The Soviet Sixties

De: Robert Hornsby

Narrado por: Peter Noble

The story of a remarkable era of reform, controversy, optimism, and Cold War confrontation in the Soviet Union

Beginning with the death of Stalin in 1953, the "sixties" era in the Soviet Union was just as vibrant and transformative as in the West. The ideological romanticism of the revolutionary years was revived, with renewed emphasis on egalitarianism, equality, and the building of a communist utopia. Mass terror was reined in, great victories were won in the space race, Stalinist cultural dogmas were challenged, and young people danced to jazz and rock and roll.

Robert Hornsby examines this remarkable and surprising period, showing that, even as living standards rose, aspects of earlier days endured. Censorship and policing remained tight, and massacres during protests in Tbilisi and Novocherkassk, alongside invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, showed the limits of reform. The rivalry with the United States reached perhaps its most volatile point, friendship with China turned to bitter enmity, and global decolonization opened up new horizons for the USSR in the developing world. These tumultuous years transformed the lives of Soviet citizens and helped reshape the wider world.

©2023 Robert Hornsby (P)2023 Tantor

Comprehensive and Emtertaining

A great and entertaining listen about the rest of the story of the Soviet reform era from the Secret Speech to the crushing of the Prague Spring.

This is a great book. Seems like the nonfiction counterpart to the fictional book, Red Plenty - which covered similar topics but in nonfiction form in a series of short vignettes.

very much worth a listen.

informative, well written, and packed with interesting detail, this is a book that should be read by anyone with an interest in modern European history.

Should be titled Soviet Fifties

Book is good and thorough and interesting. But the title is fairly misleading as the majority of the book is about the 1950's, not 60's.

It’s actually interesting.

Unlike a lot of social histories, this one is actually interesting. Hornsby does an excellent job of displaying how events working together with cultural changes in society result in different reactions and perspectives on events in their contemporary setting and how they are viewed today. It’s a must read for anyone studying the Soviet Union or the early Cold War period from a cultural perspective.

Excellent Narration Of A Good Nonfiction Book

Peter Noble takes an interesting conversation approach to the reading, which helps with some of the turgid prose of this more scholarly book. I highly recommend the book on topic, though it covers quite a bit of the post-WWII history as well as the 60s as a narration topic. For the narration, Mr. Noble adds to the experience. Most Russian pronunications are on point.