I just heard that the great Yuri Maltsev has passed away this week–a huge loss for the world of liberty. Yuri was among the last to defect from the ailing Soviet Union, and the stories he told about doing research under the Iron Curtain are poignant reminders of the strangling effect that socialism and all forms of totalitarianism have on not just the economy, but free thought itself.
Yuri was a brilliant analyst and a witty speaker. He had perfected that incisive, dark humor that honest intellectuals had to build in order to live under the Soviet boot, and he used it to great effect in his talks after he made it to the U.S.A. Not only was he able to clearly outline the problems with socialism, he was uniquely positioned to see and warn us about the encroaching problems of growing government here. And as he warned us about these approaching problems, he was always ready with a witty anecdote or digression to make us laugh, in spite of ourselves, and the tyranny we faced.
“[Gorbachev] removed fear out of the [Soviet] system, which was glued together only by fear” -Yuri Maltsev
You can and should find as much of Yuri’s work as possible. Read his writings and watch his speeches. The stories he told, especially those of the American intelligence community’s lack of foresight of the fall of the U.S.S.R., were amazing. The Mises Institute has a large number of videos of him speaking, and they also have a book he edited, a collection of essays called Requiem for Marx, available for free. There are also many great articles he wrote at Mises. His author page is a wealth of great reading.
I only had the pleasure and honor of meeting Yuri once, at the Mises Supporters’ Summit in 2018, but it was amazing to shake his hand and hear him speak in person. David Gordon (another person I met at that event, and whom I greatly admire–he’s the reason I try to do book reviews!), who knew Yuri much more closely, has another tribute to Yuri up at Mises. Go read it, please.
We have lost a great man and a fervent and steadfast supporter of liberty. I hope that Yuri rests in peace, knowing that he has changed the world so much for the better. May he be remembered fondly forever.
