The New Russia

Review of Stephen Cohen's Failed Crusade

Revolutions are often deeply disappointing. As opposition builds to an old regime, hopes for a better future grow exponentially. And when the old regime finally falls, the new utopia is supposed to arrive instantly. It never does. In all revolutions, the destroying of old institutions is easier than the building of new ones, and most great revolutions end in dictatorship -- a fact that ought to be kept in mind by champions of the revolution that brought an end to communism in Russia.