figure of the General Secretary, Leonid Brezhnev, emerges as the clearly dominant and powerful personality who, at this time, still possessed considerable charisma, dynamism and quickness of mind. . . . [P]robably the most interesting, detailed and informative account of Soviet foreign policy decision-making to have emerged since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. --Roland Dannreuther . . . [A]n extraordinary and unprecedented memoir from a Soviet observer, Ambassador Victor Israelyan . . . . Writing from his notes, recollections, and interviews with other diplomats and policy makers, Israelyan has provided the first authoritative account of policy deliberations among Politburo members on any issue and, until Kremlin archives are opened, the most complete description of Politburo politics during a crisis. --Middle East Journal

A fascinating eye-witness account . . . . Israelyan captures the atmosphere and mood of the Kremlin particularly well. From the hushed corridors and rooms, where officials lowered their voices to whispers, the figure of the General Secretary, Leonid Brezhnev, emerges as the clearly dominant and powerful personality who, at this time, still possessed considerable charisma, dynamism and quickness of mind. . . . [P]robably the most interesting, detailed and informative account of Soviet foreign policy decision-making to have emerged since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. </p>--Roland Dannreuther</p>

A fascinating eye-witness account . . . . Israelyan captures the atmosphere and mood of the Kremlin particularly well. From the hushed corridors and rooms, where officials lowered their voices to whispers, the figure of the General Secretary, Leonid Brezhnev, emerges as the clearly dominant and powerful personality who, at this time, still possessed considerable charisma, dynamism and quickness of mind. . . . [P]robably the most interesting, detailed and informative account of Soviet foreign policy decision-making to have emerged since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Roland Dannreuther

Author Information

Victor Israelyan has had a rich and distinguished career as a physician, diplomat, scholar, and professor spanning more than five decades. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the Soviet Union's leading diplomats specializing in disarmament negotiations. He retired from the Foreign Ministry in 1987. He has written more than ten books, including Russian Diplomacy in Transition (Penn State, forthcoming).

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