Episode Details

Today I received some sad news:

Vladislav Georgievich Krasnov (AKA W. George Krasnow) passed away peacefully at the age of 88 on 23 November 2025 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Crockett, California…Vladislav graduated from Moscow State University in 1960 with a diploma in history and anthropology and worked with the Swedish Service at Radio Moscow prior to defecting to Sweden where he studied and lectured at the University of Lund (Sweden) several years prior to moving to the United States. With a Masters in Slavic languages and a PhD in Russian Literature from the University of Washington, he became known for his work on Soviet defectors, Russian literature and politics. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, taught or conducted research at the University of Texas, Southern Methodist University, Hokkaido University (Japan), and Hoover Institution at Stanford University where his research materials are housed. He served as the director of the Russian Studies program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey, California.

He was passionately devoted to improving relations between the United States and his beloved Russia, to which end he established and led the Russia-America Goodwill Association. He studied and wrote prolifically, published numerous books and articles and lectured in a variety of venues. His books included: Solzhenitsyn and Dostoevsky, a Study in the Polyphonic Novel; Soviet Defectors, the KGB Wanted List; Russia Beyond Communism, a Chronicle of Rebirth; From the East to the West, a Message of Peace - Select Essays; Permian Cross: Mikhail Romanov; and, When I Was Born, The Genesis of Dissent (a memoir), the latter two in Russian only.

He heartily embraced and promoted the philosophical ideal espoused by Alexander Solzhenitsyn as a viable pathway toward a revitalized Russia. He actively participated in efforts by fellow native Permians to highlight the legacy of Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov who, as the ‘last’ Tsar of Russia, surrendered power in favor of a constitutional monarchy. And, as a board member of the Gandhian Global Harmony Association, he actively supported their efforts promoting global peace.

Vladislav was known and appreciated for his intellect, even temperament, friendliness and eagerness to promote goodwill. He travelled extensively in many countries, easily engaging people from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds while spreading cheer and harmony along the way. He was thoughtful, considerate and kind to all. He cherished the company of the animals in his life, and they doted on his presence and affection. He enjoyed frolicking at the beach, taking a dip in the ocean, playing tennis, snow skiing, hiking and dancing to his own beat.

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Vladislav Krasnov epitomized the way that people with uncommon common sense often wind up as dissidents. He didn’t get caught up in groupthink bubbles, whether the Russian Communist totalitarianism he was born into, or the post-Cold War and especially post-9/11 neocon “American” (covertly Zio-supremacist) triumphalism that has ruined the USA.

Like me, Vladislav was a literature scholar heavily influenced by M.M. Bakhtin and his Doestoevsky-based theories of dialogism and polyphony. He liked my podcast because he saw it (correctly, I hope) as radically dialogic: I listen to guests and interact, without ponderously imposing my own views Alex Jones style. That can get you in trouble, as Tucker Carlson found out when he interviewed Nick Fuentes, but it’s a good kind of trouble to be in if you’re an openminded truth-seeker who doesn’t mind offending fools and knaves.

Vladislav didn’t just dissent against silly orthodoxies and champion the heretics who poked holes in them. He focused on solutions. His Russia-America Goodwill Association (RAGA) was an exemplary attempt to foster cordiality between the great powers. Though a Russian nationalis