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I still think democracy among those insidiously intrusive Western values Russia resists so fiercely Joel Send a noteboard - 14/03/2017 02:37:39 PM

Russia does not have elections: It has coups and/or assassinations, usually AGAINST leaders foolish enough to try "imposing" liberal democratic principles where they are unwelcome, if not outright incomprehensible.

So speculation is interesting, and thorough detailed historical analysis always interesting, but I doubt Kerenskys government had any more hope than the Weimar Republic, and for the same reason, regardless of any particular policy or policies he pursued. In America, we like to cite ourselves as a textbook example of democratic revolution rather than an "exceptional" deviation from the norm, but the reality is a revolt over taxation (or any other government) without representation is only possible in a nation whose residents are culturally conditioned to EXPECT representative government as no more than their due as citizens. Most abuses that prompted our revolt would have been passively accepted without comment virtually anywhere else in the world, as would the British governments repressive response to our protests.

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The February Revolution and Kerensky’s Missed Opportunity - 13/03/2017 09:37:00 PM 868 Views
Fascinating stuff - 13/03/2017 10:52:58 PM 462 Views
Who knows? It could have been worse off. - 13/03/2017 11:37:54 PM 556 Views
What's your opinion on Lenin? - 14/03/2017 02:06:59 AM 507 Views
Lenin. A monster. - 14/03/2017 12:55:18 PM 529 Views
Thanks. I'll ask him too. *NM* - 14/03/2017 03:01:36 PM 251 Views
Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky were all bloodthirsty mass murderers. - 14/03/2017 08:59:06 PM 578 Views
That's fascinating. But give me a book recommendation! - 14/03/2017 09:15:57 PM 468 Views
Start with a general history of Russia - 14/03/2017 10:17:22 PM 593 Views
Excellent. Thank you. It's next on the list. - 15/03/2017 02:11:14 AM 535 Views
Russian history is as depressing as they come. - 15/03/2017 12:08:15 PM 527 Views
Read Figes first, I suppose. - 14/03/2017 10:55:23 PM 493 Views
Thanks, Tom. I've been putting off reading good literature because of my unfamiliarity with Russia. *NM* - 15/03/2017 02:12:10 AM 237 Views
Which books have you put off reading? *NM* - 15/03/2017 12:05:32 PM 225 Views
DEMONS and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV are the big two. - 15/03/2017 02:58:13 PM 485 Views
You don't necessarily need to know the history. - 15/03/2017 03:15:38 PM 526 Views
I'm always afraid I'm missing something critical, though! - 15/03/2017 03:50:59 PM 472 Views
Annotations are amazing. My eBook version of War and Peace was the same. - 15/03/2017 04:03:59 PM 492 Views
My High School English teacher neglected Russian literature. - 16/03/2017 01:46:29 AM 452 Views
Hmmmm. - 16/03/2017 01:18:14 PM 492 Views
Tolstoy was a reprehensible human being - 15/03/2017 04:02:52 PM 464 Views
I had no idea. I was under the impression he was deeply devout. - 16/03/2017 01:47:43 AM 489 Views
Here's one example: - 16/03/2017 02:06:45 AM 487 Views
Good lord. The man sounds deranged. But that's fascinating! Is there a good biography on him? *NM* - 16/03/2017 07:50:10 AM 235 Views
Pavel Basinsky's bio is best - 16/03/2017 02:46:47 PM 670 Views
Getting it now. Thanks. *NM* - 16/03/2017 11:06:25 PM 226 Views
For what it's worth, I read Lenin & Trotsky as genuine idealists, while Stalin as just a thug - 15/03/2017 11:16:36 AM 553 Views
I think that's entirely incorrect. - 15/03/2017 04:00:54 PM 549 Views
I didn't mean stupid or brutish, I meant more like a mafia don than a statesman - 16/03/2017 12:18:34 PM 448 Views
Well if you want to completely redefine the phrase "just a thug", perhaps you're right - 16/03/2017 02:43:38 PM 473 Views
Good point - 16/03/2017 09:52:29 PM 601 Views
I hear what you're saying, but... - 16/03/2017 11:53:19 PM 492 Views
Attempt at clarification - 17/03/2017 12:55:03 AM 582 Views
Hehehe..."Fuck off" - 19/03/2017 05:23:49 PM 527 Views
Seems kind of nonsensical - 14/03/2017 01:33:49 AM 578 Views
Good reply. - 14/03/2017 12:57:47 PM 566 Views
They weren't really wrong - 14/03/2017 01:30:07 PM 587 Views
I do enjoy historical "what if" situations. - 14/03/2017 01:47:27 AM 474 Views
Hi there. - 14/03/2017 01:02:44 PM 456 Views
I still think democracy among those insidiously intrusive Western values Russia resists so fiercely - 14/03/2017 02:37:39 PM 573 Views
Is it your persistant anti-Russia bias that makes you so dogmatic? - 14/03/2017 02:51:23 PM 482 Views
I have no problem with Russia, only its government - 14/03/2017 03:07:14 PM 600 Views
Really? - 14/03/2017 03:15:10 PM 507 Views
What a terrible article - 14/03/2017 08:04:50 PM 470 Views
I thought you would think this way. - 15/03/2017 12:04:57 PM 552 Views
I can't decide what I think about Evans - 15/03/2017 04:10:05 PM 445 Views

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