Moscow Stories

by Graham, Loren R.

• ISBN13: 9780253347169
• ISBN10: 0253347165
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-02-28
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

The distinguished American historian of Russian and Soviet science Loren R. Graham recounts with warmth and wit his experiences during 45 years of travelling and researching in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, from 1960 to 2005. Present for many historic events during this period, Graham writes not as a political correspondent or an analyst, but as an ordinary American living through these years alongside Russian friends and critics. Graham befriended some of the leading scientists and politicians in Russia, but his most touching stories concern average Russians with whom he lived, worked, suffered, and exchanged views. Graham also writes of the ethical questions he confronted, such as the tension between independence of thought and political loyalty. Finally, he depicts the ways in which Russia has changed-visually, politically, and ideologically-during the last 15 years. These gripping, sometimes humorous, always deeply personal stories will engage and inform all readers with an interest in Russia during this tumultuous period of history.

Author Biography

Loren R. Graham is Professor of the History of Science at MIT and a member of the Executive Committee, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University. A National Book Award finalist, he has written many books and articles on the history of science and other subjects. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
PART I. Learning to Learn about Russia and Communism
The Communism Problem in Farmersburg	3	(12)
Technological Competition and the Cold War	15	(10)
PART II. Student Days at Moscow University
No Singing Allowed at Moscow University	25	(19)
Lennie in the Workers' Paradise	44	(10)
Rural Russia and the Forbidden Fish	54	(12)
An American Sit-in and a Russian Riot	66	(8)
The Fate of My Closest Russian Friend	74	(15)
The Vodka Caper	89	(14)
PART III. Research in the USSR
The Meaning of Science in Russia	103	(11)
The American Colony in the Soviet Union	114	(6)
The Biggest Fraud in Biology	120	(8)
Peter Kapitsa, a Man of Many Parts	128	(11)
I Break into the Ambassador's House	139	(7)
The Bravery of Bukharin's Widow	146	(10)
Filming Refuseniks and Dissidents in Moscow	156	(13)
PART IV. Intelligence, the Cold War, and Security Concerns
The Scholar Who Disappeared	169	(6)
Being Followed	175	(25)
Spies and Scholars	200	(23)
PART V. From the USSR to Post-Communist Russia
A Man of Fervor	223	(14)
The Soviet Union and I Collapse Together	237	(13)
An Ambiguous Funeral	250	(11)
George Soros Tries to Save Russian Science and Culture	261	(15)
Death of an Old American Communist	276	(5)
Afterthoughts	281	(6)
Biographical Notes	287	(6)
Acknowledgments	293	(2)
Citations	295	(4)
Index	299