To the officers of the USSR Armed Forces, the defense of the Soviet Union was, in the words of a Soviet general, a "sacred cause." What was the nature of Soviet civil-military relations, and what have the new militaries inherited from the Soviet experience? In this book Thomas M. Nichols examines the struggles over national security policy between military officers and political leaders in the USSR, and shows that the Soviet civil-military relationship has a long history of conflict rather than cooperation. Nichols disputes the longstanding Western belief in Party-Army amity. He argues that Party control over the Soviet armed forces has been tenuous since Stalin's death; the relationship was inherently unstable and conflictual, growing in intensity because of Gorbachev and his approach to domestic and foreign policy reforms. The source of this instability lay in the creation of the Soviet Armed Forces as a Marxist military, and Nichols maintains that this privileged and highly ideological institution found itself in frequent conflict with a Party that had of necessity to take an increasingly pragmatic approach to international politics. Movement toward a politically isolated and professionalized military, he shows, was continuously subverted by civilian leaders who sought to control military issues through political intrusions into doctrine and strategy. He concludes that the new leaders of the post-Soviet republics have inherited a group of military organizations that continue to resist the abandonment both of their ideological foundations and of their cohesion as a multinational military - a situation he believes may prove to be one of the greatest threats to the emerging post-Soviet democracies.

Experience the orgasmic rapture of Sacred Union with your Twin Soul and the Divine • Includes practices in sacred sexuality, emotional intimacy, and soul awareness to awaken the Love, Power, and Wisdom of your soul, attract your Twin Soul, and satisfy your soul’s longing to reunite with God • Draws on teachings from Gnosticism, Sufi mysticism, the Kabbalah, Kundalini yoga, sexual shamanism, the Egyptian Mystery schools, and Christ Consciousness • Offers examples of Sacred Union, including Jesus and Mary Magdalene and Rumi and Shams as well as experiences of modern couples Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Rumi and Shams, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Isis and Osiris--in these sacred unions we recognize the merging not only of Twin Souls but also of these lovers with the Divine. In Sacred Sexual Union, Anaiya Sophia shows this Holy Marriage, complete reunification with your Twin Soul and God, is not a secret reserved for the initiated or a tradition lost to the ages. It is a potent, living spiritual path enabling two beloveds to experience the primordial state of creation as one soul blessed by the Divine Light and Love of their Creator. Drawing on teachings from Gnosticism, Sufi mysticism, the Kabbalah, Kundalini yoga, sexual shamanism, the Egyptian Mystery Schools, and Christ Consciousness, the author reveals the complete alchemical process of Sacred Union. She provides physical, meditative, and psychological practices that combine sacred sexuality, emotional intimacy, and transparent soul awareness to awaken the magnetic energies of your soul, draw your Twin Soul to you, and, with Twin Souls reunited, experience the passionate rapturous remembrance of becoming one with God. She explores ancient writings and rituals of Sacred Union--known as Hieros Gamos in ancient Sumeria, Sacred Marriage in the Kabbalah, Yab Yum in Tibetan Buddhism, and the Bridal Chamber in Gnostic Christianity--and offers examples of Sacred Union throughout the ages, including experiences from her own spiritual journey. More than a meditative or yogic practice, Sacred Sexual Union offers a transformative spiritual path to embrace the threefold flame of Power, Love, and Wisdom and satisfy your soul’s longing for wholeness and reunion with the Divine.

Beginning with the chaotic post-World War I landscape, in which religious belief was one way of reordering a world knocked off its axis, Sacred Causes is a penetrating critique of how religion has often been camouflaged by politics. All the bloody regimes and movements of the twentieth century are masterfully captured here, from Stalin's Soviet Union, Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and Franco's Spain through to the modern scourge of terrorism. Eloquently and persuasively combining an authoritative survey of history with a timely reminder of the dangers of radical secularism, Burleigh asks why no one foresaw the religious implications of massive Third World immigration, and he deftly investigates what are now driving calls for a civic religion to counter the terrorist threats that have so shocked the West.

Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions offers a compelling case for Christian men and women to move beyond the fears of sexuality and open themselves to deeper friendships.

Using New Testament "gematria, " symbolic number values encoded in the Greek phrases, the author reveals that the sacred couple was one of the essential pillars of early Christian teachings, before being denied by the architects of institutional Christianity and obscured by later Church doctrine.

How does one package and sell confidence in the stability of a nation riven by civil strife? This was the question that loomed before the Philadelphia financial house of Jay Cooke & Company,&8239;entrusted&8239;by the US government with an unprecedented sale of bonds to finance the Union war effort in the early days of the American Civil War.&8239;How the government and its agents marketed these bonds revealed a version of the war the public was willing to buy and buy into, based not just in the full faith and credit of the United States but also in the success of its armies and its long-term vision for open markets. From Maine to California, and in foreign halls of power and economic influence,&8239;thousands of agents were deployed to&8239;sell&8239;a clear message: Union victory was unleashing the American economy itself. This fascinating work of&8239;financial and political history&8239;during&8239;the Civil War&8239;era&8239;shows&8239;how the marketing and sale of bonds crossed the Atlantic to Europe and beyond, helping ensure foreign countries' vested interest in the Union's success. Indeed, David K. Thomson demonstrates how Europe, and ultimately all corners of the globe, grew deeply interdependent on American finance during, and in the immediate aftermath of, the American Civil War.&8239;

In a searing analysis of the Civil War North as revealed in contemporary letters, diaries, and documents, Gallagher demonstrates that what motivated the North to go to war and persist in an increasingly bloody effort was primarily preservation of the Union.