Show notes
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">As a historian who worked in Russia’s archives for many years, can you
tell us how historians’ access to these archives has changed over the years?
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">You have written about the history of the NKVD under Stalin, in
particular about Nikolai Yezhov. To what extent can we talk about the personal
influence of people like Yagoda or Yezhov on the NKVD, or were they just doing
Stalin’s bidding?
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">You also wrote about the role of the NKVD and MGB in Central and Eastern
Europe from 1939. To what extent were the repressions against people of Polish
nationality similar to the Nazi repressions on the basis of race – an example
against people of Jewish origin?
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">Another topic you wrote about is that of Ivan Serov and the
post-Stalinist KGB. To what extent did the security services change in the
post-Stalin period, first as the KGB and then as the FSB?
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">Is there an explanation for why the security services played such an
important role in Soviet and Russian history? For example: in the book padding:0cm">From the Red Terror to the Mafia State: Russia’s Secret Services
in the Struggle for World Domination the authors [historian
Felshtinsky, who is not considered a historian by many, and former KGB
Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Popov (Canada)] write about the history of the
state security takeover in Russia, presenting developments in terms of a
confrontation between the Cheka-KGB and the Communist Party. In fact, did the
Chekists confront the Communists or were they basically all the same kind of
people?
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">Why are today’s authorities in Russia so interested in the study of
history?
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mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#3D3D3D;mso-fareast-language:
EN-GB">Are there any lessons in history? Including for the citizens of Russia?
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"Times New Roman",serif">Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook:
Read old newspapers and magazines! That was exactly the advice Nikita
Petrov got from his father. He taught him that reading the Soviet press would
be interesting later, after many years had passed. So Nikita Petrov, who had
studied to be a chemist, became a historian. In our latest podcast Nikit Petrov
told Simon Cosgrove and me about his love for collecting old newspapers and
magazines, how he stacked them in folders and read and re-read them. That's how
chemistry came to lose one scientist from its ranks but history gained a
remarkable specialist in the study of the Soviet security agencies. We all know
Nikita Vasilievich as the author and compiler of many works describing the
structure and functions of Soviet security services from 1917 to 1991. This
knowledge is very important to all of us today as people from these very
special services continue to occupy seats of power. And these people, having
gained access to the levers of power, act even more subtly than the preceding
genergation of Chekists. "Logic is turned inside out, black is repainted
white, and the crimes of the Soviet regimeare not condemned but justified,"
Nikita Petrov told us. "Today's attempt to recycle history and use it to
educate people in the spirit of patriotism is untenable. Such a policy will
only bring up a generation of cynics. However, people who can think for
themselves will figure things out, they will see for themselves it is all one
big lie."