NOSTALGIA FOR THE IRON CURTAIN.

NOSTALGIA FOR THE IRON CURTAIN. My other reaction to the Russian invasion of Georgia is disappointment—no, revulsion—at the casual reaction of so many commentators to the threat to all the former Russian satellites. A large body of opinion says that we should look at things from Russia’s point of view—surrounded by hostile countries (which evidently pose the threat of providing a democratic example). It is further said that we should grant Russia the right to the sphere of influence that it used to have. I posted here that Tom Stoppard’s ROCK N’ ROLL was a rare work of fiction that addressed and celebrated the freeing of Eastern Europe. Much of the reaction to the current Soviet invasion confirms what I said there: “It seems that the freeing of Eastern Europe was of importance mainly to East Europeans and to writers with East European roots.”