#289 – Stephen Kotkin: Putin, Zelenskyy, and War in Ukraine

Lex Fridman Podcast

Stephen Kotkin is a historian specializing in Stalin and Soviet history. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Stephen’s Website: https://history.princeton.edu/people/stephen-kotkin
Stalin: 1878-1928 (Vol 1): https://amzn.to/3NvokpC
Stalin: 1929-1941 (Vol 2): https://amzn.to/3wIYqsT

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:17) – Putin and Stalin
(21:07) – Putin vs the West
(43:59) – Response to Oliver Stone
(55:05) – Russian invasion of Ukraine
(1:34:33) – Putin’s plan for the war
(1:42:32) – Henry Kissinger
(1:48:26) – Nuclear war
(1:59:00) – Parallels to World War II
(2:21:45) – China
(2:29:54) – World War III
(2:37:23) – Navalny
(2:41:40) – Meaning of life