The Pete Quiñones Show Reading Solzhenitsyn's '200 Years Together' w/ Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson - Part 106
Jan 28, 2026
Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson, historian of Russian politics and ideology, provides commentary on Solzhenitsyn’s '200 Years Together'. They read Chapter 22 and discuss Stalinist policy, postwar repression, the Doctors’ Plot, Jewish resettlement plans like Birobidzhan and Crimea, wartime tensions over refugees, and shifts in Soviet national cadres and policy.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Father's Korean War Survival Shaped Parenting
- Matthew Raphael Johnson recounts his father's near-death experiences in the Korean War and how that shaped his parenting model.
- He credits his father’s survival and example for his own confidence in becoming a parent.
Stalin Stayed Within Marxist-Leninist Logic
- Matthew Raphael Johnson argues Stalin remained true to Marxist-Leninist principles rather than deviating from them.
- He links rejection of markets to inevitable planned economic control and totalitarian party dominance.
Quiet Bureaucratic Removal Of Jewish Influence
- Pete Quiñones and Matthew note post-war Soviet actions reduced Jewish influence via purges like the Anti-Fascist Committee crackdown.
- They say propaganda hid many shifts while internal bureaucratic reshuffles quietly removed Jews from key posts.
