Understanding Ukraine and Belarus: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
RFE/RL was an unusual place, especially the canteen where people of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe would gather together with German staff and British and American researchers.
Glasnost in Ukraine in the Aftermath of Chernobyl
This chapter describes the author’s travel, stories and experiences in Ukraine and the Soviet Union during the initial implementation of Glasnost.
Western Education about Eastern Europe
This chapter describes the author’s travel, stories and experiences as a history professor and PhD student in Alberta, Canada.
Reflecting on the Limitations of Academic Freedom
For the first time in my experience, public opinion from outside the university had counted for more than scholarly achievement and peer evaluation within it.
Visiting Chernobyl and Kyiv in 1989
In nuclear power, man had harnessed a monster. While it may be true that every form of power production has its dangers, nothing is as irrevocable as the effects of a nuclear accident.
Understanding Ukraine and Belarus in 2020
In the former Soviet states, debates about the past are often the defining element of contemporary politics and Stalinism is still full of secrets yet to be discovered.
Belarusian Tales: Chernobyl’s Impact on Belarus and More
Both among the authorities and the opposition, there are good and bad people, there is no dividing line between them. That was also obvious in Communist times.
Returning to Chajsy, Belarus: Back to Stalin
The problems faced today seem even more complex than in the late 1980s when, in retrospect, there was more opportunity for open discussion.
Teaching and Publishing in Cambridge and Moscow
This chapter describes the author’s travel, stories and experiences teaching and publishing 20th Century Russian history books in Cambridge and Moscow.
Banned from Belarus
2010 was a watermark year. The signs for a freer election than in the past had been promising. But December marked a turning point, with candidates in prison on election night amidst Russian interference.
