Includes index

After years of rapprochement, the relationship between Russia and the West is more strained now than it has been in the past 25 years. Putin?s motives, his reasons for seeking confrontation with the West, remain for many a mystery. Not for Mikhail Gorbachev. In this new work, Russia?s elder statesman draws on his wealth of knowledge and experience to reveal the development of Putin?s regime and the intentions behind it. He argues that Putin has significantly diminished the achievements of perestroika and is part of an over-centralized system that presents a precarious future for Russia. Faced with this, Gorbachev advocates a radical reform of politics and a new fostering of pluralism and social democracy.