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The text is a translation from Russian of the first chapter of Soviet theorist Efim Etkind's 1963 work Poeziia i perevod [Poetry and Translation], in slightly abridged form. Etkind is a vital figure within the translation milieu of the 'Thaw' era of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when there was a policy of de-Stalinization and a degree of liberalization. Etkind's insightful work on poetry translation using comparative stylistics reflected, in some ways, the cultural-political environment of the time. It differed radically from the Realist approach of Ivan Kashkin, who was influenced by Socialist Realism and Stalin-era rhetoric. Etkind pushed the boundaries of what could be said about translation. His apparently apolitical approach was in fact strongly politicized in the Soviet context, and his choice of authors and translators to discuss evidenced his sympathy for those out of favor with the regime and for fellow Jews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is an attempt to suggest a new state system of permafrost monitoring, primarily for energetic infrastructure, based on past approaches and achievements in Russia for over a hundred years of Arctic studies. The methodology of this study is based on general theoretical methods of scientific research. Historical (retrospective analysis of the development of the monitoring system of long-term permafrost in Russia) and logical (inductive generalization) methods were applied. The structure and methods of permafrost monitoring in the Soviet Union and new technologies used nowadays to establish permafrost monitoring systems, taking into account modern Arctic energetic development, have been analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out to investigate the crucial role played by Russian "thick journals," also referred to as literary-artistic and socio-political monthlies, in Jean-Paul Sartre's Russian reception during the Thaw era. To this end, the positions (Bourdieu 1983) occupied by the four thick monthlies that published Sartre's work and/or about his work in the USSR during the Thaw are mapped. Considering the position of, and relations between, those journals sheds a different light on Sartre's reception. It reveals how the thick journals functioned, not only as a medium for introducing Sartre, but also as a space where his reception was actively negotiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that, like the liberalising “Great Reforms” of Russia in the mid-19th century, Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika of the late 20th century was propelled as much by reformist intellectuals' Europe-inspired visions of a more humane society as it was by military-economic crisis. Over the post-Stalin decades, a new policy-academic elite – economists, philosophers, scientists and writers – viewed in the apparent success of East European reforms a model of “socialism with a human face” for their country's eventual reintegration into a “common European home.” Yet their understanding of European integration was too superficial, and their appreciation of communist hard-liners' resistance too belated, to carry their reforms to successful completion. This article also holds that Russian reformers' naiveté was compounded by Western leaders' selfishness and short-sightedness. The latter clung to Cold War beliefs that the Soviet system could not produce a genuine reformist movement. When Gorbachev came to power, his perestroika was considered merely a “ruse,” its ideas of “new thinking” ridiculed, and ultimately only the “shock therapy” of Boris Yeltsin merited significant Western aid despite its broad incompetence and vast corruption. The combined Western-Russian failures in 1990s efforts toward rapid marketisation and integration proved even more damaging than those of the 1980s due to their broad discrediting of Western liberal democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes the impact of, and response to, Trofim D. Lysenko's anti-genetics campaign in Poland between the years 1949 and 1956. It focuses particularly upon the response of three individuals - Teodor Marchlewski, Wacław Gajewski, and Aleksandra Putrament - who were central figures in the controversy in Poland. In addition to examining the responses and motivations of these individuals, the article also addresses the question of why the Lysenko-era in Poland ended relatively earlier than in neighboring Soviet-allied states such as Hungary, East Germany or Czechoslovakia, as well as 9 years before Lysenko was forced from power in the USSR. I argue that conditions specific to Polish politics and Poland's relationship with the Soviet Union, during the Thaw after Stalin's death, provided the opponents of 'Lysenkoism' in Poland with an opportunity to criticize Lysenko, and restore Polish genetics. These conditions are linked to the near-revolution in Poland following the strike in Poznan in June, 1956, and successful transition of power between Edward Ochab and Władysław Gomułka the following October. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of obshchestvennost', a Russian term that is difficult to translate, helps us understand the ways that writers responded to Nikita Khrushchev's speech denouncing Stalin in 1956. The term can be seen as the public, public opinion or civil society, and was part of an attempt to transform the Moscow section of the Writers' Union. This article uses the concept to investigate the formation of a new newspaper called The Moscow Writer. The newspaper was envisioned as the way to re-create the section as a place for criticism of the current situation within the USSR. The newspaper's independent voice lasted a few months before the authorities intervened. This short interlude demonstrates the desire of writers to provide critical analysis of their position and their future, not to lead a revolution. It also shows the limits of Khrushchev's reforms; he would not allow independent opinion to emerge, even if produced by loyal group of writers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]