An original and important book that advances our knowledge of the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR. -- William C. Taubman, author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era A very impressive book on a timely topic. Kalinovsky tells the most complete story to date of Soviet decision-making about the Afghan war. He also challenges many widely held views about the actual costs to the Soviet leadership of the war and shows how Washington and Islamabad threw up obstacles that lengthened the conflict. Americans have been reluctant to look to the Soviet experience for potential lessons about Afghanistan, but this lucidly written book could be a most useful and thought-provoking primer. -- Robert Crews, author of For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia Kalinovsky has provided the only comprehensive and up-to-date discussion of the process leading to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. This clearly written book will be useful not only to historians, but to anyone who wants to understand the ongoing developments in Afghanistan and the issues surrounding Western disengagement. -- Antonio Giustozzi, author of Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field A brilliant account of Soviet intervention and withdrawal from Afghanistan. Its relevance to the current experience of the U.S. is evident, but the value of this powerfully written work lies in its incisive analysis of military intervention as a mode of foreign policy and the abyss into which it led the Soviet Union. A Long Goodbye is essential reading that suggests valuable lessons for the last superpower standing. -- Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars 1945-1990 A well-written, nuanced account of the withdrawal of Soviet military forces from Afghanistan. Kalinovsky is particularly skillful in analyzing Soviet policymakers' calculations and in capturing the complexity of the Soviet-Afghan war. His attention to the post-withdrawal period brings in a crucial element of the story that has been omitted from almost all previous accounts. -- Mark Kramer, Director, Cold War Studies Program, Harvard University A powerful and insightful contribution to our understanding of the Soviet war in Afghanistan and its aftermath. Kalinovsky's analysis of the final chapter of the war is both balanced and full of empathy for the challenge the Soviets faced in withdrawing their troops. A must read for anyone interested in the history of conflict in the region. -- Svetlana Savranskaya, National Security Archive, George Washington University Kalinovsky's study of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan is impressively researched and wholly convincing. It should make grim but essential reading for U.S. soldiers and statesmen today, who face many of the same dilemmas as their Soviet predecessors. -- Anatol Lieven, author of Pakistan: A Hard Country Wow. Talk about prescient. Anyone who thinks America and its allies have a chance of winning-whatever that means-in the war against the Afghanistan Taliban needs to take a long look at A Long Goodbye. Kalinovsky tells us that the former Soviet Union began to search for a way out of Afghanistan in 1982, and did not complete its troop withdrawal for seven years. We also learn that Moscow was fed throughout a stream of field reports focused on mythical successes in the battlefield. Sound familiar? It should. -- Seymour M. Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Chain of Command
Artemy Kalinovsky is Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Research Associate at the Cold War Studies Programme at the London School of Economics and Politics.
An original and important book that advances our knowledge of the
end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR.
*William C. Taubman, author of Khrushchev: The Man and His
Era*
A very impressive book on a timely topic. Kalinovsky tells the most
complete story to date of Soviet decision-making about the Afghan
war. He also challenges many widely held views about the actual
costs to the Soviet leadership of the war and shows how Washington
and Islamabad threw up obstacles that lengthened the conflict.
Americans have been reluctant to look to the Soviet experience for
potential lessons about Afghanistan, but this lucidly written book
could be a most useful and thought-provoking primer.
*Robert Crews, author of For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire
in Russia and Central Asia*
Kalinovsky has provided the only comprehensive and up-to-date
discussion of the process leading to the Soviet withdrawal from
Afghanistan. This clearly written book will be useful not only to
historians, but to anyone who wants to understand the ongoing
developments in Afghanistan and the issues surrounding Western
disengagement.
*Antonio Giustozzi, author of Decoding the New Taliban: Insights
from the Afghan Field*
A brilliant account of Soviet intervention and withdrawal from
Afghanistan. Its relevance to the current experience of the U.S. is
evident, but the value of this powerfully written work lies in its
incisive analysis of military intervention as a mode of foreign
policy and the abyss into which it led the Soviet Union. A Long
Goodbye is essential reading that suggests valuable lessons for the
last superpower standing.
*Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars 1945-1990*
A well-written, nuanced account of the withdrawal of Soviet
military forces from Afghanistan. Kalinovsky is particularly
skillful in analyzing Soviet policymakers' calculations and in
capturing the complexity of the Soviet-Afghan war. His attention to
the post-withdrawal period brings in a crucial element of the story
that has been omitted from almost all previous accounts.
*Mark Kramer, Director, Cold War Studies Program, Harvard
University*
A powerful and insightful contribution to our understanding of the
Soviet war in Afghanistan and its aftermath. Kalinovsky's analysis
of the final chapter of the war is both balanced and full of
empathy for the challenge the Soviets faced in withdrawing their
troops. A must read for anyone interested in the history of
conflict in the region.
*Svetlana Savranskaya, National Security Archive, George Washington
University*
Kalinovsky's study of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan is
impressively researched and wholly convincing. It should make grim
but essential reading for U.S. soldiers and statesmen today, who
face many of the same dilemmas as their Soviet predecessors.
*Anatol Lieven, author of Pakistan: A Hard Country*
Wow. Talk about prescient. Anyone who thinks America and its allies
have a chance of winning—whatever that means—in the war against the
Afghanistan Taliban needs to take a long look at A Long Goodbye.
Kalinovsky tells us that the former Soviet Union began to search
for a way out of Afghanistan in 1982, and did not complete its
troop withdrawal for seven years. We also learn that Moscow was fed
throughout a stream of field reports focused on mythical successes
in the battlefield. Sound familiar? It should.
*Seymour M. Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Chain of
Command*
[Kalinovsky's] account is meticulously documented and supplemented
by interviews with surviving Russian protagonists. Though further
documents will no doubt come to light, it is unlikely his lucid and
elegant narrative will soon be bettered.
*Financial Times*
[Kalinovsky] sketches a candid portrait of the Politburo's
frustrations and doubts over the 10-year military campaign, which
ended in the 1989 retreat...A Long Goodbye reminds its readers of
the U.S. military incursions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Kalinovsky
doesn't dwell on why the Soviets went in, but wonders why it took
the country so long to bring its soldiers home...The U.S. reader
cannot miss the resonance of this story. It may be even more
relevant now that Osama bin Laden is out of the picture.
*Cleveland Plain Dealer*
Deeply researched and fluidly written.
*Bookforum*
How Moscow faced up to its Afghan quagmire is convincingly
explained by Artemy M. Kalinovsky in A Long Goodbye: The Soviet
Withdrawal from Afghanistan. Kalinovsky has squeezed every
available drop of information out of the still well-defended Soviet
archives.
*Literary Review*
[A] first-rate...book on the Soviet experience in
Afghanistan...with somber messages for the countries whose armed
forces are now active there...Artemy M. Kalinovsky makes good use
of recently available archival evidence and memoirs, supplemented
by interviews with Soviet politicians and military participants in
the war in Afghanistan.
*Times Literary Supplement*
The Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979-89) has passed from being the
subject of angry international debate to the object of calm
historical inquiry, but given the current conflict there, the
period retains a certain urgent resonance. [This] new book sheds
useful light on those days...[A] highly detailed study of the
Soviet withdrawal.
*Wall Street Journal*
A Long Goodbye, by Russian historian Artemy Kalinovsky, is an
excellent account of the Gorbachev administration's handling of the
actual withdrawal process and the futile Soviet search for a peace
settlement.
*New York Review of Books*
This intriguing, well-written book by Kalinovsky draws some
important parallels between the Soviet Union's misadventures in
Afghanistan in the 1980s and the dilemmas facing the U.S. in
Afghanistan today. Rather than a scholarly tome, this is a great
piece that reads more like investigative journalism. It makes for
an entertaining, thought-provoking read.
*Choice*
This is a fascinating and very useful book for those interested in
Russian/Soviet foreign policy in general and the decision-making
process behind the Kremlin's decision to invade Afghanistan in
particular. It will be especially useful for those who are
interested in the Kremlin's decision to pull its forces out several
years later. Significantly, the author focuses on areas that have
received little attention from western observers...It does an
excellent job of explaining how exogenous variables can have an
impact on foreign policy decision making. As Kalinovsky points out,
given the closed nature of much of the material dealing with the
Afghan adventure, we only know part of the story. This book covers
a very important part of the story, however. It will be
indispensable to graduate students and academics specializing in
Russian foreign policy. It will also be of interest to anyone
interested in military or security matters as well as foreign
policy specialists in general.
*Slavic Review*
Tell[s] the troubled tale of the Soviet intervention and
withdrawal. In doing so, [it] shatter[s] mischaracterizations that
prevent the West from looking to this decade as a source of
lessons...Provides the oft-missing Soviet perspective based on
Politburo records.
*Foreign Policy*
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