Hi all-
I’m looking for a book about life in the Soviet Union (preferably after Stalin) that gives a fair assessment. Not reactionary “communism sucks” (or the opposite of that). A non-fiction narrative that gives a clear picture of life in the USSR as part of its backdrop would be cool, too.
If you can think of any titles, I’d appreciate it.
If you have to read just two books, I would pick these because they are companion pieces that allow you to compare the realities of the same city but at two radically different periods of Soviet history: the peak of Stalinism on the one hand and the Gorbachev years on the other.
While this book is primarily concerned with life in the southern Russian city of Magnitogorsk prior to the Second World War, it is a fascinating (and hefty) account of how one of the most important industrial cities in the world emerged through Stalin's five-year plans.
This is is a striking portrait of life during the Gorbachev era, showing clearly the tensions between the Communist Party and the emergence of proto-Capitalistic practices as the Soviet Union begins its slow-burn collapse.