Russian Nights Autocracy and Testimony

"""An extraordinary portrait of repression against freedom, that reverberates with contemporary authoritarianism and coercion threatening world democracy, by one of the most gifted Latin American writers and thinkers today."" Alejandro Varderi Professor, Manhattan College the City University of New York ""Whether the reader is touched by the courage of the survivors or horrified by the perverse cruelty of oppression and the annihilation of human life and the human spirit, this book completes the devastating landscape of the supposedly most advanced era of human history: the twentieth century. While the monstrous ""Third Reich"" forever looms ominously, the focus here is the insane Leninist and Stalinist regime (and implicitly its well-intentioned supporters on the Left) that murdered incalculable millions of human beings. Like the unspeakable words and images left behind by the vanished victims of the Holocaust, these testimonies from Russian survivors are as relevant to us as tomorrow's news because, out of ignorance, futile divisiveness, and indifference, we are on the brink of submitting to Autocracy, of allowing the Putins and the Trumps of the world to destroy civilization once again."" Suzanne Jill Levine Professor Emerita University of California, Santa Barbara ""After reading this powerful and effective account of the rise of modern autocracy by prolific, award-winning writer Roberto Echavarren, one cannot help but hark back to Montesquieu's sagacious advocacy for the separation of powers in governments. Russian Nights: Autocracy and Testimony lifts the veil of secrecy behind which autocrats hide and flourish; an incisive combination of judicious commentary and personal testimonies from those who have suffered under autocratic rule, this book reminds us how Lenin's single party gave rise to modern autocracy's thirst for political dominance at any cost."" Francisco Soto Professor, City University of New York (CUNY), former Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences ""In 'Russian Nights Autocracy and Testimony, ' poet and scholar Roberto Echavarren offers an intimate yet panoramic view of the horrors of Russia's totalitarianism under Lenin and Stalin. As the forces of autocracy have once again successfully clutched the gears of history (from Russia to the U.S., from China and Hungary to Brazil and Austria), this book is not only timely but an urgent appeal. In that spirit and through a heart-wrenching mosaic of first-person accounts, Echavarren gives us the true measure of the fragility of democracy and the extent to which autocracy, and even systemic and mass terror, is always and intractably a clear and present danger."" Pablo Baler Chair of Modern Languages and Literatures California State University, Los Angeles ""A profound and illuminating commentary on political power, incisive and thought-provoking, written with clarity and verve, this book is a combination of political essay and testimonials, a timely and singular account of autocracy in the 20th and 21st centuries, and a required reading for anyone interested in a chronicle of our times, by brilliant scholar Roberto Echavarren."" Elena M. Mart�nez Professor, Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center"