Richard Pipes, the great Polish-American historian of Russia and the Russian Revolution, and a former adviser to President Ronald Reagan, died at the age of 94 on May 17, 2018. A cold warrior’s cold warrior, Pipes’s skepticism about Russia and those leading it continued well after communism’s fall – as this prescient article from the early days of Vladimir Putin’s rule attests.
BOSTON: Wide agreement exists among Russian intellectuals as well as foreign observers that one of the most important – if not the most important task – facing post-Soviet Russia is establishment of the rule of law, the foundation of democracy and a free market economy. Yet doubts persist whether President Putin and his associates realize this fact. Some of their actions and pronouncements suggest that in their pursuit of a "strong state," they may be willing to sacrifice law to political expediency.
BOSTON: Wide agreement exists among Russian intellectuals as well as foreign observers that one of the most important – if not the most important task – facing post-Soviet Russia is establishment of the rule of law, the foundation of democracy and a free market economy. Yet doubts persist whether President Putin and his associates realize this fact. Some of their actions and pronouncements suggest that in their pursuit of a "strong state," they may be willing to sacrifice law to political expediency.