Join this Canberra Writers Festival event on Saturday 25 October. Image: Canberra Writers Festival.
The shadows cast by past dictatorships loom long and large. What do the reigns of Stalin and Mao have to teach us about the threats faced by nations and peoples today? We need to remind ourselves of the past. Linda Jaivin (Bombard the Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China) and Sheila Fitzpatrick (The Death of Stalin & Lost Souls: Soviet Displaced Persons and the Birth of the Cold War) examine what unrestrained power can do to a leader and the nations they rule. The lessons for our current era are inescapable. Moderated by Kyle Wilson, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies.
Linda Jaivin is a prolific essayist, cultural commentator, literary translator from Chinese specialising in film subtitling, and the internationally published author of thirteen longform publications. These include seven novels, the Quarterly Essay Found in Translation and several works of history. Her Shortest History of China has been translated into two dozen languages. Her latest book, just out this year, is Bombard the Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China. She is currently working on The Shortest History of Madrid. She lives in Sydney.
Sheila Fitzpatrick is a pioneer in the field of Soviet history. She regularly contributes to the London Review of Books and is the multi-award-winning author of many books, including Everyday Stalinism, On Stalin’s Team, The Russian Revolution, White Russians, Red Peril and the bestselling The Shortest History of the Soviet Union. Her latest book is The Death of Stalin.
The Details
What: Stalin, Mao…Putin, Xi, Trump? The march of authoritarian history
When: Saturday 25 October from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Where: Representatives Chambers | Museum of Australian Democracy Old Parliament House
Cost: $28. Buy tickets.
