The Idea of Russia ─ The Life and Work of Dmitry Likhachev

Dmitry Likhachev (1906-1999), born in St. Petersburg, was one of the most prominent Russian intellectuals of the twentieth century. His life spanned virtually the entire century -from Tsarist rule under Nicholas II via the Russian Revolution and Civil War into seven decades of communism, followed by Gorbachev's Perestroika and the rise of a new Russia. In 1928, shortly after completing his university education, Likhachev was arrested, charged with counter-revolutionary ideas and imprisoned in the Gulag, where he spent the next four years. On his release, he was able to return to his home city only to endure the ordeals of Stalin's Great Purge and the Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Witnessing history in the making, Likhachev developed a unique insight into the plight of Russian culture under communism. After Stalin's death in 1953, Likhachev began to play a crucial role in the restoration of the cultural life of his country. In doing so, he influenced the way millions of Russians looked at their heritage. His scholarly and public mission, which gradually turned him into an iconic figure in Russia, was to repair the damage caused by totalitarianism, combat Russian nationalism, and above all to overcome cultural alienation between Russia and Europe. In this, the first biography of Likhachev to appear in English, Vladislav Zubok provides a thoroughly-researched assessment of an extraordinary and influential thinker who became a kind of 'conscience of Russia'.

Vladislav Zubok is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He has previously taught at Temple University and has served as a fellow at the National Security Archive, a non-government organization at the University of George Washington. His publications include A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev and Zhivago’s Children: The Last Russian Intelligentsia.