Every revolution is a surprise. Still, the latest Russian Revolution must be counted among the greatest of surprises. The failure of Western experts to anticipate the Soviet Union's collapse may in part be attributed to a sort of historical revisionism -- call it anti-anti-communism -- that tended to exaggerate the Soviet regime's stability and legitimacy.

Though no longer a Cold War rival, Russia continues to pose immense challenges for the United States. The Kremlin’s perception of Russia as an “independent pole in a multi-polar world” often results in Russian policies that place the country at odds with the West. Russia’s current political elites are determined to prevent—and in some cases roll back—color revolutions in the former Soviet Union. They fear that successful democratization on Russia’s periphery will rouse similar demands at home. Regardless, the Kremlin’s ineffective authoritarian governance has stimulated a wave of large-scale protests in recent months that likely mark the beginning of Russia’s transition away from the Vladimir Putin era.

In two powerful speeches that took place twenty-five years ago this March, President Ronald Reagan dealt what would ultimately prove to be lethal blows to the moral and material foundations of the Soviet Union. On March 8, 1983, Reagan described the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and as “the...

With Europe collapsing, China stumbling, and India and Brazil retreating from full free market reform, we’re the last stable, pro-growth economy left.  

On November 13, AEI will host a lecture by Yegor Gaidar, acting prime minister during the first government of President Boris Yeltsin and the architect of the free-market revolution in post-Soviet Russia. Mr. Gaidar will relate the lessons of the Soviet state’s failure to the new direction of the Kremlin...

Everyone knows presidents have larger-than-life size egos. It goes with the job. But changes on the official White House website reveal that we've never had a self-regarding narcissist quite like the oval Office's current occupant.