War and Rumors of War

It could be said that there is a dark cloud hanging over this issue.

Blame it on the number 2.

You see, we tend to run historical features around about the time of their significant, round anniversaries. And it turns out that this fall there are two rather momentous ones.

First, September is the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, an event which, after World War II (The Great Patriotic War) may have had the most profound effect on Russian culture and society.

Not only was this war immensely destructive to human life and property, it set in motion events that would significantly alter Russia and its place in the world, from the rise of Russia as a major European power, to the abolition of serfdom, the invention of terrorism and the eventual fall of the monarchy.

Second, October is the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis (which Russian historians still insist on calling the Caribbean Crisis). This event too set historical forces in motion, from the unseating of Nikita Khrushchev, to the crystallization of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, to decades of superpower rivalry in the Third World and acceleration of the arms race.

We decided the best way to deal with both of these monumental events would be not to present larger historical treatments or essays on significance, but instead focus on the words and deeds of people who lived through these events.

As a result of this tack, we have Alexander Mikaberidze’s excellent compilation of first person memoirs and letters from 1812, and Nikolai Dolgopolov’s profile of Alexander Feklisov – the head KGB resident in Washington who helped defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis. Often the story of people on the ground is far more compelling than sweeping historical accounts.

Speaking of ground, Levi Bridges (who readers will remember as one of the young Americans who biked across the breadth of Russia, see Russian Life Mar/Apr 2011) covered a vast quantity of ground for his story in this issue about North (and South) Koreans in Siberia and the Russian Far East. Russia, like the United States, is a melting pot of cultures, languages and traditions. The exploration of this particular cultural nexus tells us much about how Russia will evolve in the future, as economic and political forces pull it increasingly eastward. And it is particularly timely given this month’s APEC conference in Vladivostok.

Enjoy the issue!

p.s. A huge thank you to all the Russian Life readers (and non-readers) who helped make our Kickstarter project for The Silk Road Trilogy a great success. Translation is underway and the first book (The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas) will be released next fall. For more information on the project, visit silkroadtrilogy.com.