In this episode of The Long View, Michael Kimmage speaks with Oxana Shevel (Tufts University) and Serhii Plokhy (Harvard University) about the history and future of Ukrainian studies.

The conversation explores how Ukrainian studies emerged in North America through the efforts of diaspora communities and scholars who sought to develop academic research on Ukraine’s language, history, and culture. The discussion also examines how Cold War scholarship often focused on Moscow, leaving Ukrainian perspectives underrepresented.

Following Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the field expanded rapidly as scholars began exploring new questions about Ukrainian identity, politics, and civil society. Shevel and Plokhy discuss how archival access, interdisciplinary approaches, and contemporary geopolitical developments are shaping the next generation of Ukrainian studies.

The episode highlights why understanding Ukraine’s history and intellectual traditions is essential for interpreting current events and the broader dynamics of Eastern Europe.

In this episode of The Long View, historian Jochen Hellbeck discusses his book World Enemy No. 1: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the Fate of the Jews.

Drawing on newly uncovered archival materials and firsthand accounts from both German and Soviet sources, Hellbeck explores how Nazi ideology shaped Germany’s war against the Soviet Union and its Jewish population. The conversation examines the role of the concept of “Judeo-Bolshevism,” the ideological foundations of the war in the East, and the ways propaganda and historical narratives influenced the violence of the Second World War.

The discussion also reflects on how memory politics in Russia, Europe, and the West continue to shape interpretations of the war today.

Jochen Hellbeck is Professor of History at Rutgers University and a leading scholar of Soviet and wartime history.

In this episode of The Long View, historian Maurice Casey discusses his book Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten Radicals.

The conversation explores Moscow in the 1920s as a global hub for revolutionary movements and focuses on the Hotel Lux, a residence for foreign communists connected to the Comintern. At its peak, the hotel brought together activists, intellectuals, and political idealists from across Europe and beyond.

Maurice Casey draws on extensive archival research to tell the stories of these often forgotten radicals, examining their hopes for a new world, the cultural life that developed in Moscow, and the devastating impact of Stalin’s rise to power.

The discussion also highlights the important roles played by women in revolutionary networks, the significance of Jewish identity among many activists, and the lasting historical legacy of this international community.

A fascinating look at the human stories behind twentieth century revolutionary politics.

Sophie Pinkham joins The Long View to discuss The Oak and the Larch, her cultural and historical study of forests in Russia and its empires.

This episode explores how forests function as symbols of identity, power, refuge, and destruction. Pinkham connects literary traditions, imperial expansion, and contemporary geopolitics, showing how landscapes shape national narratives.

From Chekhov and Tolstoy to modern warfare and the Bialowieza forest, this conversation reveals the forest as a central force in Russian cultural memory.

A discussion about nature, empire, and the stories nations tell about themselves.

In this episode of The Long View, historian Alissa Klots discusses her book Domestic Service in the Soviet Union: Women’s Emancipation and the Gendered Hierarchy of Labor.

Rather than portraying domestic labor simply as a vestige of inequality, Klots explores how it functioned differently within the Soviet system. Women were not confined to service roles. They could and often did move between domestic work, factory employment, and other sectors of the socialist economy. Domestic labor could offer income, mobility, and forms of agency within a broader framework of state-driven emancipation.

This conversation examines:

• How domestic service operated under socialism

• Women’s labor mobility and economic opportunity

• The gendered hierarchy of work in Soviet society

• What everyday labor reveals about power and social structure

A nuanced discussion of gender, work, and agency in the Soviet Union.

The recording is a conversation with Professor Susan Grunewald about her book "From Incarceration to Repatriation: German Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union." The discussion covers the historical context and treatment of German POWs by the Soviets, the methods used in Grunewald's research, and the political implications of POW re-education. Grunewald shares insights into the archival sources she used, the challenges of mapping POW camps, and the broader historical narratives of post-war Europe. The conversation also touches on the differences in POW treatment between the Soviet Union and contemporary Russia, as well as the role of POWs in the reconstruction of East Germany.

What does the Russian economy look like after years of war and sanctions, and could Western businesses ever return?

In this episode of The Long View, Charles Hecker and Thane Gustafson discuss how Russia’s business landscape has changed since Western companies exited the market. They examine the political dimensions of commercial engagement, the rise of new domestic players, and why re entering Russia would mean operating in a fundamentally different environment.

The conversation also looks closely at the energy sector, where the loss of Western technology and investment has created long term risks. The speakers assess the broader economic impact of sanctions, declining investment in civilian industries, and Russia’s growing reliance on China, while questioning how durable that partnership really is.

This episode offers a measured assessment of Russia’s economic trajectory and the structural challenges shaping its future.

In this episode of The Long View, Michael Kimmage is joined by S. Frederick Starr, founding director of the Kennan Institute, for a wide ranging conversation about his memoir Blue Skies: My Life in Many Worlds.

Starr reflects on the places and experiences that shaped his scholarly career, the founding of the Kennan Institute in 1974, and the role of cultural history in understanding Russia, the Soviet Union, and the post Soviet space. The discussion highlights how institutions are created, how academic fields develop, and why long view thinking remains vital for public understanding.

A thoughtful reflection on memory, scholarship, and the intellectual foundations of the Kennan Institute.

In this episode of The Long View, Michael Kimmage speaks with journalist and author Mikhail Zygar about The Dark Side of the Earth and the human dimensions of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Zygar presents a personal and cultural history of the late Soviet period, highlighting how individual decisions, moral dilemmas, and cultural life shaped political outcomes. The conversation examines the significance of figures such as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the loss of ideological belief among the final Soviet generation, and the long term implications for post Soviet Russia.

This episode offers a deeper understanding of Soviet history through the lived experiences of those who witnessed its final decades.

Historian Ben Nathans joins Michael Kimmage and Maria Lipman to discuss the Soviet dissident movement and the research behind his new book, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause. The conversation explores how dissidents used law, rights, and decentralized samizdat networks to challenge an authoritarian state that had lost ideological conviction.

Nathans reflects on the movement’s key turning points, its most influential figures, and the lessons contemporary leaders still draw from this history. Topics range from political trials and constitutional activism to Jewish emigration, Solzhenitsyn’s singular role and the long arc between Soviet dissidents and figures like Navalny.

Key themes:
• Dissidents as a collective movement
• The KGB’s struggle to interpret legalistic resistance
• Samizdat as a medium of circulation and community
• How political trials shaped public consciousness
• The Soviet Union as a “lip service” state
• Continuities between past and present dissent