Eastern Europe

From Trump to Putin: How People Came to Look to Timothy Snyder for Predictions

Although some had dismissed his warnings of an autocratic seizure of power as "doomerism," the events of January 6 and the Russian invasion have made the historian a widely-read public intellectual. 

Historians are Being Asked to Spin Simple Stories of Nationalism; The Past Won't Cooperate

by Joe Djordjevski

Nationalist forces in both Bulgaria and North Macedonia want to use historians to reach a definitive conclusion to debates over the territory's ethnic and national identity. But from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to the fall of Communism, those questions have been complex, difficult, and ambiguous. 

How the Russian Jews Became Soviet

The novelist Gary Shteyngart, who emigrated from the USSR to the US as a child, reviews Sasha Senderovich's "How the Soviet Jew was Made," a work that gives short shrift to neither the "Soviet" nor "Jewish" sides of the question. 

Croatian Filmmaker Seeks to Polish Image of Late Leader by Casting... Kevin Spacey?

Franjo Tudjman, whose post-Yugoslavia brand of ethnonationalism has been harshly criticized, remains a favorite of the Croatian right. It's unclear how casting Kevin Spacey to play him will help polish his image, however. 

Eastern Europe Brought Soccer Into the Modern Age. Why is it a Wasteland Now?

A legacy of innovation spurred by Hungarian clubs in the 1930s and 1950s sustained high quality soccer in eastern Europe through the fall of communism, but changing economic and social currents have diminished the competitiveness of former eastern bloc countries in today's big-money game. 

Ukraine's Struggle for Independence is a Century Old, Despite Putin's Claims

by Joshua D. Zimmerman

Ukrainian nationalists have worked for independence since the upheaval of the first world war. 

The Winter War Ghost Haunts Putin's War Today

by David P. Barash

Stalin's ill-conceived invasion of Finland gave Russia a small part of Finnish territory as a ransom for a face-saving end to stalemate and gave the world the term "Molotov Cocktail" – a sarcastic rebuke to the USSR's claims to be dropping food relief instead of bombs.

Ukraine Beyond the Post-Soviet Frame

by Ileana Nachescu

Framing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an extension of grievances that festered during the Soviet era ignores the drastic changes wrought in Eastern Europe by neoliberal capitalism, racism, sexism, migration and patriarchal religion, and sustains an impoverished view of what peace and freedom in Ukraine can be.

American Pundits Can't Resist "Westsplaining" Ukraine

by Jan Smoleński and Jan Dutkiewicz

"For Eastern European scholars like us, it’s galling to watch the unending stream of Western scholars and pundits condescend to explain the situation in Ukraine and Eastern Europe."

Despite US Missteps, Nothing about NATO Since 1991 Justifies Putin's Invasion

by Cathy Young

Attempts to blame Putin's aggression on the post-Cold War growth of NATO have traction on the left and right, but they simplify the history of the Russian federation and ignore the expansionist moves that made Russia's neighbors draw closer to western Europe.

The Antisemitism Underlying Putin's Claim to "Denazify" Ukraine

by Jason Stanley

"Putin, the leader of Russian Christian nationalism, has come to view himself as the global leader of Christian nationalism, and is increasingly regarded as such by Christian nationalists around the world."

What Putin Means by Claiming to "Denazify" Ukraine

Putin's claims to be protecting Ukrainians from domestic fascism will fail as propaganda, says Jason Stanley, who calls Russian Christian nationalism the real threat to Jews in Ukraine.

Ukraine Shows Limits of US Power

Historians and diplomats including Stephen Wertheim and Joseph Nye offer insight on the limits of what American power can achieve toward stopping Russian aggression in Ukraine. 

Too Much Reality: Putin's Invasion Inevitably Surfaces Europe's Dark Past

by Jim Sleeper

Responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine can't turn away from the possibility of mass atrocity like those visited on Eastern European Jews and resistance fighters by Nazis and Stalinists. 

Putin's Denial of Ukrainian Statehood Carries Dark Echoes

by Timothy Snyder

"History cannot stop a war. But it can help us, at least, to understand how one begins, which is with arrogance and lies."

Putin is a Product of Modernity (Not a Throwback to the Past)

"All the bad things we see around us are like ghosts from the past whose deathly grip on progress might frustrate it for a while, and with potentially terrible consequences, but cannot stop its wheels from eventually grinding on. This is, of course, total nonsense."

Historians on the Ukraine Invasion

Historians weigh in on the unfolding crisis as evidence of widespread attacks on civilians emerges.

Putin Chooses Forever War

by Tom Nichols

Putin's invocation of history reflects a belief that only the Russian state is a legitimate actor in the territory of the former Soviet Union. This could be a justification for all manner of aggressive actions. 

The Ukraine Crisis Represents Kleptocracy Coming Home to Roost

Western powers have precipitated the possible war over Ukraine not by seeking to expand NATO but by allowing the unchecked reign of kleptocrats since the end of the Cold War. 

How Did We Get Here?

by Rajan Menon

The roots of the Ukraine crisis lie with American decisions in the 1990s to kick post-Soviet Russia while it was down, promoting neoliberal policies that led to oligarchy, and isolating the Kremlin from the post-Cold War European order instead of integrating it.