Savushkin Story

A History of Soviet Literature

Adventures in Russian Historical Research

American historians of Russia have always been an intrepid lot. Their research trips were spent not in Cambridge or Paris, Rome or Berlin, but in Soviet dormitories with official monitors. They were seeking access to a historical record that was purposefully shrouded in secrecy, boxed up and locked away in closed archives. Their efforts, indeed their curiosity itself, sometimes raised suspicion at home as well as in a Soviet Union that did not want to be known even while it felt misunderstood. This lively volume brings together the reflections of twenty leading specialists on Russian history representing four generations. They relate their experiences as historians and researchers in Russia from the first academic exchanges in the 1950s through the Cold War years, detente, glasnost, and the first post-Soviet decade. Their often moving, acutely observed stories of Russian academic life record dramatic change both in the historical profession and in the society that they have devoted their careers to understanding.

Siberian Red

'A damned good thriller.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review 'Pekkala makes an unusual, captivating hero.' The Times 'Eastland writes with punch.' Metro September 1939: the second world war has begun. But as the fighting rages in Poland, Stalin cannot forget his long-held obsession with Tsar Nicholas II's missing treasure. When an informant claiming to know the whereabouts of the man who hid that treasure is knifed to death in Siberia, Stalin demands Inspector Pekkala to solve the murder. But to fulfil his mission, Pekkala must return to Borodok, the notorious Gulag where he was held captive for so many years - and pose as the prisoner he once was. Stalin is pressuring him to find the truth quickly - but will returning to the nightmares of his past prove one challenge too far for Pekkala? READERS LOVE THE INSPECTOR PEKKALA SERIES: 'I love these books.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review 'Like the Jack Reacher of Soviet Russia. He is tough, strong, shrewd, super-honest, intelligent, and doesn't miss a trick.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review 'Very exciting, pacy narrative. Fascinating and authentic characters. Could not bear to put this book down and all I wanted to do then was read the next in the series.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review