Back in 2011 I had the pleasure of speaking with Oleg Atbashan, author of Shakedown Socialism: Unions, Pitchforks, Collective Greed, the Fallacy of Economic Equality, and other Optical Illusions of “Redistributive Justice.”

He shared with me some startling personal recollections of life in Ukraine—and, by extension, anywhere in the former USSR before the spectacular collapse of communism in Europe, starting with the Berlin Wall in 1989.

He also reflected on the circumstances, events and government policies that led to the Holodomor (1932-33 famine-genocide in Ukraine) and why in his view the western world is on the brink of repeating history from the darkest days of communism in eastern Europe.

Oleg is an American who emigrated from Ukraine in the early 1990s. He fully expected to find a bastion of capitalism and opportunity in America but instead, felt like he had stepped back in time. He was astounded by the multitude of naive Americans who, like socialist idealists of the early 20th century, firmly believed in the figment of socialist utopia.

Hence his book.

Oleg Atbashian has a wicked wit to match his clarity of thought and keen observation skills. You can see him in action on his websites The People’s Cube and Shakedown Socialism and by following him on Facebook. (Sadly, he is not on Twitter.) You will also see how his dire predictions are unfolding in America, including soviet-style censorship he experienced from social media sites like Google and Wikipedia.

Enjoy the interview!