Tim Cope Quotes
Although we had been led to believe our mission was suicidal, Russia's intrigue was irresistible. Almost twice the size of Australia, it spans 11 time zones from the Baltic to the Pacific.
Cope, Tim, and Chris Hatherly. Off the Rails: Moscow to Beijing on Recumbent Bikes. Penguin Books, 2003.
The speech writer, Anthony R. Dolan, had written, “Now and forever, Russia is an Evil Empire. Reagan crossed out “Now and forever” as he had the optimism that the Soviet Union would fall and Russia would reform at a time when only Senator Pat Moynahan had ever suggested the idea.
This was an incredible prediction with no other world leader thinking it possible for decades until that is exactly what happened.
FDR was right about Russia being a major factor in stopping Hitler, but partially wrong about the danger of Russia. The Soviets never did dominate Europe although the tried, but they did dominate Eastern Europe.
He served as a liaison with the Russian military officers after WWII. As a result he developed friendships with some who told him much about Stalin and the Communist party of the Soviet Union.
This was the most famous public use of the term "iron curtain" in the cold war. Churchill had used the term privately in an even earlier cable to President Truman. However, the phrase "iron curtain" was used by T. St. Vincent Wallace Troubridge even a few months earlier. Also, it appears to have been used earlier than that by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in Das Reich {601664}. But George Washington Crile used the phrase in a political context in 1915 {598870}. And Viscountess Snowden used the phrase in her memoirs of a Past WWI trip to Russia {616546} It is not known whether Troubridge or Churchill were familiar with those works.
The British suspected that the Turks of Anatolia were complicit with Bolshevism
Tim Cope is an Australian adventurer, author, filmmaker, trekking guide, and public speaker who grew up in Gippsland, Victoria. He has learned to speak fluent Russian and specializes in countries of the former Soviet Union.
