The Yalta Fault Line

Nobody asked but ...

Is it a coincidence that one of the most seismic occasions in human cultural history occurred at a place that is characterized by catastrophic geological phenomena.  The Black Sea is a stunning medley of tectonic effects, happening over geologic time scale epochs.  But the outcomes of the Yalta Conference in 1945 have reverberated throughout the latter half of the 20th Century and the first part of the new millennium.  It should be enough to say that the Cold War emanated from Yalta.  The history books are nearly silent about this conference in the Crimea, but the mid-century rise of both Stalinism and Maoism can be traced directly to deals made at Yalta.  Humanity will continue to feel the ripples throughout their entire future.

 -- Kilgore Forelle