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Marhsall Goldman is a Professor of Economics Emeritus at Wellesley College and Senior Scholar at the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University. In his forthcoming book, Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia , Goldman chronicles Russia’s dramatic reemergence on the world stage, illuminating the key reason for its rebirth: the use of its ever-expanding energy wealth to reassert its traditional great power ambitions. In the article below Goldman reflects on Medvedev’s recent victory in the Russian elections and on what it means for Russia.

Dmitri Medvedev’s election (or more accurately, selection) as president of Russia was not much of a cliffhanger. By eliminating any viable contender, his patron, Vladimir Putin did all he could to ensure his protégé’s election. For many Russians, there was little point in even bothering to show up at the polling station–everything had been decided in advance. Except for Medvedev, no other candidate (or even a potential candidate) was allowed meaningful access to TV, much less campaign funding. Large public rallies were restricted, if not banned outright. (more…)

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Everyday this week we are posting part of a series from author Lynne Viola, The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements. Check out part one and part two and part three.

Luck and serendipity combined to provide unique and rich sources for the book. I was continually amazed at the degree of detail in the documents. Essentially, the Soviet secret police had documented some of its worst atrocities. The Soviet archives were marvelously intact.

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Yesterday we presented part 1 in a 5 part series about The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements by Lynn Viola. Today Viola takes us inside the archives in Moscow.

I could not have carried out the research for this book without access to archives, for the entire terrain of Stalin’s special settlements had remained a state secret throughout the Soviet era; even use of the term special resettlement was forbidden. Neither the word, nor the world of the special settlements, existed officially. (more…)

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Stalin’s reign over the Soviet Union has left many unanswered questions but in The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements Lynne Viola answers one: what happened to millions of peasants in the 1930’s. Viola, a Professor of History at the University of Toronto, has captured the day-to-day life of Stalin’s first victims by conducting research in the previously closed archives of the central and provincial Communist Party, the Soviet State, and the secret police.The OUPblog is proud to host Viola for the next five days as she brings us inside the archives and explains to us just how she was able to write this book. (more…)

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