Writing for the WaPo Book World Leon Aron reviews two new books on Stalin and his henchmen, one by Robert Service and the other by Donald Rayfield. Great review of two worthy books. The horror is almost beyond telling.
Leon Aron also has a lengthy analysis
(PDF file, 9 pages) of the move away from liberalization in Russia under Putin.
Aw, come on now. Stalin wasnt such a bad guy!! After all, he has given conservatives a good idea for how to deal with "activist judges" like Justice Kennedy.