Dancing on Thin Ice

Travails of a Russian Dissenter

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Russia, Biography & Memoir, Literary, Religion & Spirituality
Cover of the book Dancing on Thin Ice by Arkady Polishchuk, DoppelHouse Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Arkady Polishchuk ISBN: 9780998777047
Publisher: DoppelHouse Press Publication: July 31, 2018
Imprint: DoppelHouse Press Language: English
Author: Arkady Polishchuk
ISBN: 9780998777047
Publisher: DoppelHouse Press
Publication: July 31, 2018
Imprint: DoppelHouse Press
Language: English

In this memoir, replete with Jewish humor and sardonic Russian irony, exiled Russian journalist and human rights advocate Arkady Polishchuk (b. 1930) colorfully narrates his evolution as a dissenter and his work on behalf of persecuted Christians in 1970s Soviet Russia. Told primarily through dialog, this thrilling account puts the reader in the middle of a critical time in history, when thousands of people who had been denied emigration drew international attention while suffering human rights abuses, staged show trials, forced labor, and constant surveillance.

From 1950-1973, Polishchuk worked as a journalist for Russian state-run media and at Asia and Africa Today, where all of the foreign correspondents were KGB operatives using their cover jobs to meddle in international affairs. His close understanding of Russian propaganda, the use of "kompromat" against enemies and his knowledge of "pripiski" (defined as "positive distortions of achieved results and fake reports") makes this memoir especially eye-opening for American readers in today's political climate.

Through the course of the narrative, we are along with Polishchuk as he covers an anti-Semitic show trial, writes samizdat (underground political self-publications), is arrested, followed and surveilled, collaborates with refuseniks and smuggles eyewitness testimony to the west. The absurdity of his experiences is reflected in his humor, which belies the anxieties of the life he lived.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this memoir, replete with Jewish humor and sardonic Russian irony, exiled Russian journalist and human rights advocate Arkady Polishchuk (b. 1930) colorfully narrates his evolution as a dissenter and his work on behalf of persecuted Christians in 1970s Soviet Russia. Told primarily through dialog, this thrilling account puts the reader in the middle of a critical time in history, when thousands of people who had been denied emigration drew international attention while suffering human rights abuses, staged show trials, forced labor, and constant surveillance.

From 1950-1973, Polishchuk worked as a journalist for Russian state-run media and at Asia and Africa Today, where all of the foreign correspondents were KGB operatives using their cover jobs to meddle in international affairs. His close understanding of Russian propaganda, the use of "kompromat" against enemies and his knowledge of "pripiski" (defined as "positive distortions of achieved results and fake reports") makes this memoir especially eye-opening for American readers in today's political climate.

Through the course of the narrative, we are along with Polishchuk as he covers an anti-Semitic show trial, writes samizdat (underground political self-publications), is arrested, followed and surveilled, collaborates with refuseniks and smuggles eyewitness testimony to the west. The absurdity of his experiences is reflected in his humor, which belies the anxieties of the life he lived.

More books from Religion & Spirituality

Cover of the book Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith and Courage by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book The Book of the Lover and the Beloved by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book The Transformation of Politicised Religion by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Jesus Was Not a Rebel by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Smashing the Gates of the Enemy by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Self-Emptying Love in a Global Context by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book An-sich-Sein, Für-sich-Sein und der Andere bei Sartre und seine Bezüge auf Hegel by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Richtig handeln by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book The Rule of Benedict by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Aristotelian Character Education by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Presumptive Regeneration, or, the Baptismal Regeneration of Elect Infants by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Quantum Effect by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book The Active Image by Arkady Polishchuk
Cover of the book Some of the Benefits of Sooratul-Faatihah by Arkady Polishchuk
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy