William D. Prigge

Understanding events is about understanding relations.

The journey of the Soviet Union does not unfold in the halls of the Kremlin alone. It happens between peoples and far-flung places. Monumental change may unfold without scarcely a notice. Connections. Context. Peering between the lines.

This author’s own journey began during his earliest year in college watching in astonishment on television as the first Hungarian citizens crossed a barbed wire fence into Austria as border guards looked on indifferently. Since 1989, he has gone on to study the Soviet periphery, receiving a PhD from Marquette University, two Fulbrights, multiple invited talks, spending years living across former Soviet spaces, living among the people, interviewing historic figures, taking in the history and culture. His work is not merely political, but how culture, economics and the state are all intertwined.

Just when you think you know a place, then you read a completely different perspective.

Dr. William D. Prigge