Recalling the Legacy of Professor Stephen F. Cohen
I was
deeply saddened—and still in shock and grief—to learn of the death of
Professor Stephen F. Cohen, not only because his was a
voice of sanity and reason, a voice for peace in an increasingly fractured
world, but also because personally I was always excited and delighted to read
his books and see his appearances, on television with Tucker Carlson and on
alternative news platforms, including The Grayzone, RT, and even an interview with
Lew Rockwell. Another example is that with Professor Cohen’s
permission, Ron Unz created an extensive
database of his writings on his site. Despite differences in
political views, Professor Cohen never hesitated to speak to those who were
willing to listen, to those interested in peace, to those willing to learn the
truth and not be swayed by propaganda and lies.
What made, to me, Professor Cohen unique and
special was not limited to his great knowledge, his warmth, his kindness, his
scholarship; no, to me it was his conscience, that is he looked at the “enemy,”
specifically the Russian people, and saw in them human beings who had suffered
greatly and saw a missed opportunity in America not respecting and working with
Russia to the mutual benefit of both nations. Not only in his interviews but in his books this perspective is
made very clear, and his written work is an important legacy that those who
love peace and do not fall prey of the dictates of those in power in America
who want to make enemies out of entire nations—not just Russia—will find words
of great power in his published writings. Among his books, Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives, Professor Cohen discussed roads not taken, that
many of the worst aspects of the Soviet Union might not have come into being
and, how perhaps most relevant to us now, that the breakup of the Soviet Union
that caused a catastrophic loss of life comparable to war, was clearly
avoidable and that the policies of the Obama administration set into motion
this “new cold war” (centered in Ukraine) or since it is more dangerous, to use
a British expression, a “war of nerves” that is resulting in casualties.
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In his
earlier book, Failed Crusade, Professor Cohen
writes a work that “shows that what US officials and other experts call
‘reform’ has for most Russians been a catastrophic development―namely the
unprecedented de-modernization of a twentieth-century country―and for the
United States the worst foreign policy disaster since Vietnam” and “an
indictment of American journalists and policy makers who failed to see or
report the truth about the complicity of U.S. policy in a great human tragedy.” That Russia has now turned around so completely is certainly remarkable
and a testament to those officials in its government—including President
Putin—who wanted to reverse the devastation and help their suffering people
live normal lives.
In The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag After Stalin Professor
Cohen writes of the human cost of Stalin’s Gulags, for “During the Stalin
years, it is thought that more innocent men, women and children perished than
in Hitler’s destruction of the European Jews. Many millions died in Stalin’s
Gulag of torture prisons and forced-labour camps, yet others survived and were
freed after his death in 1953. This book is the story of the survivors. Long
kept secret by Soviet repression and censorship, it is now told by renowned
author and historian Stephen F. Cohen, who came to know many former Gulag
inmates during his frequent trips to Moscow over a period of thirty years.
Based on first-hand interviews with the victims themselves and on newly available
materials, Cohen provides a powerful narrative of the survivors’ post-Gulag
saga, from their liberation and return to Soviet society, to their long
struggle to salvage what remained of their shattered lives and to obtain
justice.”
But more than writing history, giving a voice
to the victims, Professor Cohen showed his compassion towards the victims
personally, in his kindness towards the widow of Bukharin, which was revealed
in the obituary published by The New York Times, “Stephen F. Cohen, Influential Historian of Russia, Dies
at 81.”
A prolific writer who mined Soviet archives, Professor Cohen
first came to international attention in 1973 with “Bukharin and the Bolshevik
Revolution,” a biography of Lenin’s protégé Nikolai Bukharin, who envisioned
Communism as a blend of state-run industries and free-market agriculture.
Critics generally applauded the work, which was a finalist for a National Book
Award.
“Stephen Cohen’s full-scale study of Bukharin
is the first major study of this remarkable associate of Lenin,” Harrison Salisbury’s wrote in a review in The Times.
“As such it constitutes a milestone in Soviet studies, the byproduct both of
increased academic sophistication in the use of Soviet materials and also of
the very substantial increase in basic information which has become available
in the 20 years since Stalin’s death.”
After Lenin’s death, Mr. Bukharin became a victim of Stalin’s
Moscow show trials in 1938; he was accused of plotting against Stalin and
executed. His widow, Anna Mikhailovna Larina, spent 20 years in exile and in
prison camps and campaigned for Mr. Bukharin’s rehabilitation, which was
endorsed by Mr. Gorbachev in 1988.
Ms. Larina and Professor Cohen became friends. Given access to
Bukharin archives, he found and returned to her the last love letter that Mr.
Bukharin wrote her from prison.
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His most recent book is War with Russia?: From Putin & Ukraine to Trump &
Russiagate, a collection
and expansion of his radio broadcast conversations with John Batchelor, many of
which were published on LewRockwell.com, warning of the risk of a “hot
war” with Russia now that formal avenues of communication and alternative means
of indirect contact, such as the ones used by President Kennedy, no longer
exist. An excerpt from the book was published on LewRockwell.com here, “Russiagate or Intelgate?,” in which Professor
Cohen’s thesis now appears vindicated, as recent coverage and facts emerge.
Aaron Maté’s piece for Real Clear Investigations, “Analysis: That Senate ‘Collusion’ Report? It’s Got No
Smoking Gun … but It Does Have a Fog Machine” provides additional
facts but of course ZeroHedge’s recent piece continues with
the “Russia Bad” thesis no matter what: Russia didn’t collaborate with Trump
but with Hillary Clinton! I can imagine Professor Cohen
shaking his head in bewilderment at the bullheaded ignorance and fanaticism of
the establishment. Martin Armstrong recently wrote “Brennan Confirmed RussiaGate was
Created by Hillary,” which of course vindicates Professor Cohen’s
consistently positing “Intelgate” not Russiagate.
Since I never had the honor of either meeting
or speaking with Professor Cohen, I am delighted a wonderful tribute to him was
written by Lev Golonkin, “Stephen F. Cohen Kept the Faith” and the
following is an excerpt:
In the spring of 2014, a war
broke out in my homeland of Ukraine. It was a horrific war in a bitterly
divided nation, which turned eastern Ukraine into a bombed-out wasteland. But
that’s not how it was portrayed in America. Because millions of eastern
Ukrainians were against the US-backed government, their opinions were
inconvenient for the West. Washington needed a clean story about Ukraine fighting
the Kremlin; as a result, US media avoided reporting about the “wrong” half of
the country. Twenty-plus million people were written out of the narrative, as
if they never existed.
I tried to explain to American friends what was happening, but
quickly realized that ultimately, even friends believe what they read in the
newspapers, and the newspapers were pushing the Washington line.
Except for Steve Cohen. Steve was the only major figure in
America who insisted on remembering the Russian-speaking Ukrainians who, like
my family members, distrusted and hated the new Kiev government. He spoke of
neo-Nazi paramilitiaries who fought for the US-backed government committing war
crimes against civilians in eastern Ukraine. He spoke the truth, regardless of
how unwieldy it was.
And so I e-mailed him, asking for guidance as I began my own
writing career. Of course, there were many who clamored for Steve’s time, but I
had an advantage over others. Steve and I were both night owls, real night
owls, the kind who have afternoon tea at three am. It was then, when the east
coast was sleeping, that he became my mentor and friend.
There’s a lot to say about Steve. He was extraordinarily kind,
never forgetting that in geopolitics, the ones who have the most to lose aren’t
strategists but everyday individuals impacted by policy. He was a consummate
teacher, insisting on giving mentees the skills to navigate the world, a real
proponent of the Teach a man to fish philosophy. He had facets and stories and
memories; he lived life with empathy and gusto.
But one thing Steve taught me is to stick to my strengths, and
truth be told, there are others who can describe his life better than I. I’ll
stick to what I learned during our conversations at three in the morning, which
is that, above all else, Stephen F. Cohen was a man of faith.
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Yes, Stephen F. Cohen was a man of faith and a
man of conscience; perhaps by providence, a website I visit recently published
an article about Conscience, from a religious perspective: “CONSCIENCE: God’s
Voice In Mankind;” I don’t know if Prof. Cohen was religious to any
extent or believed in God, but to me, his conscience—as all of us despite our
sins have to varying degrees—was a gift to him from God and in him it was
exceptionally powerful; his writing, his deeds, his goodness, his personal
strength, his standing up for his beliefs no matter the “slings and arrows”
hurled against him by far lesser people testified to that.
The author wrote:
The study of the relationship of conscience to the spiritual
attributes of man is the domain of psychology. Psychologists attempt to clarify
two issues: a) Is conscience an attribute of man with which he is born, or is
it the result of learning and encountering life’s experiences in the
environment in which he develops? b) Is conscience a result of the way our
mind, feelings, and will operate, or is it an independent characteristic?
In response to the first question, closer examination of man’s
conscience convinces us that it is not the result of learned attitude or
physical instinct in man, but has an unexplainable higher source. For example,
children develop conscience before any adult teaching or modeling takes place.
If physical instinct dictated to conscience, then it would induce man to behave
in a profitable or pleasurable way. However, conscience often induces man to do
that which is unprofitable or unpleasant. In spite of the appearance that
evildoers enjoy the good life and virtuous people suffer, conscience tells us
that a higher justice must exist. Eventually all have to receive their just
reward. The universal presence of conscience for many people is the most
convincing argument for God’s existence and the immortality of the soul…
The Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans explains in some
detail how moral law works in man.
The Apostle reproaches those who know the
written Law of God but willfully violate it. He contrasts them with the pagans
who not having a written Law, naturally observe the prescriptions of the Law.
By this they show that the process of the Law is written in their hearts which
is witnessed by their conscience and thoughts, which either punish or justify
one another (Rom. 2:14-15). According to St. Paul, on the forthcoming Judgment Day God will
judge men not only according to their faith, but also according to their
conscience. Thus even the pagans may be saved if their conscience will witness
to God their righteous life. [Emphasis added.]
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Professor Cohen will no longer speak to us in
new writings, in new interviews, in new books. But the legacy of this great man
of conscience shall remain with us and all of us are truly blessed to listen to
his voice of reason, promoting peace and righteous conduct against all odds, a
voice which resounds within us even now, just as if not more powerfully, and
reminds us to cultivate and listen to our own conscience;
would that more human beings had been gifted as Professor Cohen was.
God bless you, Professor Cohen; you have the
gratitude of so many people who never were given the blessing to
thank you personally for all that you’ve done, for your sacrifices, for your
wisdom, for your patient suffering, and for your goodness; I shall miss you
more that I have the power to express, but perhaps this will do: “Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called be sons of God. Blessed are they
that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.”
For I have no doubt you are in God’s loving
embrace and Eternal Light now.
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Yvonne Lorenzo [send her email]
makes her home in New England in a house full to bursting with books, including
works on classical Greece and Russian history and literature, and has
contributed to LewRockwell.com, Unz.com and to TheSaker.is. Her interests
include gardening, mythology, ancient history, The Electric Universe, and
classical music, especially the compositions of Handel, Mozart, Bach, Haydn,
Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Wagner and the Bel Canto repertoire. She is the
author of he Spear of Odin Trilogy: , and
the just published .
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/10/yvonne-lorenzo/a-man-of-conscience-a-tribute-to-professor-stephen-f-cohen/