Can I read Molotov's Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History on EtoBox?

Molotov's Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History by Rachel Polonsky is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Molotov's Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History about?

When Rachel Polonsky went to live in Moscow, she found an apartment block in Romanov Street, once a residence of the Soviet elite. One of those ghostly neighbours was Stalin's henchman Vyacheslav Molotov. In his former apartment, Rachel Polonsky discovered his library and an old magic lantern. Molotov - ruthless apparatchik, participant in the collectivizations and the Great Purge - was also an ardent bibliophile. Molotov's library and his magic lantern became the prisms through which Rachel Polonsky renewed her vision of Russia. She visited cities and landscapes associated with the books in the library - Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, Akhmatova and many less well-known figures. Some were sent to the Gulag by the man who collected their books. Review Praise for "Molotov's Magic Lantern" “Cogently descriptive, empathic, plucky, and acerbic, Polonsky begins with a tour of Moscow’s grim landmarks of the Stalin era, then ventures out into the countryside, excavating the tragic and heroic stories of writers and scientists who suffered banishment and worse, many the victims of Molotov’s industrious murderousness . . . Polonsky is so steeped in Russian history and literature that everywhe

Author

Rachel Polonsky

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Language

EN

Rating

3.5 / 5 (257 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14