2009 Finalist

The Soviet Ambassador: The Making of the Radical Behind Perestroika

by Christopher Shulgan

Now called "the godfather of glasnost," former Communist hardliner Aleksandr Yakovlev is hardly a household name in this country despite being the Soviet Union's ambassador in Canada for ten years during the 1970s and early 1980s. But it was here in Canada, as Christopher Shulgan tells us in his immensely readable story, that Yakovlev became a close friend of Pierre Trudeau and began to understand Western democracies. And it was Trudeau who first welcomed Mikhail Gorbachev to this country where Yakovlev and Gorbachev developed their own strong friendship. Their ideas and commitment would change Russia forever. The power of this lively biography lies in the evolution of Yakovlev's thinking and the account of the reforms he helped to bring about to improve his own country.


Filmmaker and journalist Alexandre Trudeau introduces Christopher Shulgan, a finalist for the 2009 BC Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, during the award presentation luncheon. Vancouver, February 2, 2009.




Author Christopher Shulgan, a 2009 finalist for the BC Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, speaks at the presentation luncheon for the award. Vancouver, February 2, 2009.