Special Focus Archive

1989 WAS THE year that everyday's newspaper brought surprises. Millions of people were freed; thousands of international relations specialties were humiliated. Throughout the 90s, as postcommunist states prepared themselves for the democratic, market-oriented future, a small army of scholars trampled through the recently opened archives of the USSR and its allies.

New information fell out of these archives on a regular basis, prompting much debate. Without question, the opening of the archives was a gold mine for scholars, even as they struggled to distinguish the fool's gold from the real stuff. Meanwhile, the horrific wars in the ex-Yugoslavia reminded scholars that the New World Order was not any more peaceful than the old.

The Spy Who Loved Hegel by Matthew Price
He brought Hegel to Paris and invented the end of history. Now the French say Alexandre Kojeve spied for the Soviets.

The Killing of Professor Culianu by Ted Anton
The assassination of this University of Chicago religion scholar may have been the work of ex-communists, fascists, or some sinister combination of the two.

The Parallel University by Masha Gessen
A journey through Kosovo's secret classrooms.

Think Tanks Without A Country by Eric Alterman
The Soviet Union is no more. And that's only the beginning of Sovietology's problems.

Testaments Betrayed by Laura Secor
The untold story of how Yugoslavia's most admired intellectuals contributed to their country's demise.

The Archive Eaters by Eyal Press
Since the end of the Cold War, an avalanche of once top-secret files has landed on the heads of scholars. What do these documents really mean?

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