Our Man in Moscow
A Diplomat's Reflections on the Soviet Union
Published on 6. March 1989
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-0-8020-7367-9 (ISBN)
Description
"The world is large; Russia is great; death is inevitable."
Almost forty years ago Robert A.D. Ford came across this sentence in a Russian school primer. It stays with him today as an example of the Russian psyche, a psyche that Ford is better equipped to explain than most. He is the only Western diplomat to have known and dealt with all the Soviet leaders from the end of the Second World War to the present: Stalin, Krushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev. As a poet and translator of Russian poetry, he also had a special entree into the Soviet literary world. In this memoir he offers a unique perspective on post-war Soviet politics and Russian life.
Almost forty years ago Robert A.D. Ford came across this sentence in a Russian school primer. It stays with him today as an example of the Russian psyche, a psyche that Ford is better equipped to explain than most. He is the only Western diplomat to have known and dealt with all the Soviet leaders from the end of the Second World War to the present: Stalin, Krushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev. As a poet and translator of Russian poetry, he also had a special entree into the Soviet literary world. In this memoir he offers a unique perspective on post-war Soviet politics and Russian life.
Reviews / Votes
"A contribution to Kremlinology of very great value and importance." - H.S. Ferns (British Journal of Canadian Studies) "Immensely important ... A book to read, reflect on and treasure." - Arnold Edinborough (Financial Post) "A first-class account written in straightforward and readily comprehensible prose. The Russia it describes has not yet disappeared and will not for another generation at least."- J.L. Granatstein (Canadian Book Review Annual)
More details
Series
Edition
Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
30 b&w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
585 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8020-7367-9 (9780802073679)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/1989
1st Edition
University of Toronto Press
€73.95
Available for download
Person
Robert A.D. Ford (1915-1998) was a diplomat and poet. Ford joined the Department of External Affairs in 1940 and in 1946 was second secretary in the Canadian embassy in Moscow, where he spent much of his career in various positions, including ambassador (1964-80). Other postings included Yugoslavia and the United Arab Republic.