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Is Russia an evil empire?
That question comes up in conversations about the current crisis in Ukraine.
Young readers may need an explanation. In March 1983, in a speech to evangelicals, President Ronald Reagan talked about American values, stating that it would be a mistake to remove ourselves “from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.” In that context, he mentioned “an evil empire,” revealing no names, but it was obvious that he was talking about the Soviet Union. It made history. As one might expect, critics were as vocal as supporters.
Was Reagan right calling the Soviet system evil?
The Reagan speech happened about three months after martial law was established in my native Poland, then in the Soviet Bloc. We saw a connection. Our memories of nine coal miners killed in Katowice, near where I lived, were still fresh; 10,000 people were detained, the curfew was still on, travel was restricted, and the use of phones was limited. We were under evil forces. Like most people I knew, I had my share of that national suffering. For us, Reagan’s speech was uplifting. We felt he understood our situation. And we rejoiced in those gloomy days seeing the Soviets upset.
In his Medium article “Western Blame For Escalating Tensions in The Ukraine,” Erik Engheim, who is Norwegian, writes: “When I grew up in the…
