#289 – Stephen Kotkin: Putin, Zelenskyy, and War in Ukraine

Stephen Kotkin is a historian specializing in Stalin and Soviet history. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Stephen’s Website: https://history.princeton.edu/people/stephen-kotkin
Stalin: 1878-1928(Vol 1): https://amzn.to/3NvokpC
Stalin: 1929-1941(Vol 2): https://amzn.to/3wIYqsT

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00)– Introduction
(10:17)– Putin and Stalin
(21:07)– Putin vs the West
(43:59)– Response to Oliver Stone
(55:05)– Russian invasion of Ukraine
(1:34:33)– Putin’s plan for the war
(1:42:32)– Henry Kissinger
(1:48:26)– Nuclear war
(1:59:00)– Parallels to World War II
(2:21:45)– China
(2:29:54)– World War III
(2:37:23)– Navalny
(2:41:40)– Meaning of life