The Russian Revolution of 1917 is remembered as the fall of an Empire. The end of a dynasty, the violent transformation of a society, the redrawing of a sixth of the world’s land into a state operating on principles entirely opposed to the one it replaced. That is the version the histories keep, and within its terms it is accurate. But a revolution against a class is also, unavoidably, an action upon every family of that class — and the action took several forms. Most of them

The Cold War is remembered as a division of the world. Two systems, two alliances, a contest measured in warheads and proxy wars and the territory each side could hold and deny the other. That is the version the histories keep, and within its terms it is accurate. But a division of the world is also, unavoidably, a division of the families who were living across the line when it was drawn — and the line was drawn through a great many of them. For four decades the Cold War wor