Moscow: Nauka Publ., 2006, 548 p.
The book of the famous Russian historian, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Fursenko (not to be confused with the Minister of Education and Science Andrey Fursenko) is undoubtedly an important stage in the development of modern Russian historiography, dedicated not only to the Soviet period, but also to all the complex, bloody and largely unknown XX century. This seemingly lost century, which changed almost everything in the life of mankind, is invisibly present in our thoughts and actions, ideas and beliefs, putting an indelible stamp on everything that happens today. This also applies to what has received the name "cold war"in historiography and the media. A. A. Fursenko's research is devoted to the policy of the Soviet Union during this period.
Although the book is about the USSR, the author is absolutely right to call it "Russia and International Crises". Apart from the current conjunctural and political disputes about what the Soviet Union was, I think that for most Russian historians and Russians in general, it is indisputable that it is historically, geographically and, most importantly, geopolitically Russia, an important and integral link in a single chain: the Moscow State (before the XVIII century) - Russian Empire (before 1917) - USSR (before 1991) - modern Russian Federation. And it is hardly possible to consider reasonable and scientifically grounded attempts, especially often made in the media, to deduce the history of modern Russia almost directly from the Romanov empire or the temporary regime of "Milyukovism" - "Kerenskyism", throwing away who knows where 74 years of life of our country, in which there was everything, but it was! Moreover, quite often this "former" reminds us of itself today. Therefore, it is necessary to seriously understand it, regardless of individuals, ideological and other biases, relying on primary sources and first-hand evidence. One of these successful attempts should ...
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