The Man Who Explained the Soviets to America

How George F. Kennan's Passion for Russia Colored Our Cold War Strategy

The enduring irony of George F. Kennan’s life was just how much the architect of America’s Cold War “containment” strategy—aimed at stopping Soviet expansionism—loved Russia.

Kennan arguably played a larger role in shaping the U.S.’s view of a major foreign power, and thus our relations with that power, than any other American in modern history. That the power in question was the Soviet Union, and the time in question the crucial period after World War II, made his outsized influence all the more remarkable.

He brought an authoritative blend …

Russia Has Been Many Things to Americans, Except an Ordinary Country

Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em, My Feeling Was We Should Study Those Elusive Soviets

The United States and Russia have been at loggerheads for so long now that their rivalry might seem to be a permanent feature of the international firmament. But just as …

KGB Seeks to Hire Well-Connected Patrician WASPs, Apply Discreetly

Why Did a Young, Harvard-Educated State Department Employee Pledge His Allegiance to Josef Stalin?

How does an idealist turn into a willing participant in murder? How does such a person—neither poor, nor socially deprived—learn to crush those he loves for the sake of …