Communism

The Man Who Tore Down the Wall

Gorbachev was different from all his predecessors. He knew how cruel the Soviet system was.

Passing the Baton
Passing the Baton

As the generation that grew up in and saw the collapse of the USSR, Generation X is uniquely positioned to lead the US as it drifts into the second Cold War.

China—As a Chinese Sees It
China—As a Chinese Sees It

Why did the CCP grow so strong? George Dsang explains in this Christianity and Crisis article from 75 years ago.

Stirred never Shaken: Our Sir John Wheeler-Bennett
Stirred never Shaken: Our Sir John Wheeler-Bennett

We were stirred, never shaken, by our real-life James Bond figure. Sir John Wheeler-Bennett was the picture of an English aristocrat, without a hint of stuffiness. So genial, so approachable, we young University of Virginia students were thrilled by each of his lectures on diplomatic history—especially about anything on England and Germany in the interwar period.

Five Impressions on Niebuhr and Co., 1945–47

From 1945 to 1947 as the United States and Soviet Union moved toward the Cold War, Christian realists writing for Reinhold Niebuhr’s journal, Christianity and Crisis, responded to global dilemmas. Here are five impressions of those articles, along with lessons for today.

The War through Mosfilm’s Eyes

The Mosfilm war movies collection greatly enhances understanding of the political psychology of contemporary Russian external aggression, especially the otherwise almost inexplicable official framing of the Ukrainian invasion

Extending Love in Response to Hatred and Humiliation
Extending Love in Response to Hatred and Humiliation

“Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred!” is how Václav Havel ended his speech to a crowd of freedom-longing people gathered in Prague on December 10, 1989. This statement was one of the slogans of the Velvet Revolution and embodied the overall spirit of this unparalleled historical event.

Is It Time to Preach Optimism? - Hope Pessimism
Is It Time to Preach Optimism?

Recognizing the place for a genuine religious hope born of faith and for an enthusiasm for realization of social and ethical gains in any historical situation, Christianity will nevertheless, when true to itself, set its face against utopianism or popular brands of optimism.

Niebuhr’s Report from Switzerland, 1947
Niebuhr’s Report from Switzerland, 1947

At the end of Reinhold Niebuhr’s travels across Western Europe in 1947, he spent a week at the Ecumenical Institute, a facility near Geneva. He was hopeful of how this project would bless the church life of the world, and he offered observations about discussions there about communism, church-state relations, Christian political parties, and more.