This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. We discuss the forces that led to the development of harvesters and what they may be able to achieve in the future. Stephen Kotkin: With Russia, what you've got is a remarkable civilization. The greatest exertion it showed is in economic sanctions which in fact, have proved to be more comprehensive and more powerful than maybe people had anticipated some weeks ago. David Remnick: When you talk about the internal dynamics of Russia, historically, it reminds me of a piece that you wrote and was published in foreign affairs six years ago. He taught at Princeton for more than 30 years, and is the author of nine works of history, including the first two volumes of his biography of Joseph Stalin, Paradoxes of Power, 1878 to 1928 and Waiting for Hitler, 1929 to 1941. He believed, it seems that Ukraine was not a real country. Programa Lex Fridman Podcast, ep. | AI Podcast Clips - YouTube 0:00 / 16:12 Stephen Kotkin: What is the Best Political System? #289 Stephen Kotkin: Putin, Zelenskyy, and War in Ukraine. For more context on the invasion of Ukraine, you might want to hear my conversation with reporters Masha Gessen and Joshua Yaffa who shed light on everything that they've seen on the ground. 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We strongly encourage, in these days of censorship and deplatforming, all readers to bookmark our main site (https://www.theworthyhouse.com). I would say that NATO expansion has put us in a better place to deal with this historical pattern in Russia that we're seeing again today. David Remnick: Let's describe Putin and Putinism what kind of regime is it? That is what we're seeing in Kharkiv, weve seen it in other parts of Ukraine, and to my mind, it's only just begun potentially. That seems unlikely. On this week's episode of my podcast, I Have to Ask, I spoke with Stephen Kotkin, a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union who has just published the massive second volume of his Joseph Stalin . Podcast Host and Producer Full Bio Subscribe Apple Podcasts Google Play Episode Guests Jill Dougherty Global Fellow, Kennan Institute, Wilson Center Stephen Sestanovich George F. Kennan. No one I know understands this history more intimately than Stephen Kotkin. Of course, they decided they might need some security in Afghanistan for the new regime and so they sent in all sorts of army regimens to provide security. The Soviet Union did not invade Afghanistan. Some experts, includingJohn Mearsheimer, have blamedNATOexpansion for the invasion of Ukraine, arguing that it has provoked Putin to defend his sphere of influence. The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University. The problem with their argument is that it assumes that had NATO not expanded, Russia wouldn't be exactly the same or very likely close to what it is today. You know it. The more you corner, the more there's nothing to lose for Putin, the more he can raise the stakes. There are internal processes in Russia that account for where we are today. Its impossible to understand the destruction and death that Vladimir Putin is unleashing in Ukraine without understanding his most basic conviction: that the breakup of the Soviet empire was a catastrophe from which Russia has yet to recover. Report Video. In this episode of Lexman, we talk to Stephen Kotkin about the history of harvesting and the possibility of telepathy. What happens, the balance of those groups shifted more in favor of the military security, let's call it the thuggish part of the regime. Otherwise, their war is unfolding well. If money just gushes out of the ground in the form of hydrocarbons, diamonds, or other minerals, the oppressors can emancipate themselves from the oppressed. Stephen Kotkin is a historian specializing in Stalin and Soviet history. Stephen Kotkin, a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University, and a research scholar at the Hoover Institution, respectfully disagrees. The premise of this show is simple: Peter Robinson poses five questions to Dr. Kotkin: what Xi Jinping, the president of China believes; what Vladimir Putin believes; whether nuclear weapons are a deterrent in the 21st century; the chances of another American renewal; and Kotkins rational basis for loving the United States. Recorded on January 14, 2022. By signing up, you'll be subscribed to the #1 podcast discovery newsletter, Podyssey Picks. David Remnick: Such a regime, it seems to me would care above all about wealth, about the highlife about power. On this episode of Free Expression, Wall Street Journal Editor-at-Large Gerry Baker speaks with one of the worlds pre-eminent historians of Russia, Stephen Kotkin, about the autocratic ambitions behind Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, how the west can do more to resist his aggression and how he has placed China at an inflection point in its rise to global superpower status. The world's view of .Show More. If you could expand on that and talk about how the internal dynamics of Russia have gone on to describe it both historically and in the present day under Putin, that would be, I think, very helpful. Last month, Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinsonasked Princeton Professor and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Stephen Kotkin 5 questions, all in the foreign policy and history realm. How Russias latest commander in Ukraine could change the war. It did a coup in Afghanistan. 2023 Cond Nast. David Remnick: In the meantime, as we saw in Grozny in 99 and 2000, as we saw in Aleppo, Russia is perfectly willing if precision doesnt work, theyre perfectly happy to use decimation. In trying to match the West or at least manage the differential between Russia and the West, they resort to coercion. Instead of getting the strong state that they want to manage the Gulf with the West, they instead get a personalist regime. If not, then you're in for a treat as Stephen Kotkin brings us his latest, ESCARGOT. These were: 1) A second appearance on Alex Kaschuta's Subversive podcast. Once again they hollow themselves out. Ad Choices, Never miss a podcast episode again! Mr. Baker is also host of WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker, a weekly news and current affairs interview show on the Fox Business Network, and the weekly WSJ Opinion podcast "Free Expression" where he speaks with some of the world's leading writers, influencers and thinkers about a variety of subjects. The worst part of this dynamic in Russian history is the conflation of the Russian state with some personal ruler. He has written many books on Stalin and the Soviet Union including the first 2 of a 3 volume work on Stalin, and he is currently working on volume 3.This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. He believed that the Ukrainian people were not a real people, that they were one people with the Russians. Its impossible to understand the destruction and death that Vladimir Putin is unleashing in Ukraine without understanding his most basic conviction: that the breakup of the Soviet empire was a catastrophe from which Russia has yet to recover. 54 min A history lesson with Stephen Kotkin Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt Politics James and Al are joined by foreign affairs and Russian expert Stephen Kotkin for a deep dive into the history of the Soviet Union, how Putin is running the country in its aftermath, and the current state of the war in Ukraine. Let's not do that again. It then has a long period of stagnation where the problem gets worse. I was honored to appear in four different venues in February. War usually is a miscalculation it's based upon assumptions that don't pan out things that you believed to be true or wanted to be true but let's back up for a second. Learn more about your ad choices. This is the thing about authoritarian regimes. David Remnick: Finally, you've been very quick to give credit where credit's due to the Biden administration for reading out its intelligence about the coming invasion, for sanctions, and for a mature response to what's happening. On this episode of Free Expression, Wall Street Journal Editor-at-Large Gerry Baker speaks with one of the worlds pre-eminent historians of Russia, Stephen Kotkin, about the autocratic ambitions behind Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, how the west can do more to resist his aggression and how he has placed China at an inflection point in its rise to global superpower status. We have strong institutions, we have powerful and free media. For the macroeconomic stability, for the economic growth, you need decent relations with the West. Yet an end to the conflict seems nowhere in sight. They can't feed their people, they can't provide security for their people. . Stephen Kotkin is a professor of history at Princeton university and one of the great historians of our time, specializing in Russian and Soviet history. Mr. Baker previously served as Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013-2018. All rights reserved. We don't need your taxes, we don't need you to vote, we don't rely on you for anything because we have oil and gas, palladium, and titanium," and fill in the blank. That it had been modernized to the point where it could organize not a military invasion, but a lightning coup to take Kyiv in one, two, four, five days. Stephen Kotkin: Stalin, Putin, and the Nature of Power. Way before NATO existed in the 19th century, Russia looked like this. 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