On Twitter, I've seen several replies to Keith Gessen's response to William Taubman's new biography of Mikhail Gorbachev. I'm writing this having not yet read the book, although I think now I'll have to add it to the to-do list. The passage I want to respond to—and about which I think Gessen does a good job … Continue reading Reform Impossible?
A Question: Narrating the Soviet Union
In conversations this week with fellow historians, I have returned often to the question of why public knowledge of the Soviet Union is so limited, and interpretations so traditional and conservative. For evidence of the fact, we need look no further than the Applebaum commentary I wrote about last week. I know that fantastic historians … Continue reading A Question: Narrating the Soviet Union
Resurrected: “It’s Pronounced Pick-a-TEE, Comrade”
This and other posts titled "Resurrected" are reposts from an earlier blog I kept that now, thanks to no longer being affiliated with UNC–Chapel Hill, I cannot continue to use. I'm adding them to jumpstart the process, and to provide some examples of the kind of commentary I envision adding in the coming weeks and … Continue reading Resurrected: “It’s Pronounced Pick-a-TEE, Comrade”
Resurrected: “Demographics”
This and other posts titled "Resurrected" are reposts from an earlier blog I kept that now, thanks to no longer being affiliated with UNC–Chapel Hill, I cannot continue to use. I'm adding them to jumpstart the process, and to provide some examples of the kind of commentary I envision adding in the coming weeks and … Continue reading Resurrected: “Demographics”
A First Post
I'm writing to begin what I hope will develop into a long-term, ongoing conversation.
Aaron Hale-Dorrell 