Origins of the War: A Conversation with Sergey Radchenko
A conversation with Sergey Radchenko, a historian at Johns Hopkins SAIS, who is currently writing a book on the origins of the war in Ukraine. This conversation explores the end of the Cold War, the rise of U.S.-Russian tensions in the early twenty-first century and the patterns of decision making that explain Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
Service and Domesticity in the Soviet Union
A conversation with historian Alissa Klots, a professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, on her book Domestic Service in the Soviet Union: Women's Emancipation and the Gendered Hierarchy of Labor.
Origins of the War: A Conversation with Yaroslav Hrytsak
A conversation with Yaroslav Hrytsak, a historian at the Ukrainian Catholic University. This conversation explores the question of timing and in particular the question of when Russian President Vlaimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, examining the evidentiary material available for analyzing and understanding Putin's decision making.
A Forest History of Russia
A conversation with literary scholar Sophie Pinkham at Cornell University on her recent book, The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires.
Origins of the War: A Conversation with Jake Sullivan
A conversation with Jake Sullivan, who was National Security Advisor in the Biden Administration and is currently a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. This conversation explores key moments, such as the events of 2014-2015, when Russia annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Sullivan examines key concepts in American foreign policy and the tools American policy makers use to understand and anticipate Russian decision making.
Origins of the War: A Conversation with Jon Finer
A conversation with Jon Finer, an Advisory Council member of the Kennan Institute, and formerly the Deputy National Security Advisory on the U.S. policy choices and expectations in 2014/2015, when Ukraine was first invaded by Russia, and leading up to the massive Russian invasion in 2022, focusing on use of evidence and trying to understand decision making in Moscow.
German Prisoners in World War II
In this edition of The Long View, we are joined by historian Susan Grunewald to discuss her new book, From Incarceration to Repatriation: German Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union. The conversation explores the experiences of German prisoners of war held in the Soviet Union, from captivity through repatriation, and examines how their treatment shaped postwar memory, state policy, and international relations.
Origins of the War: A Conversation with John Sullivan
On the eve of the full-scale invasion, Ambassador John Sullivan was on the diplomatic front lines in Moscow, representing a rapidly coalescing Western alliance. He and his staff witnessed first-hand the Kremlin’s attempts to sow uncertainty and eke out leverage in the runup to February 24, 2022. In this conversation, Ambassador Sullivan revisits his experience as the U.S.’s chief liaison to Russia at the most consequential moment since the fall of the Soviet Union. His insights provide a uniquely revealing picture of the Putin regime’s mentality and motivations for launching the most destructive war in Europe in eighty years.
Artwork by Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky