006# - Russian Freedom Lost and Found with Mikhail Zygar

In this episode of The Long View, Michael Kimmage speaks with journalist and author Mikhail Zygar about The Dark Side of the Earth and the human dimensions of the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Zygar presents a personal and cultural history of the late Soviet period, highlighting how individual decisions, moral dilemmas, and cultural life shaped political outcomes. The conversation examines the significance of figures such as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the loss of ideological belief among the final Soviet generation, and the long term implications for post Soviet Russia.

This episode offers a deeper understanding of Soviet history through the lived experiences of those who witnessed its final decades.