Understanding history can be a two edged sword.  On the one hand it is imperative that we understand the forces that have shaped nations and peoples.  On the other hand, often when the present spends too much time sitting in judgment of the past, the future can be lost.   So, how can we understand the shared narrative of the past, while dispelling myths and embracing a kind of proactive historical consciousness? 

Nowhere is that more true than in Russia, and the nations of the former Soviet Union. It’s a place where the effort to reach escape velocity from the past seems forever limited by the gravitational pull of history, and a history that we are just beginning to understand.  Helping us to try and understand this history is Russian expert Orlando Figes.  His new book is Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991: A History

My conversation with Orlando Figes: