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I can't decide what I think about Evans Tom Send a noteboard - 15/03/2017 04:10:05 PM

I generally approve of his call to "normalize" history, whether it be the history of Russia or Germany in the 1930s-1940s or anywhere else. At the same time, evidence continues to emerge to vindicate Viktor Suvorov's thesis about the Soviet preparations for war (which I liberally drew on in my response to Cannoli, above). In Russia, at least, it seems that a preponderance of historians are won over to his general point, and even his opponents have had to concede that Stalin was going to attack by 1942 at the latest. Evans has been very critical of Suvorov's writings (though on what basis, I can't say, since he doesn't seem to be a Soviet expert in the least), so I can't say that I love his viewpoint.

Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
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The February Revolution and Kerensky’s Missed Opportunity - 13/03/2017 09:37:00 PM 787 Views
Fascinating stuff - 13/03/2017 10:52:58 PM 409 Views
Who knows? It could have been worse off. - 13/03/2017 11:37:54 PM 500 Views
What's your opinion on Lenin? - 14/03/2017 02:06:59 AM 446 Views
Lenin. A monster. - 14/03/2017 12:55:18 PM 477 Views
Thanks. I'll ask him too. *NM* - 14/03/2017 03:01:36 PM 228 Views
Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky were all bloodthirsty mass murderers. - 14/03/2017 08:59:06 PM 500 Views
That's fascinating. But give me a book recommendation! - 14/03/2017 09:15:57 PM 413 Views
Start with a general history of Russia - 14/03/2017 10:17:22 PM 525 Views
Excellent. Thank you. It's next on the list. - 15/03/2017 02:11:14 AM 477 Views
Russian history is as depressing as they come. - 15/03/2017 12:08:15 PM 470 Views
Read Figes first, I suppose. - 14/03/2017 10:55:23 PM 432 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 213 Views
Which books have you put off reading? *NM* - 15/03/2017 12:05:32 PM 200 Views
DEMONS and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV are the big two. - 15/03/2017 02:58:13 PM 422 Views
You don't necessarily need to know the history. - 15/03/2017 03:15:38 PM 457 Views
I'm always afraid I'm missing something critical, though! - 15/03/2017 03:50:59 PM 410 Views
Annotations are amazing. My eBook version of War and Peace was the same. - 15/03/2017 04:03:59 PM 430 Views
My High School English teacher neglected Russian literature. - 16/03/2017 01:46:29 AM 389 Views
Hmmmm. - 16/03/2017 01:18:14 PM 429 Views
Tolstoy was a reprehensible human being - 15/03/2017 04:02:52 PM 412 Views
I had no idea. I was under the impression he was deeply devout. - 16/03/2017 01:47:43 AM 424 Views
Here's one example: - 16/03/2017 02:06:45 AM 429 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 211 Views
Pavel Basinsky's bio is best - 16/03/2017 02:46:47 PM 594 Views
Getting it now. Thanks. *NM* - 16/03/2017 11:06:25 PM 203 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 482 Views
I think that's entirely incorrect. - 15/03/2017 04:00:54 PM 494 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 380 Views
Well if you want to completely redefine the phrase "just a thug", perhaps you're right - 16/03/2017 02:43:38 PM 409 Views
Good point - 16/03/2017 09:52:29 PM 540 Views
I hear what you're saying, but... - 16/03/2017 11:53:19 PM 435 Views
Attempt at clarification - 17/03/2017 12:55:03 AM 511 Views
Hehehe..."Fuck off" - 19/03/2017 05:23:49 PM 445 Views
Seems kind of nonsensical - 14/03/2017 01:33:49 AM 509 Views
Good reply. - 14/03/2017 12:57:47 PM 490 Views
They weren't really wrong - 14/03/2017 01:30:07 PM 525 Views
I do enjoy historical "what if" situations. - 14/03/2017 01:47:27 AM 423 Views
Hi there. - 14/03/2017 01:02:44 PM 393 Views
I still think democracy among those insidiously intrusive Western values Russia resists so fiercely - 14/03/2017 02:37:39 PM 500 Views
Is it your persistant anti-Russia bias that makes you so dogmatic? - 14/03/2017 02:51:23 PM 428 Views
I have no problem with Russia, only its government - 14/03/2017 03:07:14 PM 526 Views
Really? - 14/03/2017 03:15:10 PM 451 Views
What a terrible article - 14/03/2017 08:04:50 PM 402 Views
I thought you would think this way. - 15/03/2017 12:04:57 PM 482 Views
I can't decide what I think about Evans - 15/03/2017 04:10:05 PM 394 Views

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