https://youtu.be/OghTejqnBpY "How Putin Played the Game: Russia & International Sports in the Post-Soviet Era" (Talk by Dr. Bruce Berglund, Calvin University, 16 November 2022) After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, governing bodies in world sport banned Russian athletes and removed events from Russia. Leaders of these organizations referred to Russia's unprovoked attack on …
Category: Bruce Berglund
Bruce Berglund: Understanding Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine (video recording)
Why has Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine? In justifying the attack, the Russian president cited the history of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, as well as recent political events in Ukraine. A historian of the region helps us understand Putin's view of the post-Soviet world and how he pushed Russia into war.
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Summer Reading: On the Great Lakes and Gibson Guitars
The blog has been on hiatus for the summer. Most of the department faculty have been away on research trips or vacation, or buried deep in research. Summer is also a good time to catch up on reading, though; over the next few weeks, we'll be featuring brief recommendations on great books and articles that …
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Czesław Miłosz’s Century
by Bruce Berglund. While visiting a friend’s house recently, I noticed a new copy of Czesław Miłosz’s Collected Poems on his shelf. With my friend out of the room, I snuck the book down and turned to my favorite poems by Miłosz – which are my favorite poems by any poet. As a historian, I …
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November 1989: Moments that Change Your Life
by Bruce Berglund. Most of us remember exactly where we were when we first heard reports of certain historical events. My grandparents remembered where they were on the Sunday of December 7, 1941, while for my parents’ generation the crushing news came on November 22, 1963. Of course, all of us remember where we heard …
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History Podcasts and Other Recommended Listening
by Bruce Berglund Former students regularly ask me for suggestions of good books. Surprisingly, once they leave college, students miss having a slate of required books to occupy their time and exercise their brains. But rather than recommending some compelling reading, let me offer instead some compelling listening. I am a regular podcast listener. My …
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Historical Horizons 