Russia: Death and resurrection of the KGB

by J Michael Waller, Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Vol. XII, No. 3, 2004, pp. 333-355. The George Washington University is the repository of Demokratizatsiya journal. The roots of all of the most efficient political police systems in modern his- tory can be traced to December 20, 1917. On that day, the new Bolshevik … Read more

Tropical chekists: The Sandinista secret police legacy in Nicaragua

by J. Michael Waller Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Summer 2004 As a revolutionary regime, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) that overthrew strongman Anastasio Somoza in 1979 swept away all vestiges of the old order. Virtually every single government structure, including the constitution, judiciary, legislature, and all instruments of security and force, was … Read more

‘Delay, postpone, obfuscate, derail’ – A case study of US aid to former USSR

By J Michael Waller / Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization (American University and Moscow State University), Winter 1997. With rebuttals from the US Department of State and Department of Defense PDF originals: (1) Demok 97a Waller Delay; (2) Demok 97b State Dept; (3) Demok 97c Waller State; (4) Demok 97d DoD; (5) Demok 97e Waller DoD Introduction Many supporters of U.S. assistance … Read more

Supreme Soviet investigation of the 1991 coup: The suppressed transcripts

In 1995-96 we published the only translated transcripts of the Russian parliamentary investigation hearings on the 1991 putsch. To our knowledge, the transcripts were never published in Russia. Dr Waller edited a selection of the transcripts for Demokratizatsiya. The journal, then published in cooperation with the American University and Moscow State University, is now housed … Read more