Richard Pipes, Reagan Aide And Historian, Dies At 94
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Richard Pipes, the author of a monumental series of historical works on Russia and a top advisor to the Reagan administration, died in Cambridge at the age of 94.
His son Daniel confirmed the death, the New York Times reported.
Pipes, who spent his entire academic career at Harvard, took his place in the front rank of Russian historians with the publication of “Russia Under the Old Regime” in 1974. But he achieved much wider renown as a public intellectual deeply skeptical about the American policy of détente with the Soviet Union.
A moralist shaped by his experiences as a Jew who had fled the Nazi occupation of Poland, Pipes presented the Bolshevik Party in Russia — one of the movements that vied for control of the vast country following the 1917 communist revolution that brought down the Czar’s rule — as a conspiratorial, deeply unpopular clique rather than the spearhead of a mass movement.
I’m personally matching all gifts to the Forward, up to $36,000. Can I match your gift now?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
