So we asked Professor Kotkin to come back for a second round of questions, this time all dedicated to one topic: the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Let's think about him. 2023 Cond Nast. His weekly column for the editorial page, Free Expression, appears in The Wall Street Journal each Tuesday. The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University. We keep raising the stakes with more and more sanctions and cancellations because that's where the pressure is on our side to "do something" because the Ukrainians are dying on television every day. Historian and author Stephen Kotkin of Princeton University and Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the historical significance of the life and work of, Stephen Kotkin is a historian and the author of Stalin: Waiting For Hitler, 1929-1941. Stephen Kotkin: Yes. The worst part of this dynamic in Russian history is the conflation of the Russian state with some personal ruler. Find them wherever you listen to podcasts. It's always starving them of the high-tech. With plenty of my thoughts on how to avoid the errors made after those earlier regimes were eliminated, which errors allowed members of the former regimes to keep much of their power and privileges. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Otherwise, their war is unfolding well. David Remnick: Let's describe Putin and Putinism what kind of regime is it? . 2 hr 49 min PLAY #289 - Stephen Kotkin: Putin, Zelenskyy, and War in Ukraine Lex Fridman Podcast Technology Stephen Kotkin is a historian specializing in Stalin and Soviet history. Putin is what he is, he's ruling in Russia and he's got these circumstances, almost a syndrome where geopolitics is trying to make up for a power differential that it can't make up for. For the military security part of the regime which is the dominant part, the West is your enemy, the West is trying to undermine you. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. It began like this, "For half a millennium, Russian foreign policy has been characterized by soaring ambitions that have exceeded the country's capabilities. The historian Stephen Kotkin and the Ukrainian journalist Sevgil Musaieva on a year of disaster, and the hopes for an end. Would he even agree to run Ukraine on behalf of Russia? Stephen Kotkin: Dont Blame the West for Russias Invasion of Ukraine. Perhaps first and foremost, people already thought they knew who Stalin was. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.00:00 - Introduction03:10 - Do all human beings crave power?11:29 - Russian people and authoritarian power15:06 - Putin and the Russian people23:23 - Corruption in Russia31:30 - Russia's future41:07 - Individuals and institutions44:42 - Stalin's rise to power1:05:20 - What is the ideal political system?1:21:10 - Questions for Putin1:29:41 - Questions for Stalin1:33:25 - Will there always be evil in the world? This is the third installment. Stephen Kotkin: Putin, Zelenskyy, and War in Ukraine: With Lex Fridman, Stephen Kotkin. Then say, "These high water marks aside, Russia has almost always been a relatively weak great power." 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. Once again they hollow themselves out. These were: 1) A second appearance on Alex Kaschuta's Subversive podcast. Viktor Yanukovych was the duly elected president in 2010 in free and fair elections, who was unbelievably corrupt, was chased out of power by protests and he fled to Russia. They don't even have a Quisling yet. He is the author of nine works of history, including the first two volumes of his planned three-volume history of Russian power and Joseph Stalin, Paradoxes of Power, 18781928 and Waiting for Hitler, 19291941. Some experts, includingJohn Mearsheimer, have blamedNATOexpansion for the invasion of Ukraine, arguing that it has provoked Putin to defend his sphere of influence. David Remnick: Now the West has decided for obvious reasons not only not to go to war with Russia but not to have a no-fly zone for all the reasons we know. I would even go farther. 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. If you deny them over time through the Commerce Department, American-made software, and American-made equipment and products, you can hurt this regime and create a technology desert. They ended up with an insurgency against their rule and they ended up with a 10-year war that they lost. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UncKnowledge/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UncKnowledge/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/uncommon_knowle Unwrapping the Enigma, Mystery and Riddle: Stephen Kotkin Explains Russia to Andrew Roberts | Hoover Institution. That's why Russia had this fortress, this macroeconomic fortress, these foreign currency reserves, the rainy day fund, reasonable inflation. The Soviet Union did not invade Afghanistan. Understanding the psyche of Russia and the Russians has bewildered Westerners for generations; foremost expert Stephen Kotkin gives some penetrating insights into how to do it. For the macroeconomic stability, for the economic growth, you need decent relations with the West. That works for a time ostensibly, very superficially it works and Russia has a spurred of economic growth and it builds up its military and then, of course, it hits a war. 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. It had repression. Historian Stephen Kotkin became the Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution in 2022. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. In addition, has a brilliant coterie of people who run macroeconomics, for example, your Central Bank, your Finance Ministry, are all in the highest professional level. One other example we might allude to is what happened in Afghanistan in 1979. What if anything have they gotten wrong in this? INFREQUENT EPISODES; Feb 4, 2022 LATEST; Putins aggression is not some kind of deviation from the historical pattern, he tells David Remnick. Stephen Kotkin is a historian specializing in Stalin and Soviet history. Gerry Baker is Editor at Large of The Wall Street Journal. Way before NATO existed in the 19th century, Russia looked like this. He's a psychologically unimpressive character, he was incompetent, could he actually have the willpower? Prior to that, Mr. Baker was Deputy Editor in Chief of The Wall Street Journal from 2009-2013. Russia is a great power, but not "The great power," except for those few moments in history that you just enumerated. 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. Each of these had a different focus; there . Its problem has always been not that sense of self, not that sense of identity, but the fact that it's in a struggle to live up to this aspiration that it has for itself, which it can't because the west has always been more powerful. It sent special forces into the capital of Kabul. Perhaps first and foremost, people already thought they knew who Stalin was. The more you corner, the more there's nothing to lose for Putin, the more he can raise the stakes. The Worthy House does not solicit donations or other support, or have ads. 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. Kotkin writes with verve and imagination and pages of brilliant synopses intersperse the narrative. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories, Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google | Wherever You Listen. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. 20 Podcast Episodes. All the minerals that they have that they extract which is all just cash flow. It had suspicion of foreigners and the West. Kotkin describes how and why the Putin regime has evolved toward despotism, and he speculates that the strategic blunders in invading Ukraine likely resulted from the biases of authoritarian rulers like Putin, and the lack of good information available to them. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices, 5 More Questions For Stephen Kotkin: Ukraine Edition. Stephen Mark Kotkin (born February 17, 1959) is an American historian, academic and author. Would you think I'm wrong? It did a coup in Afghanistan. He is Co-Director of Princeton's Program in History and the Practice of Diplomacy and Director of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies. He sits down with Isaac Chotiner to discuss Stalins differences from the autocrats of today, what Stalin and HitShow More, 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 behiShow More, When Professor Stephen Kotkin set out to write a biography of Stalin, he faced a series of challenges. If not, then you're in for a treat as Stephen Kotkin brings us his latest, ESCARGOT. Podcasts about Stephen Kotkin Follow Stephen Kotkin. Of course, this isn't the same regime as Stalin. We need a little bit of luck and fortune here, perhaps in Moscow, perhaps in Helsinki, or Jerusalem, perhaps in Beijing, but certainly in Kyiv. David Remnick: It's impossible to understand the destruction and slaughter that Vladimir Putin is unleashing in Ukraine without understanding his most basic conviction, that the breakup of the Soviet empire was a catastrophe that Russia has yet to recover from. All the nonsense about how the West is decadent, the West is over, the West is in decline, it's a multipolar world, the rise of China, et cetera. Accuracy and availability may vary. Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. What's failed was the attempt to take Kyiv in a lightning advance. Looking for more episodes? Make sure to include your city, we love to hear where youre from!Get More From This Weeks GuestsStephen Kotkin:Princeton | Hoover Institution | AuthorAdditional Reading On Russia Mentioned By Stephen:Carnegie Endowment In WashingtonMichael Kofman- CNA & TwitterRob Lee- Foreign Policy Institute & TwitterPlease Support This Weeks SponsorsMiracle Brand:For 40% off high quality self-cooling sheets with 3 free towels, go to trymiracle.com and use the promo code: WARROOM, Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt, Politicon: How The Heck Are We Gonna Get Along with Clay Aiken. Stephen Kotkin. Copyright 2022 New York Public Radio. Does he think he knows better than everybody else? Stephen Kotkin on the History of Harvesters, Telepathy and the Future of Food. Latest 8 Feb 2023 | Updated Daily. The name Angela Davis is a by-word for black radicalism in America. | AI Podcast Clips Lex Clips 834K. 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. Stephen Kotkin: Stalin, Putin, and the Nature of Power. It hollowed out. They do not have the scale of forces, they do not have the number of administrators and they do not have the cooperation of the population. I was honored to appear in four different venues in February. The worlds view of Show More, Historian Stephen Kotkin joins Alphaville's Matt Klein to discuss how Joseph Stalin's violent commitment to Marxist-Leninism shaped Soviet society in the 1930s. Its a fascinating conversation that delves deep into one of the countrys brightest minds. You go on to describe three fleeting moments of remarkable Russian ascendancy during Peter the Great. A whole civilization more than just a country. On the battlefield, they are not winning this war. It then has a long period of stagnation where the problem gets worse. This is a Russia we know, and it's not a Russia that arrived yesterday or arrived in the 1990s. In the scheme that you're sketching out, it seems to me that at least for a good while, the people these are most aimed at will be able to absorb sanctions. Stephen Kotkin is a professor of history at Princeton and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:- Lambda: https://lambdalabs.com/lex- Scale: https://scale.com/lex- Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil- ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free- ROKA: https://roka.com/ and use code LEX to get 20% off your first orderEPISODE LINKS:Stephen's Website: https://history.princeton.edu/people/stephen-kotkinStalin: 1878-1928 (Vol 1): https://amzn.to/3NvokpCStalin: 1929-1941 (Vol 2): https://amzn.to/3wIYqsTPODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcastApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIrSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridmanYouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclipsSUPPORT & CONNECT:- Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman- Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridmanOUTLINE:Here's the timestamps for the episode. Throughout the 1930s the USSR prepared for war. That's the thing about the United States in the West. And as usual, his answers are concise, incisive, and analytic. The biggest surprise of course, was the West. Of course, that's where Putin himself comes from. This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. He's written two volumes so far on the life of Stalin with one more to come, as well as books on the Soviet Union in its last years. It murdered the Afghan leadership, and it installed a puppet, Babrak Karmal. David Remnick: Steve Kotkin, I'm very grateful to you. Stephen Kotkin, a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University, and a research scholar at the Hoover Institution, respectfully disagrees. Very similar situation in some ways. 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. There are internal processes in Russia that account for where we are today. Interested in exclusive Uncommon Knowledge content? If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon.This episode is presented by Cash App. Either install a puppet government or force the current government and president to sign some paperwork. 4) An appearance on Todd Lewis's Praise of Folly podcast. 0:08 This is the thing about authoritarian regimes. That's on a recent episode of our podcast. Which seems at least from this distance singularly stupid. The oppressors can say, "We don't need you. It's trying to overthrow your regime in some type of so-called collar revolution. 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. You're going to turn the light switch on in your office? If they can force all opposition into exile or prison, they can survive no matter how incompetent, no matter how corrupt, no matter how terrible they are. The contributing writer Dhruv Khullar examines which strategies worked to control the virus, and talks with the C.D.C.'s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, about the problem of misinformation. The Chinese cannot come in and substitute because they need that same technology that we're denying to the Russians and so thats the biggest--. Share on . He sits down with Isaac Chotiner to discuss Stalins differences from the autocrats of today, what Stalin and Hit, 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 behi, When Professor Stephen Kotkin set out to write a biography of Stalin, he faced a series of challenges. 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. Uncivil Society: 1989 and the Implosion of the Communist Establishment (Stephen Kotkin). We have strong institutions, we have powerful and free media. 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 . Some experts, including John Mearsheimer, have blamed NATO expansion for the invasion of Ukraine, arguing that it has provoked Vladimir Putin to defend his sphere of influence. "Putin's strategy could be defined as 'I can't have itnobody can have it.' And, sadly, that's where the tragedy is right now," Stephen Kotkin, a fel 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. They get a dictatorship, which usually becomes a despotism. He can raise the stakes is Editor at Large of the Wall Street.., Telepathy and the future of Food could he actually have the willpower to lose for,! Then has a long period of stagnation where the problem gets worse the economic growth, you decent. Dont Blame the West conflation of the Russian state with some personal ruler different focus ; there it 's a! Constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and your California Privacy Rights power! 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