{"product_id":"dancing-on-thin-ice-travails-of-a-russian-dissenter-paperback","title":"Dancing on Thin Ice: Travails of a Russian Dissenter - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eArkady Polishchuk\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\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.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArkady Polishchuk (1935-2020) was a Russian Jewish dissident and former journalist who authored articles, essays, and satires for leading Russian periodicals, as well as two books about Africa. He also wrote two books in English, \u003cem\u003eDancing on Thin Ice\u003c\/em\u003e (DoppelHouse 2018) and \u003cem\u003eWhile I Was Burying Comrade Stalin\u003c\/em\u003e (MacFarland 2020). His writings appeared in many publications in Europe and the United States including the \u003cem\u003eNational Review, Chicago Tribune, \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eWitness\u003c\/em\u003e. Polishchuk was a broadcaster and correspondent for Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty from 1985-2008 in Washington, D.C.; Munich; and Prague. For many years in Soviet Russian and later in the West, Polishchuk was heavily involved in human rights, including as a testimonial speaker for Amnesty International and working on behalf of 30,000 Russian Evangelicals trying to escape decades of persecution under communist rule. In 1981 he was awarded the British McWhirter Human Rights Foundation Award and, throughout his life, received numerous travel grants for his human rights activities as well as being covered by \u003cem\u003eLife, \u003c\/em\u003ethe\u003cem\u003e New York Times, Los Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNightline \u003c\/em\u003ewith Ted Koppel, and international publications.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolishchuk became a dissident in 1973 and spent several weeks in prison as part of a four-year campaign in support of Jewish and Christian emigration. When the Christian Emigration Movement was born after the Helsinki Accords in 1975, Polishchuk concentrated his human rights efforts on helping persecuted Christians - which included the dangerous smuggling of witness testimonies out of the USSR. Over several years he successfully petitioned for the right of Russian Evangelicals to emigrate and traveled to many European countries, to Canada and across the United States on their behalf. For two years he was the managing editor and spokesman for Door of Hope International, an Evangelical human rights organization focusing on religious persecution. He held an advanced degree in Philosophy from Moscow University. Some of his experiences as a dissident in Moscow were covered internationally, for example, in this article by the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/em\u003efrom October 20, 1976.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.4 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 31, 2018\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50339309912301,"sku":"9780998777078","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0020\/8918\/9441\/files\/ycHkDyK5y69780998777078.webp?v=1785103347","url":"https:\/\/www.webster.direct\/en-gb\/products\/dancing-on-thin-ice-travails-of-a-russian-dissenter-paperback","provider":"Webster.Direct","version":"1.0","type":"link"}