Russia's Historical Populism and Putin's Choices

History is not just the facts about the past. It is, as E.H. Carr put it, “an unending dialogue between the past and the present.”  I was reminded of this phrase recently when the publication of my book on Russian populism coincided almost exactly with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  All of a sudden this book, which had been written during the luxury of a time when calm reassessment of the past was possible, began to look like a rather different creature.  Before February 2022 Putin’s Russia was hardly a free or peaceful place, but it did not yet imperil the world, threaten to bring about a renewal of the Cold War, nor forcibly remove Russia from communication with outsiders.  All of that changed, seemingly in an instant, and now the book seemed, strangely enough, to tell a somewhat different story.  Before it had been a story of creativity, resilience, and failed dreams. It still tells that story, but now the creativity and resilience seem more regrettable and the failed dreams seem more disturbing and ominous.