Book Review

EVENTS AND PHOBIAS

1933-39.'', Jonathan Haslam, Jonathan Haslam, an associate professor of Soviet studies at the Johns Hopkins University, is the author of ''The Soviet Union and the Struggle for Collective Security in Europe

1985

Overview

The liberal tendency is to treat the East-West conflict in terms of a deviation from the norm. Typifying the flaws in this approach is Mr. [Stephen F. Cohen]'s discussion of ''Cold War Mysteries.'' ''Ever since the cold war began in 1917, unexpected and mysterious incidents have periodically disrupted East-West relations just as they were improving,'' he writes. Unfortunately he then cites ''the forged 'Zinoviev letter,' [purportedly written by the head of the Comintern to the British Communist Party instructing its members to subvert the armed forces] which caused a break in British-Soviet diplomatic ties in 1924.'' In fact the Zinoviev letter caused no such thing, and a breach did not occur until May 1927, more than two years later and certainly not as a result of an ''unexpected'' or ''mysterious'' incident but after the accumulation of grievances on London's part. The most important of these was Soviet support for the British miners' strike in 1926 and aid to the Communist revolution in China.

• Publisher: New York Times Company
• Subject: Cohen, Stephen / COHEN, STEPHEN F (PROF) / HASLAM, JONATHAN