The Soviet Sixties

“The Soviet Sixties is a highly illuminating reflection of what we understand about the era now.”—Catriona Kelly, Times Literary Supplement

“The book fills a gap in the average American’s understanding of the history of Communism, which generally skips straight from purges to perestroika.”—Helen Andrews, American Conservative

“Hornsby takes us through the ups-and-downs of the Khrushchev era, with its promising reforms and unexpected reversals, until a new Kremlin leadership, directed by Leonid Brezhnev, crushed all hope for change within the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Sixties is an engaging, deeply informed, and balanced account of a pivotal period in Soviet history.”—Joshua Rubenstein, author of The Last Days of Stalin

“Exceptional, expertly written and stunningly comprehensive. In the same page, the reader can learn about the manoeuvrings of Stalin’s cabinet after his death, which film was most popular in a given week, how women behind the scenes shepherded a future Nobel laureate’s work through the censors, and where riots and dissent threatened the status quo.”—Erica L. Fraser, author of Military Masculinity and Postwar Recovery in the Soviet Union

“A fine compendium of diverse social and cultural currents in Soviet-Russian history. It gives a unique understanding of complexity. One sees that in Soviet Russia and other parts of the USSR repression, ideocracy, and misery co-existed with humanity, hope, defiance, and vibrant creativity.”—Vladislav Zubok, author of Collapse