The Soviet Mind: Russian Culture under Communism (A Brookings Classic) by Henry Hardy (PDF)

Description

“Berlin’s great powers of observation combine with his great knowledge and literary gifts to provide us with a fascinating series of insights.”—Geoffrey RiklinGeorge Kennan, the architect of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union, called Isaiah Berlin “the patron saint among the commentators of the Russian scene.” In The Soviet Mind, Berlin proves himself worthy of that accolade. Although the essays in this book were originally written to explore tensions between Soviet communism and Russian culture, the thinking about the Russian mind that emerges is as relevant today under Putin’s post-communist Russia as it was when this book first appeared more than a decade ago.This Brookings Classic brings together Berlin’s writings about the Soviet Union. Among the highlights are accounts of Berlin’s meetings with Russian writers in the aftermath of the war; a celebrated memorandum written for the British Foreign Office in 1945 about the state of the arts under Stalin; Berlin’s account of Stalin’s manipulative “artificial dialectic”; portraits of Pasternak and poet Osip Mandel’shtam; Berlin’s survey of Russian culture based on a visit in 1956; and a postscript reflecting on the fall of the Berlin Wall and other events in 1989.Henry Hardy prepared the essays for publication; his introduction describes their history. In his revised foreword, Brookings’ Strobe Talbott, a longtime expert on Russia and the Soviet Union, relates the essays to Berlin’s other work.The essays and other pieces in The Soviet Mind—including a new essay, “Marxist versus Non-Marxist Ideas in Soviet Policy”—represent Berlin at his most brilliant and are invaluable for policymakers, students, and anyone interested in Russian politics and thought—past, present, and future.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I’m surprised there aren’t more reviews of this book. Perhaps because it was a special publication by the Brookings Institution so there just were never a great number in circulation. Regardless, this book is a little hidden gem for Russia watchers, one which will likely have an essay or two that strike you deeply. There’s a little something in there for the political scientist following Russia today, the historian looking back at the Soviet Union, or the Russian culture buff reading Berlin’s perspective on their favorite Russian author or composer. Read it straight through, or pick your essays. Some of his observations you’ll likely find outdated, but it’s the enduring little passages about the Russian people and society that will make this book memorable. The foreword by Strobe Talbott is also very nicely done in placing Berlin and his work into context. Heartily recommend!

⭐Represents the Cold War mindset of the west and what passed for serious analysis of the USSR. This book is a collection of “essays” cum reportage written by Berlin, with a large biographical section on the people Berlin discusses. The biographies are worth the price of purchase.

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