Lectures 3

On Wednesday, January 28, in a talk sponsored by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Princeton professor and Hoover fellow Stephen Kotkin discussed his newly published book Stalin, Volume 1: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928. Based on extensive research, the book is the first volume of his trilogy on the life and times of the Soviet dictator. Kotkin's biography focuses on Stalin's role in the Russian revolution and his subsequent rise to power within the Bolshevik hierarchy. It also situates Stalin's political career in the wider context of Russian and world history.

Stephen Kotkin Presents New Biography of Stalin

Princeton Russian history professor Stephen Kotkin presents a lecture based on his book Stalin - Paradoxes of Power 1878-1928 at the University of Washington in January 2015. Dr. Kotkin's visit was made possible by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Center and the Department of History. 

Stephen Kotkin | Stalin: Power, Geopolitics and Ideas (1.22.2015)

Hoover research fellow Stephen Kotkin discusses Conquest’s revelatory work on life behind the Iron Curtain,  noting that Conquest definitively established the colossal scale of Soviet horrors, correctly identified their source in Marxist ideas and practices, and underscored the legions of Western dupes who retailed Soviet lies, beginning when Stalin was alive and decades thereafter.

Stephen Kotkin on Robert Conquest’s Conquering the Former Soviet Union

Stephen Kotkin's masterful biography of Joseph Stalin has a very keen analysis of the outbreak of the First World War.  I discuss some of the relevant points made.  We draw some general conclusions from these lessons.

Rolling The "Iron Dice":  Outbreak Of The First World War

Some people love going to the gym. Some people hate it. But what if there was a pill that could replace exercise? Today’s future might actually be closer than you think.

Exercise in a Bottle

Flash Forward is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a fecal transplant black market? (Complicated, it wouldn’t, and yes, respectively, in case you’re curious.) Hosted and produced by award winning science journalist Rose Eveleth, each episode combines audio drama and journalism to go deep on potential tomorrows, and uncovers what those futures might really be like. The future is going to be weird, so let's get ready for it together.