Stephen Cohen‘s classes on Soviet politics, Soviet foreign policy, and Russian history dominated course loads at Princeton for decades. Cohen‘s take on the Soviet Union and leaders such as Bukharin, Gorbachev, and Putin made him an outlier among America’s Russia scholars but it was thrilling to take his classes and engage him directly. This episode takes a look at what made Cohen a phenomenon; with Nils Muiznieks and Dave Powelstock (Cohen students who became Russia scholars).

Discussed in this episode:

Stephen F. Cohen, Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution

Stephen F. Cohen, Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War

Karen Dawisha, Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?

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