Russia avoided a post-1991 reckoning with its Soviet past (no equivalent of the Nuremberg trials or de-Nazification) because Yeltsin feared that moving too fast against the KGB would spur a counter-revolution; this failure allowed a KGB figure like Putin to later resurrect imperial narratives and blame the West.
causalpending
Speaker
Michael McFaulEvidence Quote
“They were afraid that if we went too fast and too hard against the KGB, that might spur a counter-revolution. And as a result of that, a guy like Putin can come along from the KGB”
Source
“They’re Not Like Us”: Michael McFaul on Autocrats vs. Democrats and the Fight for the 21st Century— Hoover InstitutionCreated: 6/18/2026, 1:57:41 PM
My Notes
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