On Nov. 9, 1989, the whole world was riveted by the spectacle of people dancing, singing and toasting one another atop the Berlin Wall—and by the impassioned efforts of delirious Berliners to... read more
Articles
August 21, 2014
In the mid-19th century, Perry McDonough Collins, an adventurous New Yorker, set out to cross Siberia in winter, convinced that this could be a new frontier for American traders. With the backing... read more
August 05, 2014
Much of my research and writing has concerned World War II, and as a result I try to steer clear of discussing Hitler or Nazis in any context other than that era. Use either word in the context of... read more
August 04, 2014
Simon Sebag Montefiore is best known for his monumental biography Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar (2003), which offered a mesmerizing, richly detailed portrait of the Soviet tyrant’s... read more
July 18, 2014
On September 1, 1983, I was spending the night in an outpost of Fijian UN peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon when I tuned in my shortwave radio to the BBC. For the first time in days, the lead item... read more
June 24, 2014
In early June, Poland celebrated the 25th anniversary of the partially free elections that brought Solidarity to power, triggered the collapse of communism throughout Eastern and Central Europe, ... read more
May 29, 2014
At his final meeting with the press before stepping down as Poland’s last communist leader in late 1990, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski was in full charm mode. Dressed in a dark blue suit and wearing... read more
May 23, 2014
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Ukraine has tried — and repeatedly failed — to transform itself into a stable, prosperous democracy. The presidential elections on Sunday, May... read more
May 09, 2014
At the first of the Nuremberg trials, Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief American prosecutor, delivered one of the most powerful opening statements in modern times. Speaking of the 22... read more
May 07, 2014
As in Soviet times, the bigger Moscow’s empire, the more it claims it’s threatened. Nobody should fall for that argument, but some influential Western voices still do.
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