When I first taught a Russian History elective in the early 1990's my students were exuberant that the United States had "won the Cold War." My response was always: the Cold War has taken a hiatus. Once we finished studying Russian History, they would better understand. I quoted Mikhail Suslov, one of the Soviet era's most prominent ideologues, stating that the triumph of the Communist state might mean taking steps backward in order to move forward.

Attending an educator conference that began in St Petersburg, our local guide, a highly educated and erudite critic of the "West," matter-of-factly told us that Gobachev had sold out to the West and was not highly regarded. Things would eventually be corrected and the old Soviet Union would rise again. 

Today, Mr. Putin's desire to invade and annex all of Ukraine is another important step in restoring the old system, the old strategic plan. Russia would never be surrounded again by hostile powers. Europe and the United States have never fully understood that. In the U.S., we - today, know very little about Russia. When I was attending a public high school, the Russian language was offered (as well as Chinese). But that was shortly after the Sputnik years and the Iron Curtain mentality. 

We have forgotten all of that and now the world is more dangerous. That is why history is so damned important.