Description
Book SynopsisRoy and Zhores Medvedev, two identical twins with a unique fate, not only lived through a whole century of history, from Stalin to Putin, they wrote and made history. Their research on Stalinism, the first to come out of the Soviet Union in the 1960s-1970s, turned them into famous dissidents overnight, but their criticism of the regime always remained loyal to Soviet power. The story of their lives provides a snapshot into the history of Soviet dissent, from psychiatric hospitalization to forced exile, and from KGB interrogations to collaboration with Western news correspondents. Yet their trajectory was also marred by controversy with fellow dissidents, and in the post-Soviet era active support of authoritarian rulers, including Vladimir Putin.
Trade Review“Yet even when Martin gives the brothers full voice, it is to her credit that they don't always appear noble, ethical or as smart as they seem to think. Roy comes across as brave, conspiratorial, vainglorious and ethically compromised. Zhores was less political and ideological, but then again, he lived primarily abroad until his death in 2018. … For those who remember the brothers' publications from the 1970s and 1980s, Roy and Zhores Medvedev will provide much new detail and nuance. It may be tempting from afar to disparage their ‘loyal dissent’, but Barbara Martin reminds us that they carved out this position at great personal risk to their family and themselves. For those who have not followed their more recent story, however, the book will provide a sobering perspective on the value of a loyal Russian opposition.”
— Ethan Pollock, Times Literary Supplement
“Historian Barbara Martin has written a compelling dual biography of brothers Zhores and Roy Medvedev, who gained fame for their ‘dissident’ writings in the late Soviet period even as they advocated for the reform of socialism not its abandonment. Martin traces their respective careers, deftly summarizes their prolific writings, and shows how they navigated pressure from the state and rebutted critiques from the regime’s more radical opponents. This study is particularly valuable for its meticulous and judicious delineation of differences among Soviet era non-conformists. Martin also analyzes Roy Medvedev’s turn toward writing laudatory biographies of Nazarbaev, Lukashenko, and Putin.”
— Dr. Kathleen Smith, Professor of Teaching, Georgetown University
“If we want to understand today's Russia, we need to know the biographies of its people and their winding lives, which are almost unimaginable in the West. Barbara Martin presents two such keys to Putin's Russia in the form of the ‘loyal dissidents,’ the Medvedev twins, one the famous author of Let History Judge, the other a recalcitrant biologist forced into exile in Britain in 1973. One can have been persecuted, arrested, and harassed by the Soviet state himself and still conclude that Russia must be led by a ‘strong hand.’ An important book!”
— Susanne Schattenberg, author of Brezhnev: The Making of a Statesman (2022)
“Roy and Zhores Medvedev are amongst the most fascinating and important figures in the history of Soviet dissent, but much about them has remained unknown or poorly understood until now. Barbara Martin’s account offers a meticulously researched and richly detailed history of the brothers’ parallel, but very different, lives in the Soviet Union, Western Europe, and the USA. Drawing on a huge amount of new archival and interview material, Martin traces their lives and activities across many fields, including history, science, and political activism, and through the Soviet and post-Soviet eras. The first joint biography in English, this landmark study is likely to remain the standard work for many years to come. More than just a biography, though, this new study also casts new light on the diverse practices and politics of dissidence, representing a major contribution to the new wave of scholarship on Soviet dissent.”
— Polly Jones, Professor of Russian, University of Oxford
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Note on Archives
Introduction
Chapter 1. A Youth in Stalin’s Shadow
Chapter 2. A Crusade in Soviet Biology
Chapter 3. Stalin Is No More
Chapter 4. Making Sense of Stalinism
Chapter 5. Rebellious Intelligentsia
Chapter 6. A Question of Madness
Chapter 7. New Threats
Chapter 8. Into Exile
Chapter 9. Carving a “Third Way” in the Cold War
Chapter 10. Solzhenitsyn: The End of a Friendship
Chapter 11. Finding and Losing Political Allies
Chapter 12. Under the KGB’s Watch
Chapter 13. Andropov’s Protection
Chapter 14. The Nuclear Threat
Chapter 15. The Rise and Fall of Gorbachev’s Socialist Democracy
Chapter 16. The End of the Soviet Order
Chapter 17. Praising the Strong Rulers
