Stephen F. Cohen
On his book Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War
Cover Interview of July 10, 2009
history /
america /
20th century /
race /
wwii /
cold war /
security /
soviet union /
reagan ronald /
lincoln abraham /
Editor’s note
Originally, this interview ran on the Rorotoko cover page under the headline
“On Russia, with an open mind.”
We highlighted two quotes.
On the first page:
“My book includes an understanding that the political history of the twentieth century began with the Russian Revolution in 1917 and ended with the Soviet Union in December 1991.”
On the second:
“Russia reached its peak of democratization during Gorbachev’s reforms – in 1989 – 1991. The “de-democratization” of Russia, a word that’s used to characterize Putin, actually began in the 1990s, under Yeltsin. And the process was supported by the Clinton administration.”