NationStates Jolt Archive

Haha, you thought I was talking about the US! Paranoid bastards, you are. :p

No, I just thought I had to post this. Fascinating stuff.

Kremlin Minutes (http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,449326,00.html)
In the fall of 1990, as Germany celebrated reunification, an enormous tragedy was taking shape in Moscow. The historical turning point can be reconstructed from previously undisclosed minutes of Politburo meetings published in Russia this month. And Mikhail Gorbachev may finally get the historical recognition he deserves.

Editor's Note: Seventeen years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, and two years later the Soviet Union broke apart. More than 1,400 minutes published earlier this month in Russia from meetings that took place behind the closed doors of the Politburo in Moscow read like a thriller from the highest levels of the Kremlin. They reveal Mikhail Gorbachev as a party chief who had to fight bitterly for his reforms and ultimately lost his battle. But in doing so, he changed the course of history and helped bring an end to the Cold War. Christian Neef, 54, who served as DER SPIEGEL's correspondent in Moscow until 1996, explains why the "Kremlin minutes" may polish Gorbachev's image in the history books.

-continues-

Intriguing.

What do you know of the Panther/Panzer V in Italy?:p
Do you have any colour piccy's?

What do you know of the Panther/Panzer V in Italy?:p
Do you have any colour piccy's?
Not exactly an expert on that matter, no.

These could be forgies made specifically for commercial release. Much like "The Tiananmen Papers". Notice how they read exactly like a techno-thriller?

These could be forgies made specifically for commercial release.
I doubt it. The man behind the release was a close advisor and one who took part in these meetings, a "Soviet Kissinger" of sorts.

EDIT: Also interesting:
The German question kept entire armies of Moscow experts on their toes. But the Russians faced even more calamities. Afghanistan was one of them. On Oct. 17, 1985, the party leader recommended to the members of the Politburo that the Russians end the war and bring home their troops, who had marched into Afghanistan a little less than six years earlier. By then, the war had become a fact of life. Every day, an average of 10 young Soviet soldiers were dying in a battle against the mujahedeen some 3,400 kilometers (2,113 miles) away. Moscow, it seemed, had become accustomed to the carnage.

...

Then Gorbachev took his plan to the Politburo. "We will do everything possible to withdraw from Afghanistan as quickly as possible," he told his comrades, "with or without Karmal."

That, though, was easier said than done.

Perhaps not surprisingly, a majority within the party leadership -- as revealed by the Politburo minutes -- suddenly began claiming to have seen from the start that the Afghanistan invasion was a risky adventure. But Gorbachev soon realized that there was also serious opposition to his plan for immediate withdrawal -- and that the Afghans themselves were unwilling to accept the departure of Soviet troops.

...

Afghanistan was now a permanent item on the agenda during meetings of the Kremlin's inner circle. Gorbachev's main concern was that the withdrawal be accomplished in an orderly fashion and that the United States and Pakistan not become involved. In other words, Gorbachev wanted to remain in control of the withdrawal. "The outcome must not look like a humiliating defeat. We have lost too many of our boys."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,449331,00.html