Tajemství Michaila Gorbačova - Jak se z obyčejného venkovského kluka stal státník, který změnil svět – Zolcer János (2023)

In today's troubled times, it is especially useful to remember that Russia, not so long ago, was moving towards democracy, a plurality of opinions, and peaceful conflict resolution. This "hybrid" book was born from a twenty-year friendship between Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last president of the Soviet Union (and, as it turned out two years after its first publication, also an opponent of the "fratricidal" Russian invasion of Ukraine), and János Zolcer, a journalist and television producer. While filming a documentary series, they traveled the world together and discussed countless topics. The result is this work - hundreds of pages of text, photographs, notes, and videos accessible via QR codes. It is not a classic biography, but a collection of stories from Gorbachev's life, as recorded by his close friend, who, among other things, once bought him underwear. The reader will learn about the modest environment in which Gorbachev grew up in a Caucasian village, how his mother's Ukrainian heritage influenced him, what "cultural shocks" he experienced while studying in Moscow, how he met his lifelong love Raisa, what battles he fought for reforms against conservative forces in the Soviet power apparatus, and what he learned - already in the role of the highest state representative - about...