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June 06, 2004

The Larger Tribute

Steven Green has an observation on the Reagan Legacy from back when it was still being formed:

One thing I did understand, and remember vividly today, was his visceral reaction to the name "Reagan." His eyes lit up at its mention, and he spoke in great animation of the portrait of a former American President that hung in a place of honor in his home. "People say, ‘he was just actor,'" he said, "but I know—WE know. Reagan..." his English failed for a moment, and finally he pounded a fist into his other hand in pantomime.

"Beat?" I offered.

"Beat! Yes, beat!" He cried. "Reagan BEAT Communism! We know! And we will never forget!"

In the mid-nineties - when the geniuses who make up the entertainment community were too busy laughing about Reagan's incipient Alzheimers to read any recent history - I worked with a Ukranian gentleman. We different in many ways - I the conservative American, he the new-agey socialist European in many ways. But on the topic of Reagan, he was clear and as effusive as his fragmented English allowed; "Reagan Sefft Ze Verelt vrum Kommunissem" punctuated his observations. He noted the number of families in Poland that kept photos of Reagan near that of Karol Woytyla.

Posted by Mitch at June 6, 2004 10:10 AM
Comments

Anyone born in the US after 1970 probably doesn't understand how having the idea in 1987 that Soviet communism would fall any time in the next 30 years seemed like a crazy pipe dream. I was young liberal at the time and did not understand Ronald Reagan's powerful vision in the least. He made it happen.

History will give a great thanks to President Reagan.

We are now at a similar historical juncture.

President Reagan once said that he didn't understand how anyone could effectively act as president of the US without acting training.

Let us hope that George W. Bush is spending some time learning the state craft of Reagan.

Posted by: Michael S at June 6, 2004 07:54 PM

Worth noting as well:

He is vividly remembered in Russia today as the force that precipitated the Soviet collapse.

"Reagan bolstered the U.S. military might to ruin the Soviet economy, and he achieved his goal,'' said Gennady Gerasimov, who served as top spokesman for the Soviet Foreign Ministry during the 1980s.

...

"Reagan's SDI was a very successful blackmail,'' Gerasimov told The Associated Press. "The Soviet Union tried to keep up pace with the U.S. military buildup, but the Soviet economy couldn't endure such competition.''

Yelena Bonner, the widow of Soviet dissident Nobel Prize winner Andrei Sakharov, praised Reagan for his tough course toward the Soviet Union.

"I consider Ronald Reagan one of the greatest U.S. presidents since the World War II because of his staunch resistance to Communism and his efforts to defend human rights,'' Bonner said in a telephone interview from her home in Boston. ``Reagan's policy was consistent and precise, and he had a great talent of choosing the right people for his administration.''

Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, 61, remembered Reagan fondly for his humor and his toughness.

"His phrase, 'evil empire,' became a household word in Russia,'' said Bukovsky, who now lives in Cambridge, England. "Russians like a staightforward person, be he enemy or friend. They despise a wishy-washy person.''John Kerry, call your office!

Posted by: kb at June 7, 2004 02:02 PM

Shoot, Mitch, why don't my links show up?

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/06/07/003.html for the previous post.

Posted by: kb at June 7, 2004 02:03 PM
hi