The European Union must face up to the real Russia
Appeasement isn’t working
WHEN ROBERT CONQUEST, a historian, was working on a new edition of “The Great Terror”, his seminal text on Stalin’s crimes, he was told to come up with a new title. The book had described the horrors of the Soviet Union at a time when apologism for it was still rife. By the time of the new version, freshly opened archives had vindicated Conquest’s account. His friend Kingsley Amis, a novelist, suggested a pithy new title: “I told you so, you fucking fools”.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “They told you so”
Europe February 13th 2021
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- France’s Emmanuel Macron must decide how to fight next year’s election
- Turkey’s president scapegoats gay-friendly students
- Shelters fear an influx of no-longer-wanted lockdown pets
- Mario Draghi is set to become Italy’s next prime minister
- The European Union must face up to the real Russia
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