Europe | Charlemagne

The man who told us so

What the West, and the Soviet Union’s victims, owe to Robert Conquest

THE intellectual history of the West in the 20th century was dominated by arguments over totalitarianism: its causes, effects—and possible justification. Even after flag-waving supporters of the Soviet Union had dwindled to irrelevance, the conviction that communism was a good idea poorly executed persisted in certain quarters. Others still thought the communist threat overstated, or drew equivalences between crimes committed in the name of socialism and those of Western anti-communism. The position that communism was a monstrously evil system responsible for unprecedented atrocities was held by only a minority of scholars. Robert Conquest, who died on August 3rd, was one of the most eloquent and implacable members of that camp. To the chagrin of his opponents, he turned out to be right.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The man who told us so”

Xi’s history lessons

From the August 15th 2015 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Europe

Polish soldiers in a tank participate in the Canadian Army Trophy tank competition at Adazi Military Base, Latvia

How Poland emerged as a leading defence power

Will others follow?

The Russian Army Attacked Kherson With Guided Bombs

Russian pilots appear to be hunting Ukrainian civilians

Residents of Kherson are dodging murderous drones


The “Trumpnado”, a wave shaped like Donald Trump's profile, crushing a boat with a European flag.

Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?

Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat


Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage

Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply

A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched

The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command

A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy

With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever