Overview
This study is an intellectual biography of Nikolai N. Bolkhovitinov (1930–2008), the prominent Soviet historian who was a pioneering scholar of US history and US–Russian relations. Alongside the personal history of Bolkhovitinov, this study also examines the broader social, cultural, and intellectual developments within the Americanist scholarly community in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. Using archival documents, numerous studies by Russian and Ukrainian Americanists, various periodicals, personal correspondence, diaries, and more than one hundred interviews, it demonstrates how concepts, genealogies, and images of modernity shaped a national self-perception of the intellectual elites in both nations during the Cold War.
Full Product Details
Author: Sergei I. Zhuk
Publisher: Lexington Books
Imprint: Lexington Books
Dimensions:
Width: 15.40cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 21.80cm
Weight: 0.476kg
ISBN: 9781498551267
ISBN 10: 1498551262
Pages: 294
Publication Date: 06 July 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
Sergei I. Zhuk tells the compelling and largely unknown story of how Soviet Americanists both provided a solid foundation for relations between the Soviet Union and the United States throughout much of the Cold War and drew on their knowledge of the United States to erode the ideological blinders inhibiting reform within the Soviet Union. By focusing on Nikolai Bolkhovitinov--a modest, hard-working scholar who was well-regarded for his integrity by Soviet and American colleagues alike--Zhuk amplifies the ways in which large-scale political and social transformations can begin with the most quiet among us. Anyone wanting to understand why the Soviet Union collapsed would do well by reading this study.--Blair Ruble, Woodrow Wilson Center The author's style is informal and engaging. Historians, sociologists, and political psychologists-- and not only those who study the Cold War--will be enlightened and should find this book very useful in their studies and classes.--Slavic Review This study is an unvarnished account of how 'an idea of America' shaped Soviet intellectuals, both in their idealism and national ressentiment. Sergei I. Zhuk's history of the rise and fall of American studies in the Soviet Union--highly personal, yet rigorously academic--contains valuable lessons for today's observers of Russian-American relations.--Vladislav Zubok, London School of Economics and Political Science This superbly researched book, which mines Soviet and American archives, the Soviet press, and includes a rich trove of personal interviews, makes a significant and original contribution to the cultural history of the Cold War. As a former Soviet Americanist who is presently a leading specialist in late Soviet cultural history, Sergei I. Zhuk is uniquely placed to write this fascinating study.--Denise J. Youngblood, University of Vermont Trained as an American studies expert in the former Soviet Union, Sergei I. Zhuk has written an engaging and informative account of the shaping of generations of Soviet American specialists, drawing on archives, interviews, and his own experience under the guidance of his teacher, Professor Nikolai Bolkhovitinov.--Hiroaki Kuromiya, Indiana University Bloomington Zhuk's book is an intellectual biography of Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. . . the book is worth reading, both to follow one Soviet academic through his scientific life during the Cold War and to get a sense of the opportunities that opened up for Soviet historians after the collapse of the Soviet Union.--Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History Zhuk's Nikolai Bolkhovitinov and American Studies in the USSR is a painstakingly researched, if not always carefully edited, intellectual biography of an academic liberal Westernizer (158) who rose to become a leading light among Soviet scholars of North American history and politics.--American Historical Review
Zhuk’s Nikolai Bolkhovitinov and American Studies in the USSRis a painstakinglyresearched, if not always carefully edited, intellectual biographyof an academic “liberal Westernizer” (158) whorose to become a leading light among Soviet scholars ofNorth American history and politics. * American Historical Review * The author’s style is informal and engaging. Historians, sociologists, and political psychologists— and not only those who study the Cold War—will be enlightened and should find this book very useful in their studies and classes. * Slavic Review * Zhuk’s book is an intellectual biography of Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. . . the book is worth reading, both to follow one Soviet academic through his scientific life during the Cold War and to get a sense of the opportunities that opened up for Soviet historians after the collapse of the Soviet Union. * Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History * Sergei I. Zhuk tells the compelling and largely unknown story of how Soviet Americanists both provided a solid foundation for relations between the Soviet Union and the United States throughout much of the Cold War and drew on their knowledge of the United States to erode the ideological blinders inhibiting reform within the Soviet Union. By focusing on Nikolai Bolkhovitinov—a modest, hard-working scholar who was well-regarded for his integrity by Soviet and American colleagues alike—Zhuk amplifies the ways in which large-scale political and social transformations can begin with the most quiet among us. Anyone wanting to understand why the Soviet Union collapsed would do well by reading this study. -- Blair Ruble, Woodrow Wilson Center This superbly researched book, which mines Soviet and American archives, the Soviet press, and includes a rich trove of personal interviews, makes a significant and original contribution to the cultural history of the Cold War. As a former Soviet Americanist who is presently a leading specialist in late Soviet cultural history, Sergei I. Zhuk is uniquely placed to write this fascinating study. -- Denise J. Youngblood, University of Vermont This study is an unvarnished account of how ‘an idea of America’ shaped Soviet intellectuals, both in their idealism and national ressentiment. Sergei I. Zhuk’s history of the rise and fall of American studies in the Soviet Union—highly personal, yet rigorously academic—contains valuable lessons for today’s observers of Russian–American relations. -- Vladislav Zubok, London School of Economics and Political Science Trained as an American studies expert in the former Soviet Union, Sergei I. Zhuk has written an engaging and informative account of the shaping of generations of Soviet American specialists, drawing on archives, interviews, and his own experience under the guidance of his teacher, Professor Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. -- Hiroaki Kuromiya, Indiana University Bloomington
Trained as an American studies expert in the former Soviet Union, Sergei I. Zhuk has written an engaging and informative account of the shaping of generations of Soviet American specialists, drawing on archives, interviews, and his own experience under the guidance of his teacher, Professor Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. -- Hiroaki Kuromiya, Indiana University Bloomington This study is an unvarnished account of how 'an idea of America' shaped Soviet intellectuals, both in their idealism and national ressentiment. Sergei I. Zhuk's history of the rise and fall of American studies in the Soviet Union-highly personal, yet rigorously academic-contains valuable lessons for today's observers of Russian-American relations. -- Vladislav Zubok, London School of Economics and Political Science This superbly researched book, which mines Soviet and American archives, the Soviet press, and includes a rich trove of personal interviews, makes a significant and original contribution to the cultural history of the Cold War. As a former Soviet Americanist who is presently a leading specialist in late Soviet cultural history, Sergei I. Zhuk is uniquely placed to write this fascinating study. -- Denise J. Youngblood, University of Vermont Sergei I. Zhuk tells the compelling and largely unknown story of how Soviet Americanists both provided a solid foundation for relations between the Soviet Union and the United States throughout much of the Cold War and drew on their knowledge of the United States to erode the ideological blinders inhibiting reform within the Soviet Union. By focusing on Nikolai Bolkhovitinov-a modest, hard-working scholar who was well-regarded for his integrity by Soviet and American colleagues alike-Zhuk amplifies the ways in which large-scale political and social transformations can begin with the most quiet among us. Anyone wanting to understand why the Soviet Union collapsed would do well by reading this study. -- Blair Ruble, Woodrow Wilson Center Zhuk's book is an intellectual biography of Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. . . the book is worth reading, both to follow one Soviet academic through his scientific life during the Cold War and to get a sense of the opportunities that opened up for Soviet historians after the collapse of the Soviet Union. * Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History * The author's style is informal and engaging. Historians, sociologists, and political psychologists- and not only those who study the Cold War-will be enlightened and should find this book very useful in their studies and classes. * Slavic Review * Zhuk's Nikolai Bolkhovitinov and American Studies in the USSRis a painstakinglyresearched, if not always carefully edited, intellectual biographyof an academic liberal Westernizer (158) whorose to become a leading light among Soviet scholars ofNorth American history and politics. * American Historical Review *
Zhuk's Nikolai Bolkhovitinov and American Studies in the USSRis a painstakinglyresearched, if not always carefully edited, intellectual biographyof an academic liberal Westernizer (158) whorose to become a leading light among Soviet scholars ofNorth American history and politics. * American Historical Review * The author's style is informal and engaging. Historians, sociologists, and political psychologists- and not only those who study the Cold War-will be enlightened and should find this book very useful in their studies and classes. * Slavic Review * Zhuk's book is an intellectual biography of Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. . . the book is worth reading, both to follow one Soviet academic through his scientific life during the Cold War and to get a sense of the opportunities that opened up for Soviet historians after the collapse of the Soviet Union. * Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History * Sergei I. Zhuk tells the compelling and largely unknown story of how Soviet Americanists both provided a solid foundation for relations between the Soviet Union and the United States throughout much of the Cold War and drew on their knowledge of the United States to erode the ideological blinders inhibiting reform within the Soviet Union. By focusing on Nikolai Bolkhovitinov-a modest, hard-working scholar who was well-regarded for his integrity by Soviet and American colleagues alike-Zhuk amplifies the ways in which large-scale political and social transformations can begin with the most quiet among us. Anyone wanting to understand why the Soviet Union collapsed would do well by reading this study. -- Blair Ruble, Woodrow Wilson Center This superbly researched book, which mines Soviet and American archives, the Soviet press, and includes a rich trove of personal interviews, makes a significant and original contribution to the cultural history of the Cold War. As a former Soviet Americanist who is presently a leading specialist in late Soviet cultural history, Sergei I. Zhuk is uniquely placed to write this fascinating study. -- Denise J. Youngblood, University of Vermont This study is an unvarnished account of how 'an idea of America' shaped Soviet intellectuals, both in their idealism and national ressentiment. Sergei I. Zhuk's history of the rise and fall of American studies in the Soviet Union-highly personal, yet rigorously academic-contains valuable lessons for today's observers of Russian-American relations. -- Vladislav Zubok, London School of Economics and Political Science Trained as an American studies expert in the former Soviet Union, Sergei I. Zhuk has written an engaging and informative account of the shaping of generations of Soviet American specialists, drawing on archives, interviews, and his own experience under the guidance of his teacher, Professor Nikolai Bolkhovitinov. -- Hiroaki Kuromiya, Indiana University Bloomington
Author Information
Sergei I. Zhuk is professor of East European and Russian history at Ball State University.
