For a new Russia

Library Journal

Sobchak had been a law professor in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) prior to his 1989 election to the Soviet Union's Congress of People's Deputies; he later was elected mayor of his home city. This chronological, diary-like account of his term covers 1989 and 1990, a period of liberal reform; a brief afterword summarizes the events of the August 1991 coup attempt. Sobchak's legislative activities in the Supreme Soviet emphasized the establishment of a new legal order based on the rule of law (rather than rule of ideology or bureaucracy). Although Mikhail Gorbachev was known as a radical reformer, Sobchak criticizes the Soviet leader for failing ``to become a real president of his people and remaining general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.'' Therefore, the author feels, Gorbachev's term in office may be limited. Despite the dry style of writing, this insider's account of major events will be of interest in larger collections.-- Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York