{"product_id":"dancing-on-thin-ice-arkady-polishchuk-9780998777030","title":"Dancing on Thin Ice: Travails of a Russian Dissenter","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this memoir, replete with Jewish humor and sardonic Russian irony, exiled Russian journalist and human rights advocate Arkady Polishchuk (b. 1930) colorfully narrates his evolution as a dissenter and his work on behalf of persecuted Christians in 1970s Soviet Russia.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Told primarily through dialog, this thrilling account puts the reader in the middle of a critical time in history, when thousands of people who had been denied emigration drew international attention while suffering human rights abuses, staged show trials, forced labor, and constant surveillance. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From 1950-1973, Polishchuk worked as a journalist for Russian state-run media and at \u003ci\u003eAsia and Africa Today, \u003c\/i\u003e where all of the foreign correspondents were KGB operatives using their cover jobs to meddle in international affairs. His close understanding of Russian propaganda, the use of \"kompromat\" against enemies and his knowledge of \"pripiski\" (defined as \"positive distortions of achieved results and fake reports\") makes this memoir especially eye-opening for American readers in today's political climate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Through the course of the narrative, we are along with Polishchuk as he covers an anti-Semitic show trial, writes \u003ci\u003esamizdat\u003c\/i\u003e (underground political self-publications), is arrested, followed and surveilled, collaborates with refuseniks and smuggles eyewitness testimony to the west. The absurdity of his experiences is reflected in his humor, which belies the anxieties of the life he lived.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Arkady Polishchuk\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 099877703X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780998777030\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Doppelhouse Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/31\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.60h x 5.60w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/26\/2018","brand":"Arkady Polishchuk","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48065245806847,"sku":"9780998777030","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9035afcc-5c2a-4052-91e9-3bcbb40e0082.jpg?v=1768673937","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/dancing-on-thin-ice-arkady-polishchuk-9780998777030","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}