The Soviet Bid to Run the World

 What drove Soviet foreign policy during the Cold War? Scholars have argued over this question during and after the end of the superpower staredown between the United States and the Soviet Union. Was it ideology? A desire to dominate the world? Spread revolution? All? None? Now, enters Sergey Radchenko with To Run the World: The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power, a new, psychological interpretation of Kremlin decision making. Soviet leaders, Radchenko says, were driven by a desire for recognition as a great power from the West, primarily the US and to maintain the USSR’s as the leader of global revolution. Their attempts to reconcile this tension fed Soviet ambitions, recklessness, and even pragmatism. The Eurasian Knot spoke with Radchenko about this enduring desire among Russia’s leaders and how this quest for global power continues to reverberate in our world. Guest: Sergey Radchenko is the Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He has written extensively on the Cold War, nuclear history, and on Russian and Chinese foreign and security policies. His new book is To Run the World: The Kremlin’s Cold War Bid for Global Power published by Cambridge University Press. Send us your sounds! https://euraknot.org/contact/  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/euraknot  Knotty News: https://eurasianknot.substack.com/ Website: https://euraknot.org/