Dmitry Shlapentokh

Dmitry Shlapentokh

Indiana University South Bend

Dmitry Shlapentokh is an associate professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Indiana University South Bend. Born in Ukraine, then part of the USSR, he received his PhD from the University of Chicago. He teaches world and Russian/Soviet and Post-Soviet history. He has been at IU South Bend since 1991, the year that the Soviet Union collapsed.

Articles by Dmitry Shlapentokh

Politics

China, Leninism and the Pandemic

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Could the way the US has dealt with the pandemic be due Americans' belief that objective reality does not exist and is “constructed” to benefit the elite or experts?

Geopolitics

Empires and Opportunism: Russia, Iran and China

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Tehran now hopes to find a more solid partner in a China that is prepared to challenge and compete with a weakened US and Russia.

Politics

The New “Cold War” – and Why The US Cannot Win It

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

The past success of the US came not through projecting values such as democracy and freedom but by expanding its economy and borrowing from authoritarian playbooks.

Politics

The Nature of the Putin Regime: A Case of Successful Political Mimicry

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

In his initial years in power Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to tap into people’s nostalgia, presenting himself as a Soviet-style leader.

Politics

The US and the Defeat in Afghanistan: What an Unhealthy Elite Means

Thursday, February 10, 2022

The motivations and interests of leaders and their revered advisors and experts do not often coincide with those of the country or society.

Geopolitics

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Rivalry

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Moscow’s actions bear striking similarities to the failed American missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Politics

Nationalism and (False) Eurasianism in Today’s Russia

Thursday, October 20, 2022

To explain the context of Russian nationalism today, Dmitry Shlapentokh documents how Eurasianism has shifted from ideology and national ideal to geopolitical claim

Population & Society

To the Victor Goes the Narrative: Understanding Minorities in the Past and Present

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Moscow has asserted that protecting the Russian and Russian-speaking minorities was a key reason for invading Ukraine. Historian Dmitry Shlapentokh examines this claim.

Population & Society

What Shifts in the Perception of Jews in Post-Soviet Russia Say About Russian Nationalism

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

The shifts in the perception of Jews in Russia highlight the overriding force of nationalism and its hyper-intensification in post-Soviet Russian society