From Tablet, Adam Kirsch on Soviet Russia's short-lived Jewish renaissance. Spreading Europe's poison: Blaming the USSR for the second world war is not only absurd — it boosts the heirs of the Nazis' wartime collaborators. Stalinism as bad as Nazism?: Europe’s memory war rages on. Gal Beckerman reviews The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia by Orlando Figes. A review of Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union from the Revolution to the Death of Stalin by David King. Postmodern Stalinism: Revisionist histories help revive his reputation in Russia. Hoxha on Stalin: Two of Europe's most malignant egos converge in the Albanian dictator's fond memoir of the Soviet despot. Stalin, a hero for our time: The myth of Russia’s beautiful past has gripped the popular imagination, thanks to state propaganda. From History Today, haunted by Stalin: Catherine Merridale examines competing versions of Russia's troubled past in the light of present politics. Despite outward appearances, Russia remains dangerously close to a serious breakdown of authority, and President Dmitri Medvedev must act now to help struggling company towns. The Memory Trap: Why remembrance of past imperial glory holds back Russia today. A new two-volume history of Russia’s turbulent 20th century is being hailed inside and outside the country as a landmark contribution to the swirling debate over Russia’s past and national identity. Russia's growing authoritarianism has disrupted historians trying to discover the truth about the Soviet Union; Donald Rayfield bemoans the closing of the archives.
