Stephen Kotkin (sündinud 17. veebruaril 1959) on USA ajaloolane.
- /.../ pean silmas seda, et kui inimene juhtub võimule saama juhuse tahtel, siis jääb ta võimule üksnes sel juhul, kui ta suudab seda ka vallata. Ning Stalin oli suuteline ehitama selle [bolševistliku] diktatuuri sees üles isikliku diktatuuri. Ta oli kaval, ta oli halastamatu ja ta oli töönarkomaan. Ta oli väga püüdlik, tal oli fantastiline mälu ja nii ta mäletas inimeste nimesid ja nägusid ning sündmusi. Ning see oli talle väga kasulik selle masina ehitamisel, millest sai Nõukogude riik ja bürokraatia.
- /.../ my point is that when people come to power for contingent reasons, they don't stay in power unless they're able to manage it. And Stalin was able to build a personal dictatorship inside that [Bolshevist] dictatorship. He was cunning, he was ruthless, and he was a workaholic, he was very diligent, he had a phenomenal memory, and so he could remember people's names and faces, and events. And this was very advantageous for him, as he built the machine that became the Soviet state and bureaucracy.
- Stephen Kotkin, "Stephen Kotkin: Stalin, Putin, and the Nature of Power", Lex Fridman Podcast #63, 57:09, 3. jaanuar 2020
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
