Tamizdat: Contraband Russian Literature in the Cold War Era: Klots, Yasha. Ithaca, NY: Northern Illinois University Press of Cornell University Press, 330 pp., $49.95, ISBN 978-1501768958, Publication Date: May 2023.

The book "Tamizdat: Contraband Russian Literature in the Cold War Era" by Yasha Klots explores the division in the Russian literary world during the twentieth century. On one side were émigré writers who fled Russia and were free to write as they pleased but struggled to reach their main audience. On the other side were writers in Russia who had to conform to the limitations of socialist realism to be published. The book examines the relationship of Soviet writers to their works on life in Stalin's Russia and their efforts to get their manuscripts published abroad. It also discusses the risks and challenges faced by writers of gulag literature in publishing abroad. The author provides a nuanced exploration of the complex dynamics between Soviet writers, émigré publishers, and Western audiences. [Extracted from the article]