Vladimir Lenin enacted universal, “cradle-to-grave” health coverage in the Soviet Union in 1918. The “right to health” was made one of the constitutional rights of all Soviet citizens; it ranked alongside the “right” to vacation, free dental care, housing, and a clean and safe environment. As in other fields, all services were to be planned...
The standoff between President Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament ended in flames and gunfire that can be compared to the sad scenes of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. Even the scare tactic of round-the-clock rap music was emulated by Russian spetsnats troops. Having crushed his opponents, Mr. Yeltsin returned Russia to its familiar...
No doubt Gorbachev has been entirely misunderstood in the West, and continues to be. The primary myth is that glasnost and perestroika represented fundamental change from the Soviet past. They did not establish Western-style economic or political freedom, as the media led Americans to believe. Instead, each was designed to “improve and perfect” the workings...
The Bolshevik Revolution’s 73rd anniversary set the stage for an angry dissident’s attempt to assassinate Mikhail Gorbachev at an outdoor rally. It would have been the first shot of the coming Russian revolution, which may be peaceful, but more likely not. Time is running out for peaceful change. Gorbachev’s new Treaty of the Union is...