Russia and the Russians: Inside the Closed Society

by Kevin Klose

An American journalist describes his experiences during a four-year assignment in Russia, and offers his impression of some of the individuals who live under totalitarianism

Genres: History, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1984

Reviews

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read to be sure, and could be interpreted as a dire warning to what a single party state looks like. I had no idea what this book would be about when I pulled it down and blew the dust off it. Given the headline space occupied by the conflict raging in the same lands, I continued reading. The author, a reporter for the Washington Post, takes the reader on a journey that a foreign journalist in Moscow was like during the late 70s and early 80s. The book is divided into lengthy snapshots of the lives of a half score of Soviet citizens as they try to make the single party uphold its ideals, or actually change with the times. Interestingly, one of these Soviet idealists was a Ukranian trying to get the ossified single party system to increase safety at the eastern mine where he worked. A lot of pages were devoted to the brilliant scientist Sakharov and his family's struggle. Several times the author details the skulduggery and sneaky measures that had to be taken to interview these subjects given the authorities' stern displeasure with any newsprint that didn't lavish praise upon the single party system. The author painted a lavish portrait of both the hardscrabble life of the Soviet citizenry and the posh privileges enjoyed by the elites. I felt for these people and really wanted a more solid endcap on the lives of these people revealed, whether good, bad, or indifferent. I got none of that, but I did get a chilling vision of what an authoritarian, single party government looks like, and I didn't like any of what I saw.

[Rebecca Ernest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gripping account of an American correspondent for the New York Times who lives in Moscow and interviews those who suffer from the repressive 1980's Communist regime. He gives very detailed accounts of the lives of ordinary people, and how their efforts to speak out against injustice are invariably met with torture, imprisonment, or execution.