Research Catalog

The Soviet mind Russian culture under communism

Title
The Soviet mind [electronic resource] : Russian culture under communism / Isaiah Berlin ; edited by Henry Hardy with a new introduction ; foreword by Strobe Talbott ; glossary by Helen Rappaport.
Author
Berlin, Isaiah, 1909-1997.
Publication
Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, [2016]

Available Online

  • Available from home with a valid library card
  • Available onsite at NYPL

Details

Additional Authors
Hardy, Henry.
Description
1 online resource (lii, 261 pages) : illustrations.
Summary
"With a revised foreword by Brookings President Strobe Talbott and a new introduction by Berlin's editor, Henry Hardy. George Kennan, the architect of US 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 fully worthy of that accolade. Although the essays in this book were originally written to explore the 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 the Russian writers in the aftermath of the war; a celebrated memorandum he wrote 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 introductory discussions describe their history. In his foreword, revised for this new edition, Brookings's Strobe Talbott, a long-time expert on Russia and the Soviet Union, relates the essays to Berlin's other work. The essays and other pieces in The Soviet Mind-which includes a new essay, 'Marxist versus Non-Marxist Ideas in Soviet Policy,' and a summary of a talk on communism-represent Berlin at his most brilliant, and are invaluable for policy-makers, students and anyone interested in Russian politics and thought-past, present and future"--
Series Statement
The Brookings classics
Uniform Title
Soviet mind (Online)
Alternative Title
Soviet mind (Online)
Subject
  • Berlin, Isaiah, 1909-1997 > Travel > Soviet Union
  • Arts > Political aspects > Soviet Union
  • Communism > Social aspects > Soviet Union
  • Politics and culture > Soviet Union
  • Soviet Union > Intellectual life
Note
  • "First paperback edition 2011"--Title page verso.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access (note)
  • Access restricted to authorized users.
Contents
Editor's note to the Brookings classic edition -- Preface / by Henry Hardy -- The arts in Russia under Stalin -- A visit to Leningrad -- A great Russian writer -- Conversations with Akhmatova and Pasternak -- Boris Pasternak -- Why the Soviet Union chooses to insulate itself -- The artificial dialectic : Generalissimo Stalin and the art of government -- Four weeks in the Soviet Union -- Soviet Russian culture -- The survival of the Russian intelligentsia -- Appendix: Marxist versus Non-Marxist Ideas in Soviet Policy; Communism.
LCCN
2016029971
OCLC
ssj0001703770
Author
Berlin, Isaiah, 1909-1997.
Title
The Soviet mind [electronic resource] : Russian culture under communism / Isaiah Berlin ; edited by Henry Hardy with a new introduction ; foreword by Strobe Talbott ; glossary by Helen Rappaport.
Imprint
Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, [2016]
Edition
Brookings classic edition.
Series
The Brookings classics
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
Connect to:
Available from home with a valid library card
Available onsite at NYPL
Added Author
Hardy, Henry.
View in Legacy Catalog