A Question of Madness

by Zhores A. Medvedev, Roy Aleksandrovich Medvedev

An awe inspiring and thought provoking book!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, 20th Century, Russian Literature, Russia, Soviet Union, Politics

Paperback

First published July 1, 1971

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short but tedious read - one is astounded at the levels of bureaucracy in post war Russia (1970's). Frightening too that a sane person who speaks out or writes a book could end up confined to a mental hospital.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twin brothers, one a professional scientist and the other an historian, write this account of an attempt by unknown but evidently high-ranking authorities to have the scientist, Zhores Medvedev, removed from or undermined in public life in the early 1970s, by contriving a diagnosis of severe psychiatric illness.

Importantly, the brothers Medvedev are not dissidents, and this book shows their efforts to have Zhores freed and protected through the proper channels. It's terrifying insofar as it shows the very real power of faceless individuals or institutions to trump up charges and imprison people on a whim. However, it is also encouraging, or intriguing, because it shows the difference between the degree of protection written into the law, even in Soviet Russia, and the lack of that protection of individual privacy and autonomy in practice - a lack which can, however, be reversed if the public are sufficiently aware, and public opinion, international opinion, and the opinion of national figureheads is brought to bear on the relevant authorities.

[Ci · Rating 4 out of 5]

「既然有精神病院，何必还要为政治问题起诉呢」

[Bernard Norcott-mahany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recurring nightmare I had as a child was that I knew of some horror, but could not make anyone believe. This book tends to revive that deepest fear -- what would a person do if the State could put him away for dissent? How would that person hold on to his humanity? In a sense, Zhores Medvedev, who was sent to an asylum for a few weeks in 1970 for writing dissent, was lucky. His incarceration was brief, and, during such a short time, he had the constant support of friends and family who were trying to get him out. Medvedev's fame, and the greater fame of his brother, Roy Medvedev, a Soviet historian, made it difficult to carry out this plan of putting him away. What of those who had fewer friends? What of those who were not so famous? This book brings one to the edge of despair, but not over it -- it has a happy ending, but there is an awareness that many go over that edge, and who die forgotten, victims of the system.

[Collin]

Nothing wrong with it as of yet (except for some dry writing and name confusion) but there's just a lot of other stuff I'd rather be reading. I'll probably return to this sometime in the future just because psychiatric repression is a pretty interesting subject.