I was 17 years old when I first saw the Berlin Wall. I clambered up an observation platform in West Berlin to peer over to the Brandenburg Gate. Two summers later, I was back. Everything had changed.
Cold War
Conversation with a Contrarian
Robert Shlegel, the rising star of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, is both the total outsider and the consummate insider.
The Syrian Connection
Russian liberals may find their government’s embrace of Assad disgraceful, but they know better than to bring up Syria, or any other Arab revolution for that matter.
A Russian Fairy Tale for Christmas
This Christmas, Russians stopped fearing their government. In a collective suspension of disbelief, ordinary citizens watched cultural figures, civic activists and even a former finance minister attack the political edifice that Vladimir Putin spent 12 years building.
Inside the Brain of Vladimir Putin (Part I)
Vladimir Putin’s greatest fear is a people’s revolt that will depose his government. This phobia has its origin 22 years ago, when he was working for the KGB in communist East Germany.
