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The Year I Was Peter the Great: 1956—Khrushchev, Stalin’s Ghost, and a Young American in Russia
A chronicle of the year that changed Soviet Russia—and molded the future path of one of America's pre-eminent diplomatic correspondents
1956 was an extraordinary year in modern Russian history. It was called “the year of the thaw”—a time when Stalin’s dark legacy of dictatorship died in February only to be reborn later that December. This historic arc from rising hope to crushing despair opened with a speech by Nikita Khrushchev, then the unpredictable leader of the Soviet Union. He astounded everyone by denouncing the one figure who, up to that time, had been hailed as a “genius,” a wizard of communism—Josef Stalin himself. Now, suddenly, this once unassailable god was being portrayed as a “madman” whose idiosyncratic rule had seriously undermined communism and endangered the Soviet state.
This amazing switch from hero to villain lifted a heavy overcoat of fear from the backs of ordinary Russians. It also quickly led to anti-communist uprisings in Eastern Europe, none more bloody and challenging than the one in Hungary, which Soviet troops crushed at year’s end.
Marvin Kalb, then a young diplomatic attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, observed this tumultuous year that foretold the end of Soviet communism three decades later. Fluent in Russian, a doctoral candidate at Harvard, he went where few other foreigners would dare go, listening to Russian students secretly attack communism and threaten rebellion against the Soviet system, traveling from one end of a changing country to the other and, thanks to his diplomatic position, meeting and talking with Khrushchev, who playfully nicknamed him Peter the Great.
In this, his fifteenth book, Kalb writes a fascinating eyewitness account of a superpower in upheaval and of a people yearning for an end to dictatorship.
1956 was an extraordinary year in modern Russian history. It was called “the year of the thaw”—a time when Stalin’s dark legacy of dictatorship died in February only to be reborn later that December. This historic arc from rising hope to crushing despair opened with a speech by Nikita Khrushchev, then the unpredictable leader of the Soviet Union. He astounded everyone by denouncing the one figure who, up to that time, had been hailed as a “genius,” a wizard of communism—Josef Stalin himself. Now, suddenly, this once unassailable god was being portrayed as a “madman” whose idiosyncratic rule had seriously undermined communism and endangered the Soviet state.
This amazing switch from hero to villain lifted a heavy overcoat of fear from the backs of ordinary Russians. It also quickly led to anti-communist uprisings in Eastern Europe, none more bloody and challenging than the one in Hungary, which Soviet troops crushed at year’s end.
Marvin Kalb, then a young diplomatic attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, observed this tumultuous year that foretold the end of Soviet communism three decades later. Fluent in Russian, a doctoral candidate at Harvard, he went where few other foreigners would dare go, listening to Russian students secretly attack communism and threaten rebellion against the Soviet system, traveling from one end of a changing country to the other and, thanks to his diplomatic position, meeting and talking with Khrushchev, who playfully nicknamed him Peter the Great.
In this, his fifteenth book, Kalb writes a fascinating eyewitness account of a superpower in upheaval and of a people yearning for an end to dictatorship.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 25, 2018
Kalb arrived at a turbulent time in Soviet history. It was when Khruschev denounced Stalin and the purported " thaw" was commencing. Unfortunately it was also at the time when the Hungarian rebellion was crushed. As he had unusual access to historical documents and the Russian people across much of the country and "republics", it was interesting how programmed so many of the people were, and how convinced they were of the inevitability of the success of communism. There were a number of outbursts of dissent among the younger population but that was abruptly halted as more reactionary restraints were imposed again.
It was also striking that the Soviet state in the 1950s was promoting couples or even single mothers to reproduce as there was a demographic sag following the war. Flash forward to the current Putin regime and rewards are being offered again to offset a population decline.
As for Kalb, he never did finish his Harvard Phd. that was the basis for the research he was doing in the Soviet Union at the time, but he did get a ringside seat to some of the rocky Cold War tides of the era, and it makes for an intriguing read worth about a 4.5.
It was also striking that the Soviet state in the 1950s was promoting couples or even single mothers to reproduce as there was a demographic sag following the war. Flash forward to the current Putin regime and rewards are being offered again to offset a population decline.
As for Kalb, he never did finish his Harvard Phd. that was the basis for the research he was doing in the Soviet Union at the time, but he did get a ringside seat to some of the rocky Cold War tides of the era, and it makes for an intriguing read worth about a 4.5.
August 3, 2021
For those of you who have read and enjoyed Marvin Kalb's "Assignment Russia," you might also want to consider taking a step back in time to "The Year I Was Peter the Great." They are parts one and two of what will eventually be a three-part memoir of Kalb's early years as a Moscow hand and a professional journalist.
"The Year I Was Peter the Great," covers Kalb's tour in Moscow working as a JPRS translator for the US Embassy. It is a remarkable work covering the critical year 1956, or the "Year of the Thaw," when Khrushchev denounced Stalin and set the Soviet Union on the path of reform. The year ended with Khrushchev hurriedly drawing back when it became evident that every step taken away from Stalinism weakened the USSR's hold on its Eastern European empire, and his own grip on power.
One note: This book is essentially a reworking of Kalb's very first book, "Eastern Exposure," published in 1958, which was a journal of his time in Moscow. The journal is worth reading in and of itself. It is the sort of thing any young Moscow hand of the time might have produced: an earnest, detailed, factual, and fascinating report, but it is only for those who already love the study of Russia and Russians.
By contrast, "The Year I was Peter the Great" is lively and full of self-deprecating humor -- perhaps Kalb portrays himself as a bit more wide-eyed and innocent than he actually was, but that's OK. Kalb often plays on the reader's emotions using every skill he learned over his many decades as a journalist and he does make the story fascinating, even such difficult bits as his long and ultimately successful quest for Uvarov's documents (don't ask). The story at the end of the book of his encounter with "Sasha" in Leningrad, a true believer who was beginning to doubt everything he thought he knew about the Soviet Union, is particularly poignant.
In sum, it's a great read and worth the time. The parallels with today's world are, unfortunately, a little unsettling.
"The Year I Was Peter the Great," covers Kalb's tour in Moscow working as a JPRS translator for the US Embassy. It is a remarkable work covering the critical year 1956, or the "Year of the Thaw," when Khrushchev denounced Stalin and set the Soviet Union on the path of reform. The year ended with Khrushchev hurriedly drawing back when it became evident that every step taken away from Stalinism weakened the USSR's hold on its Eastern European empire, and his own grip on power.
One note: This book is essentially a reworking of Kalb's very first book, "Eastern Exposure," published in 1958, which was a journal of his time in Moscow. The journal is worth reading in and of itself. It is the sort of thing any young Moscow hand of the time might have produced: an earnest, detailed, factual, and fascinating report, but it is only for those who already love the study of Russia and Russians.
By contrast, "The Year I was Peter the Great" is lively and full of self-deprecating humor -- perhaps Kalb portrays himself as a bit more wide-eyed and innocent than he actually was, but that's OK. Kalb often plays on the reader's emotions using every skill he learned over his many decades as a journalist and he does make the story fascinating, even such difficult bits as his long and ultimately successful quest for Uvarov's documents (don't ask). The story at the end of the book of his encounter with "Sasha" in Leningrad, a true believer who was beginning to doubt everything he thought he knew about the Soviet Union, is particularly poignant.
In sum, it's a great read and worth the time. The parallels with today's world are, unfortunately, a little unsettling.
October 6, 2018
I think journalists, people who enjoy 20th century history, and those who are interested in Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union will all love this book.
Although I have not read many memoirs, I cannot imagine that there are many much better than this one. Kalb is a fantastic writer who has truly riveting stories to tell.
I especially enjoyed chapters 8-12. In these chapters he discusses his run ins with Khruschev himself and Zhukov (Russia’s hero of WWII), as well as his journeys to central Asia and the Caucasus. He traveled to Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara) before it had even really been completely Sovietized. He also journeyed to Georgia (a country I recommend everyone visit) and Azerbaijan (a country I very much would like to visit).
His story from Kiev was also interesting. He met people who (credibly) knew his grandfather from 4-5 decades earlier.
This is apparently part 1 of 3. I cannot wait to read the next two volumes.
Although I have not read many memoirs, I cannot imagine that there are many much better than this one. Kalb is a fantastic writer who has truly riveting stories to tell.
I especially enjoyed chapters 8-12. In these chapters he discusses his run ins with Khruschev himself and Zhukov (Russia’s hero of WWII), as well as his journeys to central Asia and the Caucasus. He traveled to Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara) before it had even really been completely Sovietized. He also journeyed to Georgia (a country I recommend everyone visit) and Azerbaijan (a country I very much would like to visit).
His story from Kiev was also interesting. He met people who (credibly) knew his grandfather from 4-5 decades earlier.
This is apparently part 1 of 3. I cannot wait to read the next two volumes.
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June 10, 2020Interesting memoir of a year in a communist country on the verge of opening to the West... but not really... the year is 1956 and Nikita Krushchev gives his big speech demonizing Stalin and the murders he committed... Also blaming his inability to see the reality in front of him when Hitler renegaded on the pact he had signed with him... If Stalin had taken the right decision and retaliated then and there, maybe WWII would have been totally different and millions of Russian lives would have been saved says Nikita K..
But in ending with Stalin the God, maybe he is ending with Communism as it is played and enacted in Russia...
So in the same year he will brutally repress the revolts (revolutions?) in Bulgaria, in Hungary and other Eastern countries...
So this young new yorker spends the year of the thaw, 1956 in Russia at the American Embassy... Now an old gentleman he writes his memoir of these 12 months... when he was young and a naive American but a tall American, almost as tall as Peter the Great (who was 204 centimeters, Kalb is only 198!)
Having spent some time in China the year where it opened to foreigners (With a number of restrictions!) in 1981, and having a brother who spent 18 months there at that moment, i can relate to the stories... the surprise discovering some areas that seem stuck in a medieval poverty, the people who stop you in the street asking questions, the envy or shock at your clothes, your looks, your style... He is told that he walks like a foreigner... tall, free...
Chinese women were mesmerized by my pierced ears and lacquered toenails...
They would ask questions about where i came from if they spoke a little English...
So interesting that a country coming out of an oppressive system at two very different moments, in two very different countries can be so similar!
Marvin Kalb writes well and you feel like you are traveling in his pocket... discovering not only a foreign country, but a bygone time...
But in ending with Stalin the God, maybe he is ending with Communism as it is played and enacted in Russia...
So in the same year he will brutally repress the revolts (revolutions?) in Bulgaria, in Hungary and other Eastern countries...
So this young new yorker spends the year of the thaw, 1956 in Russia at the American Embassy... Now an old gentleman he writes his memoir of these 12 months... when he was young and a naive American but a tall American, almost as tall as Peter the Great (who was 204 centimeters, Kalb is only 198!)
Having spent some time in China the year where it opened to foreigners (With a number of restrictions!) in 1981, and having a brother who spent 18 months there at that moment, i can relate to the stories... the surprise discovering some areas that seem stuck in a medieval poverty, the people who stop you in the street asking questions, the envy or shock at your clothes, your looks, your style... He is told that he walks like a foreigner... tall, free...
Chinese women were mesmerized by my pierced ears and lacquered toenails...
They would ask questions about where i came from if they spoke a little English...
So interesting that a country coming out of an oppressive system at two very different moments, in two very different countries can be so similar!
Marvin Kalb writes well and you feel like you are traveling in his pocket... discovering not only a foreign country, but a bygone time...
March 14, 2018
Marvin Kalb’s The Year I was Peter the Great recounts 1956, “the year of the thaw” in the Soviet Union, when Khrushchev denounced Stalin only to soon mimic his ruthlessness by crushing the Hungarian Revolution.
The book’s title came from Khrushchev’s jocular nickname for Kalb, then a young attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. His goal of being a diplomatic correspondent was just a glimmer on the horizon as he built his resume as a doctoral candidate at Harvard.
Kalb achieved that dream, and his viewers were treated to insight and compelling narrative as he became the premier television reporter of his age. This, the first in a trilogy of memoirs, puts 1956 in historical context. Always engaging, his prose appeals to the ear as much as the eye. From one of his several trips:
“Kiev was southern, Moscow northern, and if the Russian capital was never quite sure her seams were straight, Kiev walked with a distinct pride, knowing they were.”
Or from the preface, when Kalb introduces Khrushchev’s dismantling of Stalin’s legacy: “Very quickly, by way of the often-reliable Soviet grapevine, Russian workers, artists, and students … felt as though a heavy overcoat of fear had been lifted from their shoulders.”
This is Kalb’s fifteenth book. I’ll be reading an earlier one, I’m sure.
The book’s title came from Khrushchev’s jocular nickname for Kalb, then a young attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. His goal of being a diplomatic correspondent was just a glimmer on the horizon as he built his resume as a doctoral candidate at Harvard.
Kalb achieved that dream, and his viewers were treated to insight and compelling narrative as he became the premier television reporter of his age. This, the first in a trilogy of memoirs, puts 1956 in historical context. Always engaging, his prose appeals to the ear as much as the eye. From one of his several trips:
“Kiev was southern, Moscow northern, and if the Russian capital was never quite sure her seams were straight, Kiev walked with a distinct pride, knowing they were.”
Or from the preface, when Kalb introduces Khrushchev’s dismantling of Stalin’s legacy: “Very quickly, by way of the often-reliable Soviet grapevine, Russian workers, artists, and students … felt as though a heavy overcoat of fear had been lifted from their shoulders.”
This is Kalb’s fifteenth book. I’ll be reading an earlier one, I’m sure.
November 6, 2017
My first book on anything USSR, and I loved it. The writing is concise, and paced so well I finished the book in days. This is accomplished by having a delightful blend of detail and story. My favorite moments were always the conversations with Soviet citizens. All of them shared the anti-war sentiment, something we forget perhaps too often. Another excellent piece is when Kalb enters the synagogue in Kiev and connects with a man who knew his grandfather, very heartwarming. I was unaware of just how much protest took place, and Kalb nails the summary with reminding us the Russian people are good, and proud- once peasants became educated it wouldn't be long for Communism to falter, as it did.
At the end of the book Kalb tells us this is one part of a planned three part memoir. I can only hope the second one comes soon, or at least some details of it.
My only complaint is Kalb, not by choice, did not get to meet the "real proletariat" like he wanted. The bar scene is proof, but the conversation they might have had would have been remarkable to read.
At the end of the book Kalb tells us this is one part of a planned three part memoir. I can only hope the second one comes soon, or at least some details of it.
My only complaint is Kalb, not by choice, did not get to meet the "real proletariat" like he wanted. The bar scene is proof, but the conversation they might have had would have been remarkable to read.
July 11, 2021
Basically, I know nothing about Russia. When I saw Marvin Kalb interviewed on TV about his book on his year as a young man in Russia, I decided to read it. Kalb, who took a break from his Ph.D. program in Russian history to be a translator for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for the whole of 1956, kept meticulous notes of his time there, including his travels to various parts of Russia and his efforts to do research for his dissertation while in Russia. 1956 turned out to be a pivotal year in Russia, with Krushchev denouncing Stalin and leading to a thaw in the dictatorship. Although I don't remember much of the time period, as I was the tender age of six, I really enjoyed Kalb's perceptions of Russia, and of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as the opportunity to learn more about 20th century history. (My history classes always ended in 1900, when the year ended and the teacher didn't have time to go farther.) I'm getting it in fits and starts from various sources, and Kalb is a great source.
March 2, 2018
I found this to be a fascinating read. I remember Marvin Kalb and his brother Bernard Kalb as foreign reporters for NBC and CBS along with the giants Edward R Murrow, Eric Sevareid, etc. The author paints a very descriptive picture of that crucial year (1956) in current Russian history. He had the benefit of being at the embassy in Moscow after having competed extensive college studies in Russian history and the Russian language, so he could interact and interpret what the Russians, all the way from the leaders to the common workers, were thinking. Very enjoyable if you enjoy history.
October 19, 2020
A good surprise
I bought this book on accident while nodding off in my Kindle shop section. I am usually a fiction reader. I have this book a 5 star review because of the unique perspective it provided us of the dynamics for an American embassy staff during 1956/7. To a certain degree it appears biased by the romantic outlook of the authors youth, but with their restrospective wisdom of writing it in modern times. I loved the style of the narrative and motivates me to read more from them. I recommend this to people trying to better understand current ideological views.
I bought this book on accident while nodding off in my Kindle shop section. I am usually a fiction reader. I have this book a 5 star review because of the unique perspective it provided us of the dynamics for an American embassy staff during 1956/7. To a certain degree it appears biased by the romantic outlook of the authors youth, but with their restrospective wisdom of writing it in modern times. I loved the style of the narrative and motivates me to read more from them. I recommend this to people trying to better understand current ideological views.
December 12, 2017
This is a very interesting book, about a very interesting year in the Soviet Union. It is also considerably nostalgic (for me, at least) as it takes place during the great days of CBS news, when Murrow was their star and Walter Cronkite was the up-and-coming new guy. It also depicts what may be the story of a lost America, where upward mobility was possible for a bright kid who went to CCNY with no money but lots fo talent.
May 22, 2018
Mediocre
The book first turned me off because it was so author-centric. I should have predicted that since it's a memoir, but it took away from the experience. There were some interesting parts and I do feel like I learned some about the culture in the year of the thaw, but considering how many great books are available would not choose this one again. However, I may seek further reading on related topics. Might just need to avoid the memoir structure for my taste.
The book first turned me off because it was so author-centric. I should have predicted that since it's a memoir, but it took away from the experience. There were some interesting parts and I do feel like I learned some about the culture in the year of the thaw, but considering how many great books are available would not choose this one again. However, I may seek further reading on related topics. Might just need to avoid the memoir structure for my taste.
January 13, 2018
Delightful. As a young man, Kalb spent a year in Russia during the tumultuous transition from Stalin to Khrushchev. He found ways to engage with regular citizens as well as officials and leaders. His own fascinating career flowed from this experience, and it's a story entertainingly told. The first of a projected 3 volume memoir, it closes back in the US in a meeting with Edward R Murrow. Fun!
January 28, 2018
I thought this book Needed some tighter editing. I really did not need to know about city college’s great basketball team in a book about Russia. It’s a book of brushes with famous people, ideological arguments with commoners and a travelogue. Then again, where else are you going to read about meeting Khrushchev and Edward R Murrow?
February 19, 2018
Very readable analysis of "the year of the thaw" in Russia....1956. Kalb spent a year in Russia, translating documents for the US Embassy while working on his dissertation on an obscure Russian writer. He had many opportunities to talk with ordinary Russians during this pivotal time in their politics. Well worth the read.
March 25, 2018
Fascinating memoire of Bernard Kalb's year in Russia during the "1956 thaw", Polish and
Hungarian uprisings. His conversations with ordinary Russians provide insight into the Russia's culture, world view and dissatisfaction with the status quo. "Kostya understood that something was profoundly wrong with Russia's system of government. He did not want to repudiate the system . . . But he did want to see fundamental reform. He did not know quite how to define the reform, nor how to achieve it, but he yearned for it with a passion he could not quite contain."
Hungarian uprisings. His conversations with ordinary Russians provide insight into the Russia's culture, world view and dissatisfaction with the status quo. "Kostya understood that something was profoundly wrong with Russia's system of government. He did not want to repudiate the system . . . But he did want to see fundamental reform. He did not know quite how to define the reform, nor how to achieve it, but he yearned for it with a passion he could not quite contain."
July 13, 2018
My interest in The Soviet Union in the late 50s is not strong enough to make this an interesting read, but that is my fault, nor the author’s. I had hoped he had met Khrushchev more than once, but alas, he did not. It has many moments as a travelogue and as an account of a scholar trying to find original sources, but politically it lost me.
January 25, 2019
Very clear, prescient, and observant first-hand account from someone who was lucky to be in the Soviet Union as an American during the year of the thaw. Dawdles a little long on foreign policy at times, but I really felt like I was getting a front-seat view into a forbidden world. Important reading as relations fray again between the two countries.
May 16, 2019
...Wow!!.. Marvin Kalb has written a memoir that reveals a time in Russian history that thoroughly relates to today's world...You are there as he explores a culture and beliefs that are still an enigma to ours...I am looking forward to reading more of his books...Thankfully, there are many more of them ..
July 2, 2019
Excellent book/ memoir. Only downside is that in places it is like reading a history book, but the personal parts make up for it. Marvin Kalb is a true to form journalist and his only agenda is to learn and communicate. It is relevant to anyone interested in Russian history, as well as history of socialism and communism.
December 28, 2017
I've always enjoyed 20th century Russian history and this book doesn't disappoint. Kalb writes about his experiences during an important year in Russian history, the year of "the thaw". Well written with a love for his subject.
May 20, 2018
Highly recommended to anyone who wants to read a kind and respectful human account of a foreigner's experience in the USSR and a no-nonsense harsh analysis of Soviet politics at the same time. A rare combination, actually.
April 20, 2018
What a fascinating and insightful memoir. I have a newfound interest and respect for Kalb, and am looking forward to reading his other books, starting with "Imperial Gamble".
May 31, 2018
The book provided good information about the process of change in Russia.
November 11, 2018
I would rather have given it a 3.75 but only because it is a little dry.
December 14, 2018
All of the conversations are written like they came from an old Russian novel.
January 31, 2019
Thank you to Anastasia A. for giving us this book. It provides a personal look inside the Soviet Union when Khrushev came to power.
December 14, 2020
Not for me, much too much self-smugness. I couldn't get past it after 3 chapters. DNF
February 1, 2022
What an exciting time to be a young fluent Russian speaking American living in Moscow!
January 13, 2019
Marvin Kalb spent 1956 in Moscow. A putative scholar, working on his PhD at Harvard, he spent the year translating the Soviet press for the State Department. It was a fateful year for the Soviet Union, the year of The Thaw. It began with Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin in February; it ended after Soviet tanks squashed the Hungarian Revolution.
Kalb was not yet a reporter, but he showed the instincts of a reporter, talking to anyone he met, keeping his notebook open. And he got ordinary people to talk to him, no mean feat in the Soviet Union of the time. Based in Moscow, he travelled widely, visiting Kiev, Tashkent, Samarkand, and Baku, among other places.
The result is fascinating to this Sovietologist manque, a portrait of a people seeing a totalitarian dictatorship begin to melt. The good and bad of the place and its people are put clearly in view.
One thing Kalb doesn't say makes the book doubly interesting. He describes several times when people spoke freely, as they had not been able to do for decades. For example, he saw students decry communism openly at public meetings at the Lenin Library in Moscow. In 1989, the same spirit pervaded the Soviet Union as perestroika brought free elections to the country. In May that year, Ukrainians in Zaporozhye laughed openly at local officials when they answered questions about local issues and elections that they had done their best to fix.
Russians can easily be seen to be simply unquestioning followers of whoever is in power. Kalb saw that they are much more complex. He shows that Khrushchev exposed a current of dissatisfaction that flowed under the totalitarian ice. It scared him. Russia's current rulers may have the same fear; "The Year I Was Peter the Great" can tell you why.
Kalb was not yet a reporter, but he showed the instincts of a reporter, talking to anyone he met, keeping his notebook open. And he got ordinary people to talk to him, no mean feat in the Soviet Union of the time. Based in Moscow, he travelled widely, visiting Kiev, Tashkent, Samarkand, and Baku, among other places.
The result is fascinating to this Sovietologist manque, a portrait of a people seeing a totalitarian dictatorship begin to melt. The good and bad of the place and its people are put clearly in view.
One thing Kalb doesn't say makes the book doubly interesting. He describes several times when people spoke freely, as they had not been able to do for decades. For example, he saw students decry communism openly at public meetings at the Lenin Library in Moscow. In 1989, the same spirit pervaded the Soviet Union as perestroika brought free elections to the country. In May that year, Ukrainians in Zaporozhye laughed openly at local officials when they answered questions about local issues and elections that they had done their best to fix.
Russians can easily be seen to be simply unquestioning followers of whoever is in power. Kalb saw that they are much more complex. He shows that Khrushchev exposed a current of dissatisfaction that flowed under the totalitarian ice. It scared him. Russia's current rulers may have the same fear; "The Year I Was Peter the Great" can tell you why.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews