Tribute to Prof. Richard Pipes

Submitted by Joel Fishman (United States), Jun 10, 2018 at 08:41

I had the pleasure of meeting your father in the early sixties when I was a student at Tufts. I came over to Harvard Hillel for a lunch, and your father gave an informal lecture. I cannot remember the subject but do remember that the lecture was outstanding, and that your father delivered it in a gentle completely unpretentious manner. He was considerate and tactful with this undergraduate audience.

I have made good use of your father's fine chapter, "Some Operational Principles of Soviet Foreign Policy," in Confino and S. Shamir, The USSR and the Middle East (Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press, 1973). I have referenced it. On my bookshelf, I have Russia under the Bolshevik Regime.

I have a great appreciation for NSDD75. This memorandum brought about one of the great turning-points of the Twentieth Century. Mr. Putin referred to its consequences as a geopolitical disaster. The idea is excellent and could be still applied with great benefit in our region.

I send my condolences and good wishes,

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".