Many people over the decades believed that Orwell must have lived or at least been to the Soviet Union, because of his deep understanding of totalitarianism. In her brilliant and informative book, Masha Karp suggests that not much has changed and that the Russia of today under President Putin proves the point that Orwell made following his experience during the Spanish Civil War and his comments in his controversial list of 1949 where he names people in England sympathetic to communism.' -- Richard Blair, George Orwells adopted son, Patron of The Orwell Society and member of The Orwell Foundation Council
In George Orwell and Russia, Masha Karp explores the relationship between totalitarianism, as imagined by Orwell, and totalitarianism, as it really existed in Soviet Russia. As Russia slides backwards into a new form of authoritarian dictatorship, this book is a timely reminder of what came before. -- Anne Applebaum, Staff writer for The Atlantic and author of 'Gulag, A History'
Karp's Russian view of Orwell is unorthodox and makes a novel case for the continuing relevance of this controversial writer in the age of Putin. -- Michael Scammell, Author of 'Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth Century Skeptic'
In 2022, sales of George Orwell's "1984" went sky-high across Russia as people sought to discover more about the reality they were now living in - a reality in which "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength". In truth, this reality was long in coming - from the moment a former officer of the Soviet "thought-police" came to power and re-instated the Stalin-era national anthem back in 2000. It was a straight road from then on. Masha Karp's new book offers a timely and important insight into how Europe's largest country has descended in the 21st century into a truly Orwellian reality - and a warning against failing to recognise such obvious signs of danger in the future. A must-read. * - Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian politician, historian, journalist; political prisoner since April 2022, arrested for his anti-war speech at the Arizona House of Representatives; winner of 2022 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize awarded by PACE *
Those who dared to read 1984 in Eastern Europe and the USSR during the Cold War era always felt that it was a miracle that George Orwell so deeply and fully grasped the nature of a society that he had never stepped foot in: the totalitarian tyranny of Stalins Russia. Equally miraculous, his nightmarish vision continued to be eerily apposite to the USSR of later decades--just as it is to Russia today. In George Orwell and Russia, Masha Karp works wonders in explaining his mirabilia of imaginative insight as she charts how Orwells hard-won experience of collectivisms corruptions enabled him to conjure a terrifying world whose numerous catchphrases are bywords in the cultural lexicon. This outstanding, path-breaking book should be read by all those who care about the Soviet past, agonize about the Russian present, and worry about the worlds future. * John Rodden, Author of 'Becoming George Orwell: Life and Letters, Legend and Legacy' *
[Karp] relishes the details of exactly how, when, and what Orwell would have learned about Soviet Russia, and how his attitudes towards Russia changed over time, especially in relation to his continued belief in the ideals of socialism... her book is most impressive on account of how judiciously she selects her material, erring on the side of factual accuracy and abundance. * Owen Boynton, Meduza *
Valuable for those interested in literature, political philosophy, and Soviet history. * CHOICE *
