the Zhivago Affair: Kremlin, CIA, and Battle Over a Forbidden Book

Drawing on newly declassified government files, The Zhivago Affair tells the dramatic story of how a forbidden Soviet novel became a secret weapon in the ideological battle between East and West. The narrative follows the journey of Doctor Zhivago from Pasternak’s pen to the West, where the book found publication and widespread readership, while the Soviet authorities banned it at home. The CIA recognized the Cold War as an ideological contest and played a pivotal role by publishing a Russian-language edition and smuggling it into the Soviet Union. The novel circulated on the black market and through trusted networks, fueling a broader tradition of the writer-dissident in the USSR. The book also portrays Pasternak’s funeral in 1960, which drew thousands of admirers defying the regime. The authors provide intimate portraits of Pasternak and the period, drawing on unique access to CIA files to illuminate how literature influenced Cold War politics.

This edition is presented as a literary thriller grounded in historical events, offering a close look at the collaboration between authors and intelligence archives to tell a compelling story about censorship, cultural exchange, and resistance.

• Based on unique access to classified CIA files
• Recounts the CIA’s role in publishing in Russian
• Follows the book’s journey from Soviet ban to the West
• Highlights the emergence of the writer-dissident in the USSR
• Includes eight pages of black-and-white illustrations
• 384 pages, Illustrated edition, Paperback, Vintage