Denis Kozlov is Assistant Professor of History at Dalhousie University.
Writing to the papers was a surprisingly common activity in the
USSR. It brought results: in the 1930s, a reader's letter was
either printed or sent, as unprintable, to the NKVD so that the
author could be dealt with. After Stalin's death, at least for
readers of Novyi mir, there was no danger of the author
being suppressed together with his or her letter. Given the paucity
of outlets to express feelings and views, the 12,000 letters to
Novyi mir that Kozlov has studied give unprecedented
insight into the often confused and contradictory reactions aroused
by the revelations, however guarded, of the horrors and lies of the
past... Kozlov's book becomes not just an excellent study of a
Soviet journal, its readers and letter-writers and the editorial
responses they received, but also of a very complex and eventually
admirable man [poet Aleksandr Tvardovsky, chief editor of Novyi
mir for much of the 1950s and all of the 1960s] torn between
his inner knowledge and his sense of duty.
-- Donald Rayfield * Literary Review *
Kozlov shows us how ordinary citizens reacted to the Thaw
and how they came to regard the entire Soviet order and the legacy
of the Stalinist years. Using the readers of Novyi mir's own
words, he demonstrates that a skeptical view of the Soviet past was
far more widespread than most have previously believed. It was not
just a few writers who were expressing dissident views; the society
as a whole was changing. -- Barry Scherr, Dartmouth College
The Readers of Novyi Mir represents a major breakthrough in
our knowledge and understanding of postwar Soviet literature.
Drawing on a treasure-trove of letters to the most important Soviet
'thick journal' of the time, it offers both new information and
insightful commentary on readers, writers, editors, and important
controversies. Absolutely indispensable for anyone interested in a
beyond-the-cliches view of this fascinating period. -- William
Mills Todd III, Harvard University
With the opening of the archives of the journal and of its
bureaucratic keepers, Kozlov gained access to tens of
thousands of unpublished letters from readers as well as the
records of editorial meetings and accounts of the authorities
scrambling to respond to the latest controversies. This fine
history reveals the society-changing power of what Kozlov calls
'the relationship between texts and readers.' -- Robert Legvold *
Foreign Affairs *
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
